2021 Yunnan Sourcing "Meng Zhu Da Shan" Old Arbor Raw Pu-erh Tea Cake

I haven’t posted in over 2 years, so forgive me if I’m behind the times on my tea lingo. I purchased this as a sample from Scott’s 2021 lineup. I drank this one gongfu style, per usual, but also blind since I’m unfamiliar with the tea’s region and couldn’t remember description or the price/g.

It’s an interesting tea. It lacks that generic sheng aroma of apricots which I do like but will trade for uniquness.

This tea reminded me more of Scott’s Wuliang pressings in many aspects. The dried tea leaves were smaller than usual. The processing needs some work, as many of the leaves looked broken in my tea chunk, which also has happened before with mainly Wuliang teas. When brewed, the aroma had an orchid-like character that placed this somewhere between Wuliang and Bangdong teas.

In fact, the only thing that links this tea with Jinggu is that the flavor strongly resembles Da Mao Shan teas Scott had pressed in 2017, which are also quite different from other Jinggu teas.

There are sharp floral notes and a good amount of grassiness. I’m a sencha guy and generally like greener shengs, so this combination is just fine. There is good depth and some earthiness in the background. The tea is very present in the back of the mouth and throat, and there’s good cha qi. My wife commented on the aroma being soft. I would agree. I’m enjoying the long sweet floral and minty finish…there’s a hint of jasmine in there.

It’s worth a try for sure, especially since I don’t see Scott pressing any Wuliang teas this year.