7572: The Benchmark for Ripe Tea
For many people, the first ripe pu'er they compare others against is a cake of 7572. It's not the most tender, nor the most heavily fermented. It sits right in the middle, which is why it's considered "the textbook answer for ripe tea."
What Is 7572?
By the usual reading of recipe codes:
| Digits | Number | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1st–2nd | 75 | A 1975 recipe |
| 3rd | 7 | Mainly grade 7 material |
| 4th | 2 | Menghai Tea Factory |
The Dayi Group's published chronology says artificial wet-pile fermentation of ripe tea was proven successful in 1973, and in 1975 it produced the 7542 raw cake and 7572 ripe cake, which became industry benchmarks. In other words, 7572 appeared just two years after ripe tea processing was born, making it one of the earliest standard ripe pu'er products. For the origins of ripe tea, read The Birth of Ripe Tea Processing and Wodui: Where Ripe Pu'er Comes From.
It usually comes as a 357-gram qizi bing, and in recent years there have been versions in other sizes too. As with other codes, 7572 is a recipe code, not a production year; check the date or batch number on the package for the actual year. For an overview of the classic recipe codes, see 7542, 8582, 7572: The Stories Behind Pu'er's Classic Recipes.
Why It's the Ripe Tea Benchmark
- Early history: Menghai Tea Factory had only a few qizi bing products in the 1970s, and 7572 was the ripe cake among them. It has been produced continuously for decades since.
- Middle-of-the-road material: grade 7 material is neither especially tender nor coarse, with both buds and mature leaves, giving a taste with both sweet smoothness and body.
- Stable style: blending plus a consistent fermentation direction keeps differences between years small, which makes it a good baseline for comparison.
- Easy to find: high output and wide distribution make it easy to get hold of when you want to get to know ripe pu'er.
Dayi groups 7572 with 7542, 8582, 8592, and 7262 as the "five classic recipes."
What Does 7572 Taste Like?
The general impression is:
- Liquor: deep red and bright, glowing when held up to the light in a white porcelain cup.
- Aroma: ripe, jujube, and woody notes; young tea may carry a little "pile taste" from wodui.
- Taste: mellow and sweet, with some body, neither too thick nor too thin.
- Spent leaf: reddish brown, with buds and leaves, springy when pressed.
Freshly released 7572 has a more noticeable pile taste. Kept somewhere clean and ventilated for 1–2 years, the pile taste fades and the liquor becomes cleaner and smoother. For whether ripe tea is worth waiting on, read Should Ripe Tea Be Aged?
7572, 7262, and 8592 Compared
All three are classic Menghai ripe recipes, differing mainly in material grade and fermentation level:
| 7262 | 7572 | 8592 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Material (by 3rd digit) | Mainly grade 6, on the fine side | Mainly grade 7, middle | Mainly grade 9, on the sturdy side |
| Recipe year | First two digits don't indicate a year; generally thought to have appeared in the 1990s | 1975 | 1985 |
| General impression | Silky liquor, bright sweetness | Mellow and sweet, balanced | Heavier fermentation, dark liquor, full mouthfeel |
An easy way to remember: 7262 is finer, 7572 is in the middle, 8592 is heavier. Which tastes best depends on whether you prefer refinement or body. Each is covered in detail in 7262: A More Tender Ripe Tea and 8592: A More Heavily Fermented Ripe Recipe, and the differences between fermentation levels in Fermentation Levels in Ripe Pu'er.
How to Brew 7572
- Gaiwan: 7–8 grams in 110 ml, boiling water at 100°C, rinse once, and steep the first few infusions 10–15 seconds.
- Large mug or thermos: 3–5 grams in 500 ml, steep in boiling water for 2–3 minutes, then strain out the leaves.
- Boiling: 7572 aged a few years is great for boiling. Use 5–8 grams in 1,000 ml of water and simmer for 3–5 minutes.
More details are in How to Brew Ripe Tea and Boiling Pu'er.
Using 7572 to Get to Know Ripe Pu'er
- Start with 7572 to form an impression of "roughly what ripe pu'er is like."
- Then drink a more tender ripe tea (such as 7262 or a high-grade loose tea) to feel a more refined liquor.
- Finally, drink a more heavily fermented one (such as 8592) to feel the body and aged aroma.
Line up all three and you'll see the spectrum of ripe pu'er clearly.
7572 from Different Years
Even within 7572, material sources and the details of wodui have been adjusted over the years, and each cake has its own storage history, so no two taste exactly alike. Older 7572 that has been stored a long time shows more aged and woody notes; recent 7572 is cleaner and loses its pile taste quickly. Tea drinkers often collect different years and compare them side by side, which is one of the pleasures of pu'er.
FAQ
Is 7572 raw or ripe? Ripe. 7542, which started the same year, is raw.
Is 7572 good for ripe pu'er beginners? Many people use it as their entry-level reference for ripe pu'er because its style is middle-of-the-road and it's easy to find. After trying it, explore more tender or heavier styles to find what you like.
New 7572 has a certain smell. Is that normal? New ripe tea often carries a pile taste left from wodui. Keeping it somewhere clean and ventilated for 1–2 years, or rinsing an extra time when brewing, usually reduces it a lot.
Was 7572 made in 1975? No. 75 is the year the recipe started; check the date or batch number on the package for the actual production year.