• Registered: 2009-02-15
  • Posts: 32

Topic: Cake Recipe History

I'm curious, as to  far back the puerh cake recipe system extends.  Such as what years are associated with the first recipes?

This leads into the question of whether there are actual recipe numbers for the Red Mark, Yellow Mark, Blue Mark, etc...

Or are they considered their own unique entity, and there are usually just imitation cakes of those famous ones in history?

I'm asking as I have seen remakes of those cakes occasionally with a recipe number and occasionally without, yet I believe I've found different recipe numbers for the remake of the same "mark".

  • From: Los Angeles, CA
  • Registered: 2008-10-29
  • Posts: 284

Re: Cake Recipe History

I'm sure someone else may have a more informed or authoritative answer to when the trading codes came up (and I'll see if either of Chan Kam Pong's books have his take on it when I get home), but I think mid-70s? I don't believe the classic "masterpiece" vintage pu'ers have a trading code / recipe number. I don't remember seeing any recipes with a number before the early to mid 70s.

Also, keep in mind that the color of the 茶 alone on modern cakes doesn't indicate much about the recipe or even (in most cases) whether it's sheng or shu, e.g.., there are cakes with a yellow mark which are not remakes of the classic "yellow mark". What remakes of classic (non-recipe) cakes have you seen that have trading codes?

  • Registered: 2009-02-15
  • Posts: 32

Re: Cake Recipe History

I knew there were yellow marked cakes that are not "recreations" of say the famous yellow mark... but at the same time I think I found a few claiming to be remakes of the famous yellow mark, that had a recipe number attached.

Part of why I ask is I ordered a sample from Hou De labled "Chun Cha Huan-Yin " that has a recipe number attached (7432).  Though I don't know the fact that it says yellow mark means it is a recreation of the yellow mark, I just guessed as much.

But I have heard in research about "yellow marks" that are a mix of shu and sheng.

But mid 70's makes sense as I never recall seeing a recipe number that started with a 6.

  • From: Los Angeles, CA
  • Registered: 2008-10-29
  • Posts: 284

Re: Cake Recipe History

There are yellow marks that are entirely shu. I am just guessing, but I would imagine that Hou De just means it's a zhongcha brand cake with a yellow 'cha' rather than that it's a re-creation of the masterpiece era huang yin.