2009 Mengku Certified Organic

The 2009 Certified Organic green puer tea from the Mengku tea factory is one of the several dozen 2009s I purchased over a year ago with the prospect of laying them down for long ageing. Yet as with all puer, they need to be retasted regularly for ‘update’ (and checking for mould developing on the leaves if you store them wet).

At $23 per 500g large cake from Yunnan Sourcing this wasn’t the cheapest of puers, and my initial tasting were underwhelming. A potent tea in the looks and smell, with plenty of tobacco and smoke, it has always failed to deliver anything concentrated or exciting in the cup. The infusion aroma has always been rather faint, exceedingly simple, vaguely sweet (as of Japanese bean sweets, as this also has plenty of beaniness), and even with reasonable dosage I’ve been disappointed by a lack of concentration and a general vagueness. The only hope for improvement was linked to a well present bitterness on the vegetal, pungent finish.

Well, I must say this tea has improved a lot in a year or so. Brewed in my dedicated yixing round teapot yesterday, it provided an interesting session. I dosed at 6g / 100ml and this time, there was no dilution. The first 10-second infusion was dark-coloured (see photo), concentrated and powerful, finishing firmly tannic; almost excessive power. Shortening the brewing time for the next few steeps, a no-nonsense, acidic, dry tobacco-dominated tea came out. The best, most complete infusion was #3, which in my book is usually a sign of good ageing potential (simple, light tea often peak at the first or second infusion). While this 2009 is generally low in fruit and somewhat charmless at this stage, infusion #2, 3 and 4 had some nice citrusy overtones and a good, vaguely oily texture.

Looking at the spent leaves was another nice moment. They are very nicely handled, unbroken and presented in impressively intact leaf-and-bud systems you don’t often see in puer. There is minor oxidation on some leaves, responsible for the potency and deep colour of the infusion, but it’s a sort of ‘oolongisation’ I can accept in moderation. I now have high hopes for this tea to further improve in the next few years and justify its price tag.

Disclosure

A full 500-g cake and a 25-g tasting sample were my own purchases from Yunnan Sourcing in winter 2009/10. This tasting note is based on the sample.