Classic Recipe: 7542

A genuine recent-production 7542 shows a bright yellow-gold liquor, a floral-to-hay aroma, and a bitterness that is present but converts cleanly into a returning sweetness rather than sitting flat on the tongue. Because it is a blend rather than a single-mountain tea, do not expect dramatic terroir character: consistency across the cake is the point, and some batch-to-batch variation is part of the recipe's story. First-batch productions of a given year use higher-grade material and are sought after, while later batches of the same year can be coarser. Counterfeits and relabeled lesser cakes are common given the recipe's fame, so the wrapper alone proves nothing. The thing to taste for is balance and a clean conversion, not raw power.

7542 is made at the Menghai Tea Factory (Dayi, also branded Taetea) in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna, from a blend of Yunnan large-leaf (assamica) material rather than a single garden. The recipe code is a production blueprint, not an origin: 75 marks the recipe formula from the mid-1970s, 4 the average leaf grade in the blend, and 2 the factory. Because the blend is assembled to a target profile each year, the same 7542 can draw on material from different areas while aiming for a recognizable house character. That standardization is exactly what made it a reference point: a drinker anywhere can use it as a fixed yardstick for what young sheng tastes like.

Gongfu: 6-8 g per 100 ml in a porcelain gaiwan, 95-100°C, one brief rinse, then flash steeps of 5-10 seconds early extending gradually as the session goes on; young 7542 can be bracing, so short steeps keep the bitterness in check while it converts. Expect 10-12 infusions from a good cake. Western: about 3 g per 200 ml, 90-95°C, 2-3 minutes for the first steep, re-steeping two or three times; a lighter hand with leaf and time suits the bitterness if you are not brewing gongfu.

Recent-year Dayi 7542 is mid-priced as far as cakes go, roughly €10-20 (about $11-22) per 100 g for standard batches, with first-batch productions and well-known years commanding more. Older and famous-vintage 7542 climbs steeply, into collector territory.

Prices reviewed June 2026

7542 is one of the most popular cakes to buy young and age at home; stable dry storage (Kunming-style, moderate humidity, no strong odors) is the standard approach, and the recipe's bitterness transforms into depth reliably over years. Many drinkers buy a tong to drink one cake now and track how the rest evolve.

Aged 7542 from documented production years carries premiums that rise sharply with age and provenance; certain 1980s and 1990s batches are among the most traded aged sheng on the secondary market, with authentication difficulty rising as the claimed age and price increase. For most drinkers, a recent-year cake bought to drink and to age yourself is the sensible way in.