In the world of Pu'er tea, some teas are more than just beverages; they are witnesses to a piece of history. The 2003 Dayi Flower Label Panda Tuocha brought by Tongxinshe Teahouse today is such a rare treasure that carries the ups and downs of Menghai Tea Factory. With old materials from 1989 as its core and pressed in 2003, it has precipitated a unique charm over more than 30 years, becoming a rare thought in the hearts of collectors.
A Story of the Tea Factory: The Birth and Destiny of Panda Tuocha
When it comes to Menghai Tea Factory, those who know Pu'er will always hold respect. This old factory, known as the "Whampoa Military Academy" in the Pu'er tea industry, was once the leader among the four major tea factories in Yunnan under China National Tea Corporation. Classic teas such as 88 Qing Cake, 92 Square Brick, and 99 Green Big Tree still write legendary stories of high prices at auctions. And "Panda Tuocha" is a unique footnote left by this old factory in a special period.
In 2003, Menghai Tea Factory was at the end of the state-owned era. The operational difficulties forced decision-makers to take out their treasured old materials – the old raw materials collected in 1989, and repress them for release. This is how the only batch of "Panda Tuocha" in 2003 came into being. Interestingly, there is no panda pattern on the tea box. Instead, it is replaced by the pattern of "Panda Cup Award", which is a witness to the honor that the factory's products won the Panda Cup in the National Nutritional Food Evaluation in 1988. It also adds a touch of glory to the tea products in this special period.
For anti-counterfeiting, Panda Tuocha has launched three versions: red label, white label, and flower label. The flower label we bring is marked with red background and white characters, printed with "Produced by Yunnan Menghai Tea Factory", which is more unique among the three versions. Unfortunately, this tea product, which was poured with painstaking efforts, failed to reverse the fate of the tea factory. In 2004, the former state-owned Menghai Tea Factory was restructured into a private tea enterprise. The loss of core backbones and the gradual depletion of old material inventory made the tea products before the restructuring a double symbol of "quality and complex" in the hearts of collectors, thus making Panda Tuocha more precious.
Old Materials with New Charm: The Quality Code Precipitated for More than 30 Years
What is most touching about this Panda Tuocha is its "old background". The steel stamp "May 1989" on the back of the outer box clearly tells the age of the raw materials – these are the early spring materials from Menghai producing area in 1989. After being pressed in 2003, they spent more than 20 years in dry storage.
Opening the green box packaging (its color just echoes the theme of "nutritional food" of the Panda Cup), the product number, weight, and Chinese-English comparison of taste description on the side of the inner box, as well as the factory address and telephone information at the bottom, all show the rigor of the state-owned old factory. Looking at the inner packaging again, the matte vertical striped paper is printed with the eight-character tea trademark and the peacock hometown logo, and the four characters "Menghai Tuocha" are steady and powerful. The tea tuo is round and compact, with no loose edges at all. In the spacious tuo nest, there is also a small instruction manual whose paper fibers have become brittle due to the passage of time. Every detail is full of traces of time.
Looking closely at the tea tuo itself, the carefully selected tender early spring materials have long lost their astringency. The buds are plump, with obvious bud hairs, turning into a smooth golden yellow, as if locking more than 30 years of sunshine and rain into the tea strips.
Tasting Time: Mellow Sweetness and Return in Medicinal Aroma
When brewed, the charm of this old raw tea is fully displayed. 100°C boiling water is poured into a covered bowl (or purple clay pot), and the tea amount of 5-7g is just right. After washing the tea, open the lid and wake up the tea for two or three minutes to let the sleeping tea aroma slowly wake up. Then, pour it at a low point, slowly inject and quickly pour out, and a cup of orange and clear tea soup will appear in the cup.
At first smell, the hair aroma is fresh and long, the aged aroma is rich and deep, and the most touching is the trace of medicinal aroma, which does not float on the surface, but sinks into the water, melts into the bottom of the cup, delicate and long. When entering the mouth, more than 30 years of transformation has completely removed the irritation of new tea. The tea soup is mellow and sweet, but it does not lose the richness unique to Menghai tea. When drinking to the middle section, the thickness and fullness become more obvious, with rich taste levels. The return of sweetness comes like a tide, and the production of body fluid continues, weaving a pleasant taste map in the mouth.
Brewing Tips
• Tea set: Either a covered bowl or a purple clay pot is acceptable. The former is easier to observe the color, and the latter is better at gathering aroma.
• Water: Spring water or pure water is recommended to avoid affecting the original taste of the tea soup.
• Technique: The tea washing should be done with quick soup pouring. After waking up the tea, keep "pouring at a low point, slowly injecting and quickly pouring out". When the tea flavor fades, you can properly simmer it to fully release the flavor in the old materials.
Now, Tongxinshe Teahouse shares a small amount of Panda Tuocha collected in those years, just to let more people touch the time impression of this Menghai old tea. Perhaps, when you hold this cup of tea, you taste not only the mellow flavor, but also a story about the tea factory and time.