2011 MENGHAI DAYI THEE - JIA JI SHENG drinkable now or better later?

Some people won’t drink puer unless it has a certain amount of age on it. Some people drink only young green puer. In terms of taste there isn’t any reason to wait. I’d dive right in if I was you. It’s the only way to learn. :)

Some people also let a newly arrived puer acclimate to the new environment for a week or two before imbibing. I’ll only do that for small samples, less than 20 grams. If I have a full cake, I usually dig right in. :)

EDIT: And welcome to the wide, wide world of puer!

I like it young & old. Dive in :)

I usually prefer young sheng as the aged sheng that is out there for purchase is often tea that wasn’t that great originally. With young sheng you can still get quality for a reasonable price.

Hey Sandra!
Glad to see you joining in the puerh world. I would say both. Try it now as well as later. It will change over the years.

If you look for anything particular I know some good vendors and usuually the best pricing.
I think this is the one you got but this is China stored and first batch.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Jia-Ji-Tuo-Cha-2011-Yunnan-Menghai-Dayi-Raw-Pu-er-Tea-Free-Shipping-/322374105599?var=&hash=item770ce010ce

Its a judgement call for you to make. Aging will change, and possibly diminish, whatever good qualities you enjoy now when the tea is relatively young.

If you like drinking it now, then maybe you should drink it now and not age it. Some people new to puerh have the misconception that aging automatically improves a tea. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t, and most of the time its a subjective opinion.

If you sort of like the tea now and see good qualities in it like how it makes your body feel, but think its rough or unbalanced in some way that makes it an effort to drink (too bitter, smokey, etc), then perhaps setting it aside for a while will improve it.

Aging comes with the risk that you don’t know if the tea will get better or worse as time passes. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. If you like it now, drink it up. If its an effort to drink, but has good qualities about it, set it aside.

Thanks everyone!