This ripe brick is from the same company and warehouse as the 2004 Xiaguan 8653 I offer here and that I am very fond of. The 8653 is perhaps my favorite Hong Kong traditional storage tea at the moment. Similarly, this brick has seen light traditional storage, and there is no visible mold on the tea.
This brick is CNNP's popular 7581 recipe, which is a recipe I am very fond of indeed. I originally thought the wrappers were unmarked, but I'd forgotten to flip the brick over, so I didn't see the wrapper and 2006 hologram sticker!
These bricks are offered in '90s-style CNNP 7581 boxes, but with newer wrappers and holographic stickers inside. The fermentation level appears to be light for 7581. The tea is smooth and lightly sweet with an interesting hint of camphor and a hint of the sweet date/jujube you get from 7581 when dry stored the right way. This is a pleasant tea with good mouthfeel and it is easy on the guts. The leaves have a touch of humid storage aroma, both when dry and after the rinse, but this does not carry over into the cup at all. I am very fond of this style of light storage as it gives you the benefits of traditional storage (rapid aging and smoothing out) without visible mold and a total loss of character from the base material.
This is an economical choice for those who'd like to try the effects of light Hong Kong traditional storage on a 7581 brick. This is a clean, well made tea with good storage, and sold at a reasonable price. The compression is not excessive and the humid storage has made this an easy brick to break up.
Brewing instructions: place leaves in a preheated brewing vessel. Rinse twice with water just off the boil, for 10-20 seconds at a time, allowing a minute between rinses for the tea leaves to rehydrate. The length of infusions will depend on your taste and how much leaf you are using per 100ml. Experimentation is key, and ripe pu erh is very forgiving of a wide range of brewing styles. If your tea is too strong, just add more water!
Wholesale pricing is available on this tea if desired. Feel free to e-mail me at sales@tealifehk.com
