This is a 2006 Menghai 0562 ripe cake. The number '0562' merely refers to a recipe number. So for example, if you like the tea of a particular recipe number you can go your tea shop or internet to look for that particular tea. There might be different production years for the recipe cake you are looking for and the older cakes usually costs more than the newer ones.
I had bought this cake in early 2008 from a tea dealer operating from Yunnan. He also sells on ebay under 'Yun_cha' (formally known as awazon). This cake, to me, was considered an expensive new cake costing me about US$25 a cake (inclusive air freight). Well nowadays, I had noticed new 2011 pu erh cakes going for more than US$200 per piece (not counting the freight yet).
Back to this cake. You will noticed that the wrapper of the pu erh states that this was an award winning cake, gaining gold in a tea expo in China. This tea cake is tightly compressed and you would require your tools to break up the cake.
I actually did a second look when I brewed this tea for the first few times. I had opened a 05' Haiwan pink wrapper ripe cake a few weeks ago (see 1 April blog entry) and I thought I had brewed the Haiwan tea instead. The taste, aroma and aftertaste were similar among these 2 cakes. Not that I mind, but anyway the 0562 had an additional very subtle herbal taste to the tea. Both cakes possess a nice sweet finish in the aftertaste (Haiwan, to me, was slightly sweeter). I found brewing this tea makes a very enjoyable tea session.
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