Mei Hou Qian Kun Zhen Cang — the collectible zodiac Monkey in a hefty 800g cake (2016): smoky, sweet, and built to keep.
Tea Profile
At a glance: 2016 · Sheng (raw) puerh · 800g cake · DaYi (Menghai Tea Factory) · 1st batch
- Compression & dry leaf: It is pressed into a 800g cake.
- Liquor: The liquor is typically golden to amber at this stage.
- Taste: From the first steep the taste is fresh. As the session goes on, it shows floral and smoky notes with a touch of honey and a sweet and rich profile. The flavor shifts a little from steep to steep.
- Mouthfeel & body: It sits fairly light on the palate, with a clean, active texture.
- Aftertaste: The aftertaste brings a returning sweetness (hui gan).
- Best for: improving your tea experience. Brew it attentively and follow how it changes; a natural step up for a newcomer who wants to go further.
Brewing Guide
- Water: fully boiling, 100°C (212°F).
- Steps:
- Add tea (about 5g per 100ml).
- Rinse once: cover the leaves with boiling water for about 5 seconds, then discard. Put the lid on and let the leaves rest for about 10 minutes to open up.
- Steep for 10–15 seconds for the first rounds, adding about 5 seconds each round.
- Pour into a sharing pitcher.
- Serve. Sheng puerh resteeps well for many rounds.
- Treat these as starting points rather than fixed rules. Try high or low pours, fast or slow, and brew in different seasons to find the method that suits you. Brewing the same tea well in any year, season, weather or place takes practice, and that skill is the real goal.
Storage
Keep the cake ventilated, cool and dry, away from sunlight and strong odors (kitchen spices, smoke). For long-term aging, paper or clay containers breathe better than sealed plastic.
A Note on Appearance
Not every cake shows these, but they can occur, especially in teas with more years of storage.
- Small dark specks: tiny dark specks may appear on the wrapper or cake edges of naturally stored puerh. They are harmless and can be brushed off before brewing.
- Tea oil spots: yellowish spots may appear and can come from natural tea oils. They are not a flaw.
- Torn wrapper: small tears or holes in the cotton paper may happen during storage and handling. The tea inside is unaffected.
