cooked is overrated

[chrl42]

7572 is a 'blend' of shu and sheng... 70:30

Heh..looks like you are right

This quote interests me

7572, 8582 etc..very first number indicates 'Sheng', also includes Sheng-like Half-Sheng Half-Shou which is 3-min cooking. 8 indicates 'Shou' that is shorter than 3-min cooked
Second number indicates factory,
1. somethin-
2. CNNP 1st factory
3. CNNP 2nd factory
4. Menghai 1st
5. Menghai 2nd
6. Xiaguan
7. Kunming
8. Export
Third one indicates the method of making, 4 is sun-drying, 3 and 8 are speed-fermenting, 7 is moisture sun-dring, 9 means sun-dried Mao Cha
Last number is, 1 brick, 2 bing 3 tuo and loose-leaf is 5-digit

I didn't know that until now..

[chrl42]

Kinda different from what we have heard, the reason is just like how Shou (aged) changed as Shou (speed-fermented), confusing started from Taiwan.

For example,
*8892 (2 as Menghai) is not from Menghai but from CNNP
*8582 (known as Sheng), while crossing via Vietnam to Taiwan, Taiwanese changed the number not to be busted at border passing off as 'Shou', so some people still call it 7582
*8592 (Shou), 8352 (Shou, from CNNP), 7472 (Sheng) etc..

*7532 is not from '75 (from '82), 7432 is not from '74 (from '73)
8582 is from '76, 8352 is from '94

[beachape]

I like the young cheap shu. Cheap, full body, with some kick. Also works as a spare Frisbee if you're in a pinch.

[Schwitters]

The four digits in the trading codes mean the following:

The first two digits = the year the recipe was invented.

The third digit = the tea leaf grade used in the recipe.

The fourth digit = the tea factory that produced the tea.

1 = Kunming
2 = Menghai
3 = Xiaguan

[zhi zheng]

If you'd been in our street the other day you might never drink shou again. The shop opposite us had a burst water pipe in the night which flooded the shop and, since not all of the tea was off the ground, a lot of it got wet. So they put it all outside on the street to dry it out - some sheng but mostly shou. The smell was... well, if you've been in a factory where they're pile fermenting you know.

They're going to re-wrap it ....('and nobody will know the difference')

[NOESIS]

Not a fan of shu. Although pricey, older sheng for me....or occasionally a young sheng, for the jolt it delivers.

[hop_goblin]

If you'd been in our street the other day you might never drink shou again. The shop opposite us had a burst water pipe in the night which flooded the shop and, since not all of the tea was off the ground, a lot of it got wet. So they put it all outside on the street to dry it out - some sheng but mostly shou. The smell was... well, if you've been in a factory where they're pile fermenting you know.

They're going to re-wrap it ....('and nobody will know the difference')

THAT IS CRAZY!! OMG!

[Drax]

If you'd been in our street the other day you might never drink shou again. The shop opposite us had a burst water pipe in the night which flooded the shop and, since not all of the tea was off the ground, a lot of it got wet. So they put it all outside on the street to dry it out - some sheng but mostly shou. The smell was... well, if you've been in a factory where they're pile fermenting you know.

They're going to re-wrap it ....('and nobody will know the difference')

THAT IS CRAZY!! OMG!

Wow... that's sort of like those stories you hear about used cars before it was harder to find the historical information, and people selling cars that had been through floods or other disasters.

I'm sure nobody will be able to tell the difference until they try to brew it. Then it'll be a "oh, this tastes wet-stored..."

[oldmanteapot]

If you'd been in our street the other day you might never drink shou again. The shop opposite us had a burst water pipe in the night which flooded the shop and, since not all of the tea was off the ground, a lot of it got wet. So they put it all outside on the street to dry it out - some sheng but mostly shou. The smell was... well, if you've been in a factory where they're pile fermenting you know.

They're going to re-wrap it ....('and nobody will know the difference')

THAT IS CRAZY!! OMG!

Wow... that's sort of like those stories you hear about used cars before it was harder to find the historical information, and people selling cars that had been through floods or other disasters.

I'm sure nobody will be able to tell the difference until they try to brew it. Then it'll be a "oh, this tastes wet-stored..."

LOL!!

[arghblech]

I enjoy the ripe stuff. It has it's place and sometimes I really crave it.

[TomVerlain]

FYI - from the Dayi website FAQ (google translated) - here is the explanation of numbering:

"Mark" for English "mark" transliteration. “唛号”亦称“唛头”，是广东方言音译而来，原意是“商标”、“牌子”。 "Mark number" also known as "logos" is a transliteration from the Guangdong dialect, our intention is "trade mark", "brand." 在茶叶贸易中特指用数字或数字辅以文字表示的茶叶名称。 In the tea trade, refers specifically to a number or numbers of tea accompanied by the name of the text that. 普洱茶的“唛号”，即以数字方式表示普洱茶的名称。 Pu'er tea "mark number", that is, digital means of expressing the name of the tea.
1976年，当时的云南省茶叶进出口公司基于出口需要规范了普洱茶唛号。 In 1976, Yunnan Tea Import and Export Corporation was based on the export of tea need to standardize the number mark. 饼茶用4位数，前两位为该款茶的最早开始生产的年份，第三位为此产品第几号配方，第4位为茶厂编号（昆明茶厂为1 ，勐海茶厂为2 ，下关茶厂为3 ，普洱茶厂为4 ）。 Tea Cake with 4-digit, first two of which began producing the first tea of the year, the third formula for this product the first few numbers, the first four for the tea factory number (Kunming Tea Factory is 1, Meng Hai Tea Factory 2, 3 Shimonoseki tea factory, tea factory as 4). 如7542 、 7562 、 7572等是勐海茶厂产品的编号。 Such as the 7542, 7562, 7572 and others are Menghai tea factory product number.

[debunix]

The problem I've had with the numbering system is figuring out which numbers on the ticket are the recipe, since the tickets may have several sets of numbers that have at least one group of four digits.

[wyardley]

The problem I've had with the numbering system is figuring out which numbers on the ticket are the recipe, since the tickets may have several sets of numbers that have at least one group of four digits.

Older cakes, as well as some newer ones, won't have the recipe at all (on the wrapper *or* ticket), except on the stack (tong) ticket. With modern Dayi cakes, the recipe should be on the front, and AFAICT, is usually the only 4 digit number... see here:

In this example, 7532 is the recipe # (recipe first created in 1975; leaf grade primarily grade 3 (though factory recipes usually have a blend of different size leaves, and some recipes may just have an arbitrary digit here), Menghai factory); 802 is the batch (meaning it was the second batch made in a year ending in 8; in this case, 2008, and 357克 means the cake is 357g)

Also, the first 4 digits will be a the last 2 digits of a year, generally in the upper 70s through the 90s, e.g., 7542, 9062, 8582, etc.

If you're talking about #s on the ticket itself, can you show an example?

[wyardley]

（昆明茶厂为1 ，勐海茶厂为2 ，下关茶厂为3 ，普洱茶厂为4 ）。 Tea Cake with 4-digit, first two of which began producing the first tea of the year, the third formula for this product the first few numbers, the first four for the tea factory number (Kunming Tea Factory is 1, Meng Hai Tea Factory 2, 3 Shimonoseki tea factory, tea factory as 4)

Like most auto-translated stuff, this is a little nonsensical... but anyway,
3 should be 'Xiaguan', not 'Shimonoseki'. 4 just reads 'Puer Tea Factory' in the original, but according to Mike Petro's site should refer to Feng Qing factory (http://www.pu-erh.net/factories.php)

I think there are already some good summaries of the recipe system that are already in English, e.g., Mike Petro's site, Wikipedia, and probably some old discussions here on Teachat.

[debunix]

The problem I've had with the numbering system is figuring out which numbers on the ticket are the recipe, since the tickets may have several sets of numbers that have at least one group of four digits.

If you're talking about #s on the ticket itself, can you show an example?

Here is one label, from the back of a beeng that was wrapped in an elaborate presentation box. There are numbers in abundance, but the one that has 4 isolated numerals starts with 10, which would be very odd for a tea purchased in '09:


Here is the front of the cake and the inner label, just in case you're interested:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/37 ... 660566348/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/debunix/37 ... 660566348/

And is this one an '06 recipe 92, or an '08 recipe 83?