2008 Mengyang Guoyan "Yiwu Chahuang"

I don't rate Mengyang Guoyan tea very highly. Maybe this is because I just haven't look far enough, but they seldom impress - with the exception of the 2005 Lao Banzhang private production (which I notice has crept up from $33 earlier this year to its current price of $56).

These Mengyang Guoyan teas are, at least, fresh and energetic.

It's name means "Yiwu Tea Emperor". It is sold for a modest $20 at YS under the name "Queen of Yiwu" - I think the gender switch may have crept in as a translation error! It's a popular cake on Taobao, too, being sold by most large vendors.

Big, pretty leaves make me wonder if this Mengyang Guoyan production is going to buck the trend: they have a big, pretty scent. The aroma leaps from the leaves, as if anxious to get started.

They don't come much more yellow than this (pictured below), but it quickly darkens to orange in the open air. Funnily enough, the aroma itself leaves a cooling sensation in the nose, as sometimes happens in the mouth with thick, active teas. I take this to be another good sign!

Pleasant Yiwu mushrooms, a gradual huigan... but it's a bit raw in the finish.

It's one of the better teas that I've had from Mengyang Guoyan, but it's still decidedly second class. That said, it's very inexpensive (costing about the same as Dayi from most vendors), and so perhaps we shouldn't expect miracles. Not impressive, but not awful, this is "filler" at its best.


(Cf. Maitre_Tea's discussion of this tea.)