Undoubtedly, Menghai is one of, if not the most important county among all the Puerh production areas. Menghai has always been significant throughout the history of Puerh, due to the existence of many famous tea mountains such as: Bulang Shan, Nannuo Shan and Bada etc. Some of these tea mountains were important production zones on the Ancient Tea Horse Road. Statistics from 2018 show that Menghai has 54,000 hectares of Puerh cultivation, while the total cultivation area of the province is 444,000 hectares. These same statistics show that Menghai produced 27,000 tons of tea in 2018, which was a large part of the 143,000 tons of tea that the province produced in this year. Menghai is also home to several famous tea brands, namely, Dayi (the former Menghai Tea Factory), Chensheng Hao, Qicai Yunnan, and also several others. Puerh from Menghai has a distinctive flavour, especially the ripe/shou Puerh, which is believed to have the particular “Menghai Style” or “Menghai Flavour”, based upon its local harvest and the technique used, which is unique and hard to replicate.
 
Cha Huang literally means tea king. When our supplier, a tea expert whom I have known for more than 15 years, gave us the tea samples, I asked her why she had given this particular tea such a pretentious name. With the fragrance of glutinous rice, a honey note, a silky and creamy texture, a feeling in the mouth that is both comforting and clean, and also a sweetness in all infusions and woody ending, it is easy to see why this tea is called Cha Huang.