Dayi and Menghai Tea Factory
Say "pu'er" and the first name many people think of is Dayi. Dayi is the brand; Menghai Tea Factory is the factory that makes the tea. Their relationship goes back to the late 1930s.
From Fohai to Menghai: Where the Factory Began
In 1938, Fan Hejun, who had studied in France, and Zhang Shicheng led more than 90 tea professionals from various places on a long journey to Fohai County (today's Menghai County) on Yunnan's southern border to set up a mechanized tea factory. The goal was to earn foreign exchange through tea exports during the war. Accounts of the factory's founding year differ: the Dayi Group's official website says the "Fohai Experimental Tea Factory" was founded in 1940; some media reports date its establishment to 1939; and a 2006 press release says it was "founded in 1938," referring to the year the team arrived and began setting it up. The three years mark different points in the same story.
In 1942 the factory was bombed, staff were evacuated, and production stopped. There are also two versions of when it was restored and renamed after the war: the Dayi website says it was repaired and renamed Menghai Tea Factory in 1951; another account says the factory was renamed only after Xishuangbanna Prefecture was established in 1953 and Fohai County became Menghai County. The full story of Fan Hejun and the Fohai Experimental Tea Factory is in Fan Hejun and the Fohai Experimental Tea Factory.
The State-Owned Era: Qizi Bing and Recipe Codes
During the planned-economy period, Menghai Tea Factory was a state-owned factory within the Yunnan provincial tea company system. Its products were exported under the Zhongcha brand and later as "Yunnan Qizi Bing Tea," and the word "Dayi" appeared nowhere on the packaging. This period left two legacies that shaped the entire pu'er world:
- Ripe tea processing: the Dayi website records that Menghai Tea Factory's trials of artificial wet piling succeeded in 1973. Kunming Tea Factory was experimenting at the same time, and people on both sides still claim their factory made ripe tea first. See The Birth of Ripe Tea Processing.
- Classic recipes: the Dayi website says the 7542 raw cake and 7572 ripe cake were launched in 1975, and the 8582 raw cake and 8592 ripe cake in 1985. Together with the 7262 ripe cake, they're known as the classic recipes. For how to read four-digit recipe codes, see 7542, 8582, 7572: The Stories Behind Pu'er's Classic Recipes.
The Dayi Trademark and Two Restructurings
There are a few versions of when the Dayi trademark came about, but they roughly agree:
- The Dayi website and 2006 news reports both say the "Dayi" trademark was registered in mainland China in 1989.
- Some pu'er books record that it was already in use in 1988 and formally registered in 1989.
- In 1996 the factory was incorporated as "Xishuangbanna Menghai Tea Industry Co., Ltd.," which is why some foreign-language sources say it was "restructured and adopted the Dayi logo in 1996." That was the corporatization of a state enterprise, not yet privatization.
Real privatization came in 2004. The Dayi website records 2004 as the year Menghai Tea Factory was fully restructured, and media reports note that a team led by Wu Yuanzhi took over. The Yunnan Dayi Tea Group was founded in 2007. From then on, Menghai Tea Factory became the group's core production plant, while "Dayi" is the public brand name, written TAETEA in English. When people say "Dayi tea" today, they mean tea made by Menghai Tea Factory and sold under the Dayi brand.
In 2008, Dayi's pu'er-making technique was added to the national list of intangible cultural heritage, and in 2011 it was recognized as a "China Time-Honored Brand."
Classic Products
Dayi's product range is long. The ones tea drinkers most often use as reference points are:
| Product | Raw/Ripe | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| 7542 | Raw | 1975 recipe, the yardstick for raw tea |
| 7572 | Ripe | 1975 recipe, the yardstick for ripe tea |
| 8582 | Raw | 1985 recipe, large leaves and plenty of stem |
| 8592 | Ripe | 1985 recipe, heavier fermentation |
| 7262 | Ripe | More tender material, silky liquor |
There are also mountain series and zodiac commemorative teas. Since the same recipe code is produced every year, check the batch number on the package for the year: for example, batch 1 of 2011 is often marked "101." See Batch Numbers for how to read them.
Why People Collect Dayi
Dayi's place among collectors comes from a few very practical factors:
- Stable recipes, produced every year: the same recipe code can be compared across years, which is ideal for observing aging.
- Wide circulation: high output and broad distribution make it easy to find market prices when buying or selling.
- Continuous history: from state-era qizi bing to today's batch numbers, there's a complete thread to follow.
Wide circulation also once made it a target for speculation; see The 2007 Price Bubble. The sensible approach is to buy teas you understand and amounts you can afford to store. See Collecting Basics.
How to Tell Genuine Dayi from Fakes
Famous brands attract imitations. A few useful habits:
- Buy from trustworthy channels: Dayi has authorized brand stores in many places and official online flagship stores. Secondhand or auction sources should be able to explain the tea's provenance and storage.
- Check recipe code, batch, and packaging against each other: the recipe code, batch number, production date, neifei, and cotton paper printing should all match. For packaging details of a given batch, compare with a genuine example from the same batch.
- Check anti-counterfeiting and traceability information: Dayi has used digital systems in recent years to manage and trace its products, and the anti-counterfeiting label on the package can be checked by following its instructions.
- Taste and examine the spent leaf: the leaf shape, color, and tenderness of the spent leaf should match the claimed recipe.
- Be wary of prices that are too low: when an older classic recipe is priced well below the market, ask about its source first.
For more ways to judge, see Common Pitfalls and How to Read a Pu'er Wrapper.
FAQ
Are Dayi and Menghai Tea Factory the same company? You can think of it this way: Menghai Tea Factory is the production plant and Dayi is the brand. Since 2007, both have belonged to the Yunnan Dayi Tea Group.
What year was Menghai Tea Factory founded? The Dayi website says 1940; there are also accounts giving 1939 and 1938, corresponding to the factory's establishment, its setup, and the team's arrival in Fohai.
When was the Dayi trademark registered? It's generally recorded as registered in mainland China in 1989, with some accounts saying it was first used in 1988.
Is Dayi a state-owned company today? It used to be the state-owned Menghai Tea Factory and was privatized in 2004.
What should I watch for when buying Dayi? Use trustworthy channels, check the recipe code, batch number, and packaging details against each other, and find out where a tea came from if its price is noticeably low.