Temperance Be Damned: Simao Tea Factory the Quest Continues
So there’s this thing with people. Most of us like “the thing.” Then there are those of us who purposely avoid “the thing,” simply because everyone is into it. Yeah, I fall into the “alternative” crowd. In puerh everyone knows that Dayi is “the thing,” especially in HK and Malaysia. No puerh brand is as much “the thing” as Dayi, otherwise known as Menghai Tea Factory, aka Zhongcha factory #2.
It’s all about the monopoly. As privatization effected the Zhongcha tea monopoly, Dayi jumped out in front of others in marketing a unique brand. I feel 90% of Dayi is mystique and the better their myth-making, the more it boosts prices, of past productions in particular. Amidst the shadow cast by Dayi, however, are a handful of other factories that also belonged to the Zhongcha monopoly and many others that provided raw material for their productions. This brings us to Simao Tea Factory.
Simao is the old name for a city now called Puer. I had mistakenly confused Puer Tea Factory with Simao Tea Factory or Simao Ancient Puer Tea Factory. There’s a difference. The former is one of the old factories and the latter isn’t. I’m reviewing the latter. It is simply called Ancient Puer Tea Brick.
The company advertises itself as combining ancient and modern methods. This brick is a representation of the modern approach. It is pressed so tightly that use of a tea-needle is for naught. You need a thick tea-knife or chisel.
Compression is the major theme with this production. Whereas I am very cautious about my infusion times, with the Ancient Puer Tea Brick temperance be damned. This is a good thing, because the there is only the slightest evidence of bitterness no matter how long you steep. The taste is most reminiscent of Tang, which is partly citrus but mostly some kinda vanilla-like and fruit like that candy stick you dipped into color-flavoured sugar back in da day. The mouthfeel is delightful. It is thicker if you let it sit for about a day after opening up with a couple minute or so infusions. Otherwise, the liquor is a little on the thin side, but it goes and goes and goes, as does the mouthfeel. Maybe 20 infusions. It has an undramatic bitter phase but never bottoms out into that wretched bitter so common among raws.
