Da Yi Tea (大益茶) is the trade name of Yunnan Menghai Tea Industry, successor to the historic Menghai Tea Factory founded in 1940 in Menghai County, Yunnan Province — the most prestigious and commercially significant pu-erh producer in China, responsible for the 7542 sheng pu-erh raw cake, widely regarded as the benchmark standard for Yunnan large-leaf sheng pu-erh and one of the most studied pu-erh productions in the world. The factory was established in 1940, later integrated into the CNNP state enterprise system as Factory Two during the planned economy era, and produced the standardised numbered-recipe pu-erh productions that became the formative reference products for the modern pu-erh collector market — teas aged for 20–50 years in Hong Kong storage that now trade at prices far beyond ordinary tea commodities. Da Yi was privatised in 2004 when a management group acquired the factory from the state, launching the Da Yi consumer brand that rapidly became the dominant pu-erh brand in the reform-era Chinese market.

In-Depth Explanation

Da Yi’s significance operates on two levels simultaneously: as a commercial producer of widely consumed mainstream pu-erh teas, and as the custodian of numbered-recipe productions (7542, 8582, 7572) that form the historical bedrock of pu-erh connoisseurship.

The 7542: The Benchmark Sheng Pu-erh

The 7542 (1975 recipe, grade 4 leaf, Menghai Factory) sheng pu-erh raw cake has achieved a status in pu-erh culture analogous to a first-growth Bordeaux in wine — it is the production against which others are compared, the entry point for serious pu-erh study, and the production with the most continuous documentation of how aging changes a pu-erh tea’s character over decades. Every year’s 7542 is different in specific ways (due to leaf selection, seasonal variation, storage conditions), creating a multi-vintage archive of a single recipe that serious collectors study as a system.

The 8582 and Other Classic Recipes

Alongside the 7542, Da Yi produces other classic CNNP-era recipes:

• 8582 (1985 recipe, grade 8 leaf — coarser leaves for potentially richer aged character, Menghai Factory): An alternative to the 7542 with a different leaf profile and aging trajectory, also a serious collector reference.
• 7572 (1975 recipe, grade 7 leaf, Menghai Factory shu pu-erh): The shu (cooked/ripe) pu-erh counterpart to the 7542, a benchmark for aged shu pu-erh.

Pu-erh as an Investment/Collector Category

Da Yi productions — particularly the 7542 and limited editions — trade in a formal secondary market. Tea shops in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and other cities quote prices for Da Yi productions like securities. New Da Yi releases are bought by speculators on the primary market and sold in secondary markets at premium prices if the production is limited or highly regarded. This financialisation of pu-erh — treating tea as a commodity with store-of-value characteristics — is concentrated around Da Yi productions, which have the most transparent market pricing and the most liquid secondary market.

The Da Yi Brand Today

The modern Da Yi brand produces a wide range: the classic numbered recipes in both sheng (raw) and shu (ripe/cooked) formats, limited edition productions, seasonal releases, and a range of accessible everyday pu-erh products for mainstream consumers. The brand is the dominant pu-erh brand in the Chinese domestic market and has significant international presence among pu-erh buyers globally.

History

• 1940: Menghai Tea Factory established in Menghai County, Yunnan, under the Republican government; initial tea processing and production.
• 1949–Reform era: Factory integrated into CNNP state system as Factory No. 2; numbered recipe code productions developed (7542, 8582, 7572); Hong Kong storage of CNNP era productions.
• 2004: Privatisation — management buyout; Yunnan Menghai Tea Industry Co., Ltd. formed; Da Yi brand launched.
• 2005–present: Da Yi rapidly becomes the dominant premium pu-erh brand; secondary market trading; annual 7542 productions; limited edition releases; global pu-erh distribution.

Social Media Sentiment

• Pu-erh collectors: Da Yi is the central reference point for the international pu-erh collecting community — the 7542 and other numbered recipes are discussed with the same vocabulary and rigour as fine wine vintages; forums, YouTube channels, and specialist retailers focus heavily on Da Yi.
• Investment community: Da Yi productions are quoted and traded in secondary markets; pu-erh as a commodity investment is almost entirely concentrated around Da Yi due to market liquidity.
• Chinese tea market: Da Yi is the prestige pu-erh brand in the Chinese mainstream consumer market — it appears in gift tea retail, tea shops, and hotel restaurants as the reference pu-erh brand.
• International specialty tea: Western specialty tea buyers who enter the pu-erh category almost invariably encounter Da Yi first; the numbered recipes provide accessible entry points for learning the pu-erh system.

Last updated: 2026-06

Related Terms

• Pu-erh Tea
• Sheng Pu-erh
• Shu Pu-erh
• Yunnan Tea
• Aged Pu-erh
• CNNP China Tea
• 7542 Pu-erh

See Also

• Sakubo – Japanese Study

Research

• Menghai Tea Factory founding (1940) and its CNNP planned economy era pu-erh productions.
  Summary: Documents the Menghai Tea Factory’s 1940 founding in Menghai County, Yunnan — the Republican-era establishment, the integration into the CNNP state enterprise system as Factory No. 2, and the planned economy era numbered recipe productions (7542, 8582, 7572) that became the formative reference products of the modern pu-erh collector market; the Hong Kong storage of CNNP era productions and the decades-long aging that has made these teas among the most sought-after aged pu-erh teas in the collector market at prices far beyond ordinary tea commodities.

• The 7542: benchmark sheng pu-erh and the recipe code system.
  Summary: Examines the 7542 as the benchmark standard for Yunnan large-leaf sheng pu-erh — the 1975 recipe, grade 4 leaf, Menghai Factory code decoding; the 7542’s status as the most studied pu-erh production, the standard against which others are measured, and the entry point for serious pu-erh learning; the multi-vintage archive quality of annual 7542 productions that serious collectors study as a system documenting how pu-erh aging changes tea character over decades; and the comparison to first-growth Bordeaux in the wine world.

• Da Yi privatisation (2004) and the development of the Da Yi brand.
  Summary: Covers the 2004 privatisation of the Menghai Tea Factory through a management buyout — the formation of Yunnan Menghai Tea Industry Co., Ltd. and the launch of the Da Yi consumer brand; the rapid establishment of Da Yi as the dominant premium pu-erh brand in the reform-era Chinese tea market; the modern Da Yi product range spanning classic numbered recipes (7542, 8582, 7572), limited edition productions, seasonal releases, and accessible everyday pu-erh; and Da Yi’s dominant position in both the domestic Chinese market and international pu-erh specialty retail.

• Pu-erh as a collector and investment commodity: the Da Yi secondary market.
  Summary: Examines the financialisation of pu-erh tea centred around Da Yi productions — the formal secondary market where Da Yi productions are quoted and traded like securities in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and other cities; speculative primary market purchasing of new Da Yi releases for secondary market resale; the characteristics that make Da Yi the centre of pu-erh market liquidity (brand recognition, numbered recipe standardisation, transparent market pricing); and the broader cultural phenomenon of treating aged pu-erh as a store of value commodity with investment characteristics.