Three Classic 7572 Ripe Puer Blends now on White 2 Tea. The ripe puer tea 7572 is a staple blend that has been around since some of the first ripe puer teas were produced. If you are unfamiliar with the blend, you might be asking, "what does 7572 mean?" The first two digits of the code stand for the year 1975, when the blend was first produced by Menghai tea factory. The third digit 7 is the "lowest" grade of leaf used in the blend. The grading system of tea leaves is from 0 to 9 (or sometimes from 1 to 9 depending on the factory) with the smaller numbers indicating a smaller leaf size and the larger number indicating a larger leaf size. If this number is 7, it means that the largest leaf used in the blend was grade 7, and the blend will usually have at least 3 other leaf grades of higher grade mixed in the blend. The last digit in 7572, the 2, represents Menghai Tea Factory. Each factory has its own call number, such as Xiaguan factory which is number 3. When stocking 7572 we decided to avoid Menghai tea factory productions due to their comparatively higher cost. Instead we offer three tiers of well priced 7572, one young, one aged from a well-known factory, and one aged from an unknown factory. They are all the same style and blend, but when compared side by side their characteristics of age and storage draw compelling contrasts from the teas. A quick introduction in order of price from least to most expensive. The 2013 7572 is from Fei Tai (FT). FeiTai Group is name that many puer drinkers recognize from their productions with Xiaguan tea factory. This ripe puer tea is very young and will have some remaining duiwei [pile flavor] in the first couple of steeps, more information about pile flavor can be found here. The second 7572 is a Zhongcha CNNP Tiepai green label from 2002. If we had more information about the where and who of this production, we would tell you. For the price, it is an excellent ripe tea with over a decade of age and a touch of humidity. The third 7572 is Kunming Factory from 2001. This was produced as a commission during the closure of Kunming tea factory. A bargain when compared to a Menghai production from the same era.