The one The only The Amazing 8582

Posted on February 16, 2012

Hello and welcome I decided in honor of starting my blog and Essence of tea deciding to stock it again that I would brew the remaining bits of my Hong Kong stored 98 8582 sample. The 8582 is most likely my favorite of the recipe cakes. I seem to enjoy aged tea that has some coarse grade leaf it as the 7582 (sheng) from the 90′s is another of my favorites.

         As I am trying to get a decent picture of the dry leaf for your viewing pleasure I spilled about half of my sample in on my deck most of the leaf spilled was never to be seen again. I am left with only three grams of dried leaf. Never fear I have a remedy that will make the day even better. I dig through my box samples to find a suspicious looking zip-lock baggy filled with a substance that will assuredly make my day better. It is the loose 1985 8582 procured from The Mandarins Tea Room in NYC. Given that the 85 in 8582 stands for the year of its first production, this tea is about as official as it gets Meaning this tea is about as official as it gets.

 I take out three grams of the 85 and place it in my 75 ml yixing with the three grams of the 98. Given the difference of thirteen years The 98 still has some maturing to do but it has seen enough wet storage to be well on its way.

         The first infusion is very peaty. The second it begins to mellow and take on that classic 8582 flavor that sits on the roof of your mouth. The mouth feel is expansive sort of like chewing on a marshmallow. The third infusion I notice a little astringency popping its head up from the 98 which quickly disappears by the fourth. The Cha qi is excellent warming and radiating through the whole body both calming the body and focusing the mind.

I have found teas like the 85 8582 are more about the other sensations they provide than just the flavor. This tea is like a symphony flavors of camphor. wood, powder and peat dancing around your head. The feeling that resides in your throat is the surest sign of a quality tea and this has that. Every time I breathe out I feel the teas presence deep in my sinuses. A new dynamic was added mixing two teas of the same recipe with thirteen years between them. Making the brew more complex in feel and flavor yet still balanced. If I did not mix this myself I would not have thought this was a blend of two teas. I think this has opened the door to more experiments in blending.