7542 fake or not?

[Maxwell2079]

Hi guys, I have recently purchased this "7542" and it was quite cheap.

That's why I don't think it's original. But I wanted to give it a try anyway.
I haven't get to a conclusion since in my first session I had a cold.

I haven't seen this wrapper for a 7542 to be honest.
Although I have tried some Dayi teas this is my first 7542. Today I'll try it again to see if it tastes at least like Dayi or not...

The seal shows it's 2005 but at the back shows it's 2004. ...

I give you the link for all the pictures I've taken so far:





























Note: The tea tastes weird. So fake or not this is the reason. The tea was for sale in a supermarket. So, It must've sucked in some smell.

[SilentChaos]

The 2004 date is for the healty/hygiene permit, and that wrapper is for a special edition 7542 - "A trip to Tibet of Tea-horse Merchants Commemoratibve Raw Tea Cake".

I'm not familiar with 7542s that new so I don't know what that cake should look like.

[Maxwell2079]

Thanks for the info!!

[mr mopu]

Where did you chance across this at? I would look this one up myself if it was close enough.

[Maxwell2079]

It is in a supermarket located in Argentina!

Too bad that the tea taste so weird otherwise I would buy all the cakes at the current price...

[TuoChaTea]

A supermarket in Argentina selling 13 years old 7542?? Wow!

[Drax]

I remember a story or two of similar problems with old grocery-bought pu'erh. Very sad to hear, though!

It makes me wonder about similar teas in pharmacies/general purpose stores (thinking particularly of places like Singapore), whether they have the same issue....

[kyarazen]

I remember a story or two of similar problems with old grocery-bought pu'erh. Very sad to hear, though!

It makes me wonder about similar teas in pharmacies/general purpose stores (thinking particularly of places like Singapore), whether they have the same issue....

grocery stores here dont sell tea cakes for sure..

[Maxwell2079]

A supermarket in Argentina selling 13 years old 7542?? Wow!

Yep, is not common though. In fact this is the first time I found tea cakes in China Town here. Only one store had it. They even had the shou version of this one.

I remember a story or two of similar problems with old grocery-bought pu'erh. Very sad to hear, though!

Very sad indeed, I thought I had a golden chance to buy many cakes at a good price...

Besides in Argentina the government is not allowing to import goods of any kind now. Only 2 purchases a year are permitted. And with a 85% of taxes + currency devaluation buying tea is getting difficult. Luckily I have puerh for many years and some taiwanese oolong fro tea masters, not much from China. I can get some cheap teas in china town at least... However all my cakes are mostly for storing and trying every now and then to check progress but not to drink...

[MarshalN]

This is not 13 years old, this is 8 years old.

I have a tea with this packaging. It could be real, although your cake has really messed up edges, so it's harder to tell. My neifei is also of a different colour than yours. 2005 and thereabouts was really messy for Dayi - lots of fakes and they haven't yet implemented any of the anti-fake techniques yet.

Since it doesn't taste good with the funny smell anyway, it doesn't matter if it's real or fake.

[Maxwell2079]

.

It could be real, although your cake has really messed up edges, so it's harder to tell. My neifei is also of a different colour than yours. 2005 and thereabouts was really messy for Dayi - lots of fakes and they haven't yet implemented any of the anti-fake techniques yet.

By anti-fake technique you refer to the sticker with hologram or something else?

. Since it doesn't taste good with the funny smell anyway, it doesn't matter if it's real or fake.

Yes, a real pity indeed.

[MarshalN]

Yeah, all that jazz

[ole]

Sorry for sidetracking a bit, but regarding the unpleasant odors, I read a tip here. Has anyone tried it?

To repair a tea, simply place it outside in a shady place on a mild day for a few days or longer if necessary. If it is badly affected, break it up into small pieces. This technique does not always work but is often successful at removing unwanted odours.

It might be worth to try, if nothing else, just with a small piece of the cake.

[Maxwell2079]

Sorry for sidetracking a bit, but regarding the unpleasant odors, I read a tip here. Has anyone tried it?

To repair a tea, simply place it outside in a shady place on a mild day for a few days or longer if necessary. If it is badly affected, break it up into small pieces. This technique does not always work but is often successful at removing unwanted odours.

It might be worth to try, if nothing else, just with a small piece of the cake.

Who knows, I don't have much else to loose anyway. Thanks for trying to help. Maybe the most knowledgeable had an experience with this and can let us know if they had tried something like this to remove odours.

Take care.

[Drax]

I wish there were a better answer, but it depends on the odor. Some odors are more pervasive than others.

We also had a story previously of somebody who had stored a tea with a strong spice (I believe it was cloves). There was likely no amount of airing out that was going to rescue that particular tea...