Menghai Tea Factory (Berylleb King Tea)

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Recent Tasting Notes

87

If I had to characterize this tea, it would be like sitting on an old leather couch in a library filled with really old mouldering books and eating a piece of chocolate in front of the fire.

The predominating flavor for me was old leather with a hint of antique books. The cocoa flavor, which I admit to having trouble finding in a shou, was definitely there, but without the creamy thickness that was present in the 2002 Master Han’s.

A nice experience for a fall afternoon. Thanks TTB!

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec

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From the PU TTB:

This is a fantastic ripe. Enjoying it while at work today and I’ve lost count how many steeps I’m in, but I’m guessing it must be a lot because I’m really feeling the caffeine! This tea brews up rich, deep and dark, with a sweet, earthy, somewhat chocolatey flavor and aroma, and not much in the way of fermentation funk even in early steeps. I would highly recommend this one to lovers of dark and sweet/mellow ripe pu.

AllanK

I bought this one from Berylleb King Tea about a year and a half ago. It is really good but very expensive. It was worth it though.

curlygc

I just looked… expensive is right! Glad I was able to try it though, so thank you for putting it in the TTB. I should have taken more, lol!!

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86

I have a chance to drink this today because my impending move has been pushed back until Thursday. After tomorrow I will pack my last gaiwan. This tea is pretty damn good. The fermentation taste was not as heavy as some shou puerhs. I’d say there was some fermentation flavor until the fourth steep. There was little bitterness and much in the way of sweet notes to this tea from Berylleb King Tea. Berylleb refers to this as high grade tea. I don’t know that it is really higher grade than other Dayi ripe but it is certainly good quality. There probably were notes of chocolate to this tea but my mind was not on the tea so I’m not sure about it. It did develop a nice sweet fruity flavor in the later steeps. Moderately so anyway. Overall this was a very good tea.

I brewed this tea ten times in a 120ml gaiwan with 10.1g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, and 1 min. I think this tea would easily go another four or five steeps if I hadn’t already had so much tea.

Flavors: Earth, Sweet

Preparation
Boiling 10 g 4 OZ / 120 ML
tea123

On the list it goes.

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80

Bought this recently from Berylleb King Tea. The Purple Dayis have a good reputation. This tea, while it was a good tea was a smoky tea. This was no apricoty sheng. Hopefully it has good aging potential. It was strong, punchy, and smoky. The smoke dissipated after about four steeps. This left more of a bittersweet flavor in its place. Overall this was a good tea. It was not what I expected. I don’t think Berylleb puts anything on their site about a tea’s specific flavor notes. I probably would have bought something else if I had known it was smoky. Not smoky like a lapsang souchong but smoky none the less.

I steeped this tea eight times in a 120ml gaiwan with 8.5g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, and 30 sec. I would definitely recommend this tea to any fan of smoky sheng. Those who want their sheng to taste of apricots probably won’t like it.

Flavors: Smoke

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 8 g 4 OZ / 120 ML
mrmopar

Yeah this one needs a few years. I have the 2011 and haven’t really gotten into it yet.

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90

This is a very tasty ripe puerh with very little fermentation flavor. There was very little bitterness to this tea, it was very smooth. There were a variety of sweet notes that I totally failed to pin down by specifics. There were also some barely perceptible sour notes in a couple of the steeps. These did not persist. Overall this was a very good ripe puerh. It developed a fruity flavor in the end. Not sure if I would say there were any chocolate notes but then again I wasn’t really paying attention. I just enjoyed this tea. It is after all a Dayi. They have a reputation for good ripe tea. This one seemed genuine in every way.

I steeped this eight times in a 180ml teapot with 10g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, and 30 sec. The leaves were far from finished. I’m sure I could have gotten four or five more good steeps out of the tea but I was at my caffeine limit.

Flavors: Earth, Sweet

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 10 g 6 OZ / 180 ML

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99

This is as much a review of the clay boiler I got from Taiwan Sourcing as it is this tea. This was already a really good ripe, one of my absolute favorites. So improving it was setting a high bar. But I have to say, and while this isn’t scientific, the tea just tastes better with water from my Anta Pottery Clay Boiler. The tea itself is sweet with little bitterness, and notes of chocolate and fruity notes in latter steeps. I have to admit I’m not getting much qi off of this tea but then again I usually don’t get qi from ripe tea. I think that this clay boiler was a good investment, even though it was expensive. It was about $100 cheaper than it’s main competition, the Purion Kettle. The Anta Pottery kettle is the same concept as the Purion. Having never used a Purion I couldn’t say the difference. Overall, this tea tastes smoother than with my electric kettle. I definitely notice a difference.

I steeped this tea ten times in a 120ml gaiwan with 9.6g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, and 1 min.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBLa1jZTDd2Kr8oucQsIOCgxHbYzTYiulGi1o80/?taken-by=allanckeanepuerhtea

Flavors: Chocolate, Earth, Fruity, Sweet

Preparation
Boiling 9 g 4 OZ / 120 ML
kevdog19

I just got my own clay boiler from Taiwan Sourcing as well! It is AWESOME… Hope you like it too.

AllanK

So far it is great. I see it getting a lot of use.

curlygc

I did not know I needed a clay boiler until now…

kevdog19

Hahaha. Glad to have helped spur the wallet buster purchase

AllanK

Curlygc, it works really well. The description on the Taiwan Sourcing website is pretty much accurate.

TeaExplorer

I just got one of these from TS as well. Have not yet done a side-by-side.

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99

This brick is really good. It ought to be for the price I paid. This is the first time I have revisited it since buying it. It’s got a fair amount of fermentation flavor left, but nothing unpleasant. You could sat it was think and rich in the early steeps. There were I think some notes of chocolate it there. It developed a definite sweet and fruity taste to it. This time I gave it twelve steeps. I’m sure it would have gone sixteen had I wished to continue, maybe more. It is just a really good puerh tea.

I steeped this tea twelve times in a 85ml Yixing teapot with 8.2g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a 10 minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min, and 2 min.

Flavors: Chocolate, Earth, Fruity, Sweet

Preparation
Boiling 8 g 3 OZ / 85 ML
tea123

Did you get the 1kg full brick?

AllanK

Yeah and with the gift box. It’s a little cheaper if you forego the gift box but for some reason I wanted it.

Rich

I got a sample of this and it wasn’t all that great. Given your experience, it might just be a bad sample I got!

TeaExplorer

A 1kg brick! I admire your sense of commitment :-D

tea123

Thanks for that rich.

AllanK

Rich this would not be the first time one of us loved a tea and one of us didn’t like it. Don’t forget the 1997 CNNP.

AllanK

I like buying whole bricks but would recommend anyone sample this first.

Rich

I suppose it might be a difference in taste, Alan, but it might also be a difference between a sample and a cake (or brick). Who knows…

AllanK

I don’t know if there is a difference in taste between a sample and tea pried from a whole brick? Could be.

stock man

I also like to buy whole bricks, but this one is too expensive…

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99

This is a really tasty and quite expensive Dayi brick. Bought it from Berylleb on a whim. They raised the price right after I bought it. This is at least as good as any Dayi ripe tea I have drank, better than most. It starts off slightly bittersweet and evolves into a nice sweet puerh. There was a fair amount of fermentation flavor in the early steeps but it was not overpowering. This also qualifies as the most expensive tea I have ever purchased, although you do get a kg of tea for the price. This is no low quality brick, that’s for sure. I only took this to eight steeps because of the caffeine, but I think it would have gone another eight at least, judging by the color of the liquid in the eighth steep.

I steeped this eight times in a 180ml teapot with 10g leaf and boiling water. I gave it a 10 second rinse and a ten minute rest. I steeped it for 5 sec, 5 sec, 7 sec, 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec, 25 sec, and 30 sec.

Flavors: Earth, Sweet

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec 10 g 6 OZ / 180 ML
mrmopar

I agree, shou really settles well in about the 5 or 6 year mark.

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