Kunming 7581 brick

[aKnightWhoSaysNi]

So I've heard nothing but great things about the 7581 brick. I've searched for it and have found many vendors that carry it, and so far the best one I've found is at Yunnan Sourcing. It's a 2002 brick. Is it true that there is a little bit of sheng mixed in with the 7581 brick? Anyway, I'm going to buy this brick from Yunnan sourcing UNLESS any of you just happen to know where I can find one that's older than 2002 and is reasonably priced.

http://cgi.ebay.com/2002-CNNP-7581-Ripe ... 1|294%3A30

[shogun89]

This is a great tea! I have one from 2003 and love it. Good material, always get a great feeling when I drink it (cha qi). I am not sure about the mix question, however I do believe that it is a mix. Older than that, I dont know. But Puerhshop has some newer ones.

[thanks]

It is a mix of sheng and shu. The cha qi is usually very strong in the older examples, and not always in a pleasant way either.

[oldmanteapot]

So I've heard nothing but great things about the 7581 brick. I've searched for it and have found many vendors that carry it, and so far the best one I've found is at Yunnan Sourcing. It's a 2002 brick. Is it true that there is a little bit of sheng mixed in with the 7581 brick? Anyway, I'm going to buy this brick from Yunnan sourcing UNLESS any of you just happen to know where I can find one that's older than 2002 and is reasonably priced.

http://cgi.ebay.com/2002-CNNP-7581-Ripe ... 1|294%3A30

You can also find a rather interesting review done by Jedi. It's an 80s 7851.

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=9994

Cheers!!

[Jedi]

From my limited experience with this recipe, it would seem that it only gets better with age.

I've had recent 7581, and when put up against my '80s example, there is a consistent character that is only intensified with age.

[hop_goblin]

The 7581 is a standard but an all time favorite. I have a few bricks ranging between 10 and 2 years old. And, to be blunt, there isn't any advantage in aging the 7581 more than 5 years. As for having 'sheng' mixed in. This is a new one by me. I never see sheng or young leaves interwined with shu when I purchase a newer brick, nor have I ever ran across any information stating this. In fact, what makes 7581 well known if not famous is that it was the first commericalized offering of shu.

[aKnightWhoSaysNi]

Thanks for all the input! I did see a 90s 7581 on dragon tea house that I was thinking about getting, but since hop is telling me that anything over 5 years is gravy, I think I'll get the 02 brick and save a little money.

[shogun89]

Even that price is high. I paid $9 for my 2003 brick about a year ago.

[thanks]

The 7581 is a standard but an all time favorite. I have a few bricks ranging between 10 and 2 years old. And, to be blunt, there isn't any advantage in aging the 7581 more than 5 years. As for having 'sheng' mixed in. This is a new one by me. I never see sheng or young leaves interwined with shu when I purchase a newer brick, nor have I ever ran across any information stating this. In fact, what makes 7581 well known if not famous is that it was the first commericalized offering of shu.

My information has come from vendors, who state the mix is 70% shu, and 30% sheng. Since the information has come from the vendors, I guess it should be taken with a grain of salt, but I have no reason to doubt something being a mixture. Had they said "70% Yiwu Wild Arbor, 30% Lao Banzhang" then I'd be completely skeptical.

[Jedi]

[quote="hop_goblin"]The 7581 is a standard but an all time favorite. I have a few bricks ranging between 10 and 2 years old. And, to be blunt, there isn't any advantage in aging the 7581 more than 5 years. As for having 'sheng' mixed in. This is a new one by me. I never see sheng or young leaves interwined with shu when I purchase a newer brick, nor have I ever ran across any information stating this. In fact, what makes 7581 well known if not famous is that it was the first commericalized offering of shu.[/quote]

hop,

there is a definite difference in the aged 7581 in my possession. Flavours are intensified and smoothness is definitely enhanced. The differences are not as vivid as with sheng of course, but enough to discern between an average shu and a good shu.

[hop_goblin]

The 7581 is a standard but an all time favorite. I have a few bricks ranging between 10 and 2 years old. And, to be blunt, there isn't any advantage in aging the 7581 more than 5 years. As for having 'sheng' mixed in. This is a new one by me. I never see sheng or young leaves interwined with shu when I purchase a newer brick, nor have I ever ran across any information stating this. In fact, what makes 7581 well known if not famous is that it was the first commericalized offering of shu.

hop,

there is a definite difference in the aged 7581 in my possession. Flavours are intensified and smoothness is definitely enhanced. The differences are not as vivid as with sheng of course, but enough to discern between an average shu and a good shu.

I think you misunderstood me. Certainly after aging for 5 years shu will mellow out, but due to the wodui process, shu after five years when compared to other older examples shows very little difference. In fact, some 12 year old stock that I have seems a bit airy now. Shu does not slowly ferment like sheng, as it is already fully fermented in the pu sense. What aging shu IMHO does is nothing more than providing an airing out process.

[brandon]

1998 7581 from Jing Tea Shop. Sold as mixed sheng and shu. Decide for yourselves.

I tried to open up a few large leaves, but it is somewhat old and they tear easily.

[Jedi]

Hop,

Yes, I totally agree about the airing out, but once again, this is dependent on the storage conditions. The most airing benefit, IMHO, comes from the breaking up of the beeng or chuan.

Aging a good, well-made shu also tends to make it stronger while brewing, with aged teas tending to run for far more than usual. Just last night, we were drinking an '80s shu Iron Beeng which seemed to go forever.

[oldmanteapot]

The 7581 is a standard but an all time favorite. I have a few bricks ranging between 10 and 2 years old. And, to be blunt, there isn't any advantage in aging the 7581 more than 5 years. As for having 'sheng' mixed in. This is a new one by me. I never see sheng or young leaves interwined with shu when I purchase a newer brick, nor have I ever ran across any information stating this. In fact, what makes 7581 well known if not famous is that it was the first commericalized offering of shu.

hop,

there is a definite difference in the aged 7581 in my possession. Flavours are intensified and smoothness is definitely enhanced. The differences are not as vivid as with sheng of course, but enough to discern between an average shu and a good shu.

Hi Hop, Jedi-san...

Yes. I do agree with Jedi's observation on this. It could probably be due to storage conditions as the brick 80s 7851 brick has been stored in Malaysia for a very long time.

There definitely is a difference between a 5 years, 10 years and 20 years 7851. We do have 80s shu which displays strong flavours and event aroma which can be discribed as medicinal. But most of them have been stored in SE Asia region for many years.

As for aging a newly acquired 7851, that is another discussion all together. To what I've gathered, tea harvested from the 80s and newly harvested leaves are totally different in quality. The surrounding environment back then is also different. Hence, an 28 yearold 80s 7851 will never be the same as a 28 yearold 02 7851 19 years down the road. Would it turn out to be better or worst, we will just have to wait and see....

Wouldn't it be interesting when we revive this topic 19 years down the road?? with all our white hair streaking from our heads... wrinkled skin... hhmm... that would definitely be interesting. Fordging friendship over a cup of tea that would last the test of time.....

Cheers!!