2001 Mengsa Yuan Ye Xiang

The 2001 Yuan Ye Xiang (原野香) was produced by Mengku Tea Factory as a commissioned production. Made from tea grown in Mengsa, one of the tea-growing areas within the Mengku tea region of Shuangjiang County, Lincang, it was the first production to bear the Mengku Tea Factory name.

Two versions of this tea were produced: a thin paper wrapper version that underwent dry storage and a thick paper wrapper version that underwent traditional humid storage. The cake offered here is the thin paper version. Since acquiring it several years ago, I have continued to age it in a porous ceramic jar under clean, dry conditions. Upon recent tasting, the storage remains exceptionally clean.

In terms of flavor, this is an especially complex and nuanced tea. The unmistakable Mengku character is immediately apparent. Some of the notes I picked up include wood, herbs, spices, mushrooms, honey sweetness, and pleasant minerality, all of which unfold and evolve nicely over the course of the session.

For such a dry-stored factory tea, the texture is surprisingly smooth with minimal astringency. The aftertaste is long-lasting, with a sweetness that lingers in both the mouth and throat. The tea has excellent endurance and deep, powerful energy.

I only have a single cake, which I am offering by the gram. For those interested in early Mengku productions or dry-stored aged puer, this is a rare opportunity to experience a tea with historical significance that is also exceptionally complex and interesting to drink.