When I first encountered this 98 Meng Hai “Lu Yieh Zi (Green Leaf)” Yieh Shen (Wild) Chiao Mu (Arbor) beeng in Taiwan around 2001, it was not very well known to the market. It did not get the fame it deserves until the 2006 No. 18 issue of Pu-erh Teapot magazine, when several 98 select cakes were blind tasted and this cake was picked as the most favorite by several judges. The fact that this cake was still considerably cheaper than its younger brother, the 99 Green Big Tree, caused quite a stir among collectors to try to get their hands on this piece before its price was “corrected”!
Then, in 2007 No. 21 issue of the Pu-erh Teapot magazine, they put together all those from 1992 to 2000 vintage “winners” in the past blind tastings before 12 judges. This 98 Meng Hai cake was again ranked fairly well (click right to see the larger image in this tasting).
This cake had went through more humid “traditional Hong Kong” storage in its early life. The ripe mellowness and superb sweetness for such a not-so-old pu-erh reveal the fact. Luckily, it has been later stored in a clean and dry environment for several years, so there is no any unpleasant mustiness in its aroma. The fragrance and taste are both clean, multi-layered in a really enjoyable round and smooth finish.
A cake of this kind of quality and storage history not only ages slightly faster, but the aroma tends to develop more lotus, plum and medicinal traits. A lovely hint of spicy woodiness has been developed in the taste.
Interestingly, in “Pu-erh Clinic” seciton of No. 21 issue, there is a case study of “genuine vs. faked” 98 MengHai Yieh Sheng Chiao Mu beeng. A Guang Zhou collector bought a piece of this cake and showed off to his friends. But the more they discussed, the more they became suspicious about the authenticity of their cake. So they contacted the magazine and had Mr. Chen Chi-Tong to appraise it. Ooooppss.. it was a real “fake” that they bought! Not only the “Yun” character on the wrapper is different from the genuine one, the faked one did not have the nei fei embeded on the cake, not to mention the quality difference:
It is a very easy to approach and enjoy aged pu-erh. The brewing strength is truly remarkable; I could make more than 10 brewings and there was little sign that the tea wanted to quit. While there is plenty of sweetness, the structure is quite solid and heavy that you get the message as how serious the tea is.
Click to see the pictures I took before I did my tasting. Cake and sample are both available on Hou De.
Guang 
Judging from photos, the cake is stone molded – the body is pressed but the edges I loose – I really like this style of pressing, much better than stone-hard cakes.
And the leaves changed their color to beautiful dark, too…
Looks like this cake went through a good amount of “traditional” storage. I see a lot of small, white dots. The leaves are so dark and from the description “mellow and sweet,” it does sound like a good “stored” cake for a 1998 vintage. But the neifei is so clean, so I’m not sure. It looks yummy on the screen.
Good inspection, Phyll
Yap this is not a totally “dry-stored” kind aged pu-erh. Looking very closely, like the macro picture in the pop-up larger image, you can see some white dots, not a lot. But the overall appearance is very clean. Also I think the dry climate (relative to HK/Taiwna) we have in US is great for further aging this tea.
I thought so. Before you provided more info in the post above, I thought of asking if these were stored in Guangzhou or Hong Kong before. I got some ‘99 Menghai bricks from Guangzhou and they have similar color and amount of white dots as this ‘98 Menghai beeng. I enjoy drinking it. I should revisit them soon.
Holy Cow! The stock is all bought out in one day!
Those cakes sold out pretty quick, especially when considering their price.
reading the review – i feel like drinking this tea – any idea where i can buy some of it from.
ankit
http://www.xanga.com/lochantea
Ai-ya-ya … I had wanted to save one tong of this cake for myself;) Just posted 4 pieces on Hou De. Still wish you guys try the sample first and then make the decision.
FYI, the market price of this cake is RMB2,800 (USD370) in HK/GuangZhou. Our offering price is based on the price we paid last summer. I am not sure if we price every pu-erh according to current prices in China, how many of you will quit visiting Hou De
I think as long as Houde mixes its portfolio of pu’er with high-ends and the great-for-the-value stuff, tea fans of all bank account sizes will keep coming here. There is a horde of expensive pu’er posted here recently (the boutique and special order ones), and as such Houde has become sort of a supplier for top-of-the-line and special pu’er (at least in my view). But where are the great QPR teas (Quality-for-Price-Ratio)?
By my opinion no one use the “try and then buy” method, because if they do, the pu’erh is long gone before they get to the “buy”
So they believe your judgement and just buy.
Tomas, yeah, that’s the disadvantage of online buying, especially if the buyer is in another continent where it could take weeks for a package to arrive. By the time you get the sample, the cakes can be long gone.
Since I am not in the business, good tea is a personal luxury. I only want to get the stuff that I like to drink. As much as I trust Guang’s judgement, his treasure might be my trash.
Impulse buyers, of course, is beneficial to Houde, and so I don’t know how the conservative customers (like myself) can have a fair chance of getting some well-known teas unless Houde holds back a small % of the stock for those who are still forming a buying decision by sampling first. Of course, this is not in Houde’s interest as a business if the demand exceeds supply.
I think the “try before you buy” method will only work if the samples are made available a few weeks in advance of selling the cakes. Especially with cakes that have a very limited supply.
Regarding “QPR teas (Quality-for-Price-Ratio)”, I was focusing in 2000 to 2003 quality ones early this year when the 2007 productions saw their price starting at jaw-dropping high numbers. But it was quite obviously I was not the only smart kid on the block
All too often by the time I tasted the sample, the bulk tea was already gone from the source. So we all face the same problem.
But thanks Phyll, your comment reminded me of something I might have overlooked recently. I guess I have been trying to acquire, as fast as I can
, those “special” kinds before they disappeared or price doubled.
Guang
Good point, David! So you guys all agree we should provide samples for those limited quantity ones before we start offering cakes?
^ That would be nice…although from a pure business perspective you gain no advantage, except perhaps in customer satisfaction point.
^^
Guang that would be fantastic!
Thanks for the great discussion and feedback. I will surely keep this idea in mind
Another way would simply be to offer half of what you eventually want to sell — and hold the other half for a week or two before putting it up on sale.
That will satisfy both the impulse and the more conservative buyers
Yes, two weeks of sampling should be OK.
Or, second solution – do not place so inviting descriptions (just joking
Sampling beforehand is a great guide – I certainly would feel it difficult to buy in quantity without doing so. Guang, it’s good of you to consider the option.
I’m looking forward to trying the cake that started this discussion!
Best wishes, and toodlepip,
Hobbes
Good to know that I’m not the only one who tastes first and then buy, instead of the other way around.
I also think that with the colossal variation in Pu-erh tastes try before you buy is a must.
-vl.
if we can get samples before – we can surely buy some good quantity for our personal consumption and also for our high end chinese customers based in india.
it would be a real good experience!!
Another possibilty for these special type purchases might be to limit one unit per customer. I don’t think they would go unsold. If I were to notice a promising item just listed it wouldn’t be fair to my puerh friends for me to purchase all of them would it?
I would like to offer here samples for sale, but I do not know how. You all seem to be interested in drinking and I can easily supply you all samples for tasting and testing.