Menghai Tea Factory is widely recognized as one of the best-producing and highest-quality Pu-erh tea factories. Since it began production in 1940, Menghai has produced a wide variety of premium Pu-erh products, including both tea bricks and tea cakes. Some Menghai tea bricks and Menghai Seven Sons Tea Cakes have become classics in the Pu-erh tea world, often treasured as works of art and collector’s items, a testament to their exceptional quality. Below are the classic and famous Menghai Pu-erh teas:
Since starting production in 1940, Menghai Tea Factory has crafted numerous legendary teas. Featuring both ripe (shou) and raw (sheng) varieties, many of these teas have become holy grails in the market.
▲7572 Ripe Tea Cake: Menghai Tea Factory’s 7572 ripe tea has been in production since the mid-1970s. It is a top-selling tea that has been continuously produced over the long term. It uses grade 3 to 8 tea leaves, with grades 5 and 6 making up the bulk. It is characterized by a heavier fermentation and a smooth, sweet liquor. Primarily a ripe tea, a batch of 7572 raw tea was also produced in 1981 at the request of Hong Kong’s Lian An Tea Firm.
▲8592 and the “Purple Sky Ripe Tea Cake”: The 8592 Menghai Seven Sons Tea Cake uses grade 3 to 6 leaves for the outer layer (surface) and coarser, older leaves for the inner blend. It is characterized by a lighter fermentation. Production began in 1985 and continues to this day. Originally commissioned by Hong Kong’s Nantian Trading Company, its outer wrapper features a purple “Sky” (天) stamp, commonly known as the “Purple Sky.” Early editions of the “thick-paper Purple Sky” command the highest prices. The 8592 ripe cakes ordered by Hong Kong’s Lim Kee Wing Tea Firm in the 1990s feature a red sky stamp and are known as “Red Sky.” Due to their immense fame, many counterfeit Red Sky and Purple Sky cakes exist on the market.
▲7262: In the late 1990s, Menghai Tea Factory developed series such as 7042, 7062, 7502, 7512, 7592, and 7692. However, only 7262 saw large-scale commercial release, with small quantities of 7592 produced through custom orders. 7262 is characterized by a lighter fermentation and uses grade 3 to 6 tea leaves. It features a beautiful appearance and a soft, mellow liquor.
▲7452 Ripe Tea Cake: Along with 7572, 7452 is a ripe tea produced by Menghai Tea Factory since the mid-1970s, though 7452 features a finer tea texture. Most other documentation has been lost, leaving few records. However, the 7452 ripe tea cake is of exceptional quality and is widely recognized as a classic.
▲7542 and the ’73 Green Cake: The 7542 Seven Sons Tea Cake is the most mainstream raw tea product from Menghai Tea Factory, commonly known as the “’73 Green Cake.” The raw materials consist of grade 3 to 4 leaves for the surface and grade 5 to 6 leaves for the inside. Production began in the early 1980s. Most aged raw Seven Sons tea cakes circulating in the market are 7542, thanks to its high sales volume and long production run. However, due to its long lifespan on the market, there is a significant variation in quality. Its outer wrapper features a wide-mouth “Zhong” (中) character, with the “Cha” (茶) character hand-stamped. Production continued through 1985.
▲7532 Snow Stamp Raw Tea Cake: The 7532 Seven Sons Tea Cake is the most tender and delicate raw tea product from Menghai Tea Factory, with a very limited production volume. Commonly known as the “Snow Stamp Green Cake,” it is blended from grade 3 to 6 materials, with the surface and inner leaves being consistent. It comes in paper tube packaging with a small-mouth “Zhong” glossy thick paper wrapper, a pastel green hand-stamped “Cha” character, fine cinnabar-red characters on the inner ticket (nei fei) with protruding tails, a small inner ticket, and a small cake mold. Due to its scarcity, it is rarely seen on the market, and there are quite a few counterfeits.
▲7582 and 8582: Menghai Tea Factory began producing the 7582 raw tea cake after 1980. After 1985, it was custom-produced for Hong Kong’s Nantian Trading Company, and the tea was renamed 8582. This name was used continuously from 1985 until the early 1990s, after which the 7582 designation was restored. The 8582 uses grade 3 to 4 leaves for the surface and grade 7 to 8 leaves for the inner blend. Earlier cakes were larger, with a diameter of 21 cm. Most 8582 cakes were wrapped in thin paper, though a small number of early editions featured thick paper, produced between 1987 and 1992.
7572 Raw Tea: While 7572 has long been used as the recipe number for Menghai Tea Factory’s ripe teas, due to special circumstances, it was also used for a batch of raw tea. The 7572 raw tea was produced in 1981 as a custom order for Hong Kong’s Lian An Tea Firm. It features a wide-mouth “Zhong” outer wrapper and an inner ticket with fine, pointed characters.