2009 Dayi 7542

// Published July 22, 2016 by mgualt

July 22, 2016, 5g/70ml gaiwan [7.0]

Thanks to Cwyn’s pointing out Wilson’s new shop Adventure in Every Cup, I bought a factory cake, a 2009 Dayi 7542.

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I was encouraged by the great aroma of the cake, quite similar to YQH house smell but more minty. This tea was very challenging in comparison with what I’m used to but very rewarding. Some basic thoughts:

1. Aroma of leaf and liquor really permeates the senses, camphor mint, with undercurrent of strength i.e. furniture polish, wood oils. Also red dates. Super clean, never a hint of storage taste or off notes. Wet leaf is woody/tree spices. No fungus, no funk whatsoever.

2. At 5g/70ml very strong at first, like a whip cracking, I was ALERT ready for an emergency. It obviously calls for very quick brewing at first, and I was not quite fast enough, so there was some bitterness and some soft tannins. Throat was spicy, dry, but there was no huigan, no salivation, and no qi in the first 5 brews.

3. After 5 steeps, I took a break. When I got back, the tea slowed down, I continued my flash steeps, and *everything changed*, I got a lot more sweetness, ripe red fruits, warming began, torso very warm, and by the later steeps started to get significant huigan. Nice aftertastes continued till the very late steeps.

At the strength I was using, this tea was extremely dynamic, and its best steeps by far were between 5-12, which were still as fast as I could reasonably go with a gaiwan. And those steeps were really enjoyable. At less than .13/g this strikes me as a really great value. I’d say that the late steeps were very similar to the late steeps of e.g. YQH Qizhong. On the other hand, I don’t know anything about factory tea, so I don’t know the reputation of this cake etc.

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