7581 Shu Pu 1998

I have never got excited by Shu and not even by aged Shu Pu. Until I have tasted this one. I always thought, heard or read that aging of shu is not much of use.

It was made in Kunming Tea Factory (aka CNNP).  75 means the year they started to use this recipe, the 8 means the grade of tea leaves are larger and older and with some stems, the 1 refers to the factory code which is CNNP, 2 is former Meghai and 3 is Xiaguan factory. Searching internet I see that the 7581 recipe is pretty well know.

The first gulp of the tea is gone, really fine taste, excellent shu

without anything disturbing, stabilized taste. Woody, old taste, also the cognac barrique taste a bit, good aging. Creamy and rich.

I like the aroma of this tea, very similar to its taste,  many times people ask me to sell them strong smelling, old dungy, cellar odour, mouldy shu puerh and I have to tell them that I don't have such. Such was my first puerh. This one comes from the other side of the shu puerh range. 


The third brew is very refined, stable and strong, in terms of all the good tastes are very sharp and clear. The cup aroma is even fruity, never had this with Shu.  The aftertaste is like shu with sheng, sheng made of gushu almost. I have read that the 2002 version is mix of shu and sheng.

 

The fourth brew is a bit fading away, the mighty thickness is

weakened but still a good drink. Drinking the fifth which is far away from the first brew but it is still good, very tasty, more like aged sheng with a hint of shu. In overall I like this Shu, I will drink it again, excellent companion for the mornings when one is not feeling for heavy and young sheng.

I had this tea again a week later and let it in the teapot and brew it about 20 hours later and it still taste well. A fine, melow, oldish, sweety, nutty, aging shu.