In the “world” of Pu'er Tea, 8582 is like a reclusive master with unparalleled skills—his name is well-known, yet few have seen his true form. But whenever he appears, he commands attention, and those in the know can recognize him at first glance, thanks to his unique mark—the “purple Heaven.”
Both 8582 and its sibling 8592 were born in 1985. Among Yunnan Seven Sons cakes, they stand out. While both hail from Menghai Tea Factory, they are exclusively custom-made for a Hong Kong-based trader—Nantian Trading Company. Because the purple “Heaven” character was stamped on their wrapping paper, a practice unprecedented at the time, these teas are commonly known as “Purple Heaven Cakes.”
The Purple Heaven Cakes now sell for over 100,000 RMB per Cake, and various accounts related to them abound, often leaving people unsure of what to believe. Recently, our editorial team interviewed Chang Jinqiang, the former manager of the Specialized Tea Department at Yunnan Provincial Tea Import and Export Corporation, who witnessed the birth and export of 8582 and 8592 to Hong Kong. He shared stories about the legendary history of these Purple Heaven Cakes.
The Beginnings and Endings of 8582/8592
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The birth of the Purple Heaven Cakes 8582/8592 is closely tied to Nantian Trading Company. Founded by Mr. Zhou Cong, whose ancestral home is in Tengchong, Yunnan, he moved to Hong Kong before the founding of the People's Republic of China and later established Nantian Trading Company. In the late 1970s, influenced by his father, Mr. Zhou returned to Yunnan to do business and began to venture into the Pu'er tea industry.
In 1979, under the coordination of the Yunnan Foreign Trade Bureau, Mr. Zhou visited Menghai Tea Factory and worked with the then-manager, Zou Bingliang, to improve the fermentation techniques of Pu'er tea. Mr. Zhou shared the taste and quality preferences of the Hong Kong market with Menghai Tea Factory, leading to continuous improvements in fermentation techniques—a first for that era. Even today, Manager Zou Bingliang speaks highly of Nantian Company's contributions to Yunnan Pu'er tea. Initially, Nantian Company only dealt in loose tea, which was mainly supplied to restaurants and consumed quickly. Menghai Tea Factory's grades 7, 8, 9, and 10 loose teas, along with all the grade-outer teas produced by other Yunnanese tea factories, were all purchased by Nantian Company, quickly expanding its business across Hong Kong.
At the time, the main Pu'er cakes exported to Hong Kong were 7542 and 7572, but Nantian Company did not want these. By 1984, responding to demand from the Hong Kong market, Nantian Trading Company requested a custom batch of cakes and came to Yunnan to personally select ingredients and formulate recipes. Chang Jinqiang, commissioned by Yunnan Provincial Tea Corporation, brought Mr. Zhou back to Menghai Tea Factory, where they worked with Manager Zou Bingliang to study how to blend this custom tea. After repeated trials and evaluations, they finally determined the formula, which was designated as 8582, with the 85 representing the 1985 recipe, the 8 indicating a composite grade 8 material, and the 2 signifying production by Menghai Tea Factory. A concurrently formulated ripe cake, 8592, used even coarser materials.
1. In 1988, Chang Jinqiang (left) accompanied Hong Kong tea merchant Mr. Zhou Cong (middle) and former Menghai Tea Factory manager Zou Bingliang (right) to inspect the quality of the Purple Heaven Cakes.
2. In 1979, Mr. Zhou Cong traveled to Yunnan to negotiate Pu'er tea business. From left to right: Zou Jiaju, former General Manager Song Wengeng of Yunnan Tea Import and Export Corporation, former Supply and Dispatch Department Director Ao Qifu, and Mr. Zhou Cong.
3. In 1994, Chang Jinqiang had dinner with the entire family of Mr. Zhou Cong of Nantian Trading Company in Hong Kong.
4. In 1993, Zhou Cong, Zou Bingliang, and Chang Jinqiang took a photo at Menghai Tea Factory.
Photos provided by: Chang Jinqiang
Initially, the production volume of these two teas was not high, with around 30 tons of 8582 (green cake) and approximately 40 tons of 8592 (ripe cake). At the time, the export price of 7542 to Hong Kong was 18 Hong Kong dollars per kilogram, while 8582, using coarser materials than 7542, was priced at 16.8 Hong Kong dollars per kilogram. However, precisely due to the use of coarser materials, 8582 and 8592 had rich flavors and potent qi, and their affordability made them very popular in the Hong Kong market. Market demand gradually increased, and the production of 8582 and 8592 rose year after year. In one peak year, a total of 300 tons of both cakes were exported, plus over 1,000 tons of loose tea annually, making Nantian Trading Company the number one player in the Hong Kong Pu'er tea market.
Despite their popularity, it was challenging to distinguish between different numbered teas because all the export cakes' outer packaging was marked with “Yunnan Provincial Branch of China National Native Produce & Animal By-Products Import and Export Corporation,” and the export numbers were not printed on the outer wrapping paper. In 1988, Mr. Zhou specifically traveled to Yunnan to discuss this issue. Both parties eventually decided to stamp all goods of Nantian Trading Company with a purple “Heaven” character, not just 8582 and 8592, but also the outer packaging of loose tea. Contrary to popular belief, the Purple Heaven stamp was not exclusive to 8592.
In 1996, the quota system for tea exports to Hong Kong was abolished, allowing many Hong Kong tea merchants to purchase tea directly from Yunnan. This disrupted the traditional supply chain of Pu'er tea in Hong Kong, and Nantian Trading Company's advantages faded, leading to a decline.
Due to Mr. Zhou's poor health, his wife took over the Pu'er tea business for a while. However, after 1996, when Chang Jinqiang transferred to the Tuocha Department and no longer handled Pu'er tea business, their long-standing cooperative relationship ended. Mrs. Zhou had to find other tea factories to supply her needs but only persisted for two years before giving up. By 1998, Nantian Trading Company was virtually out of business.
The Recluse Purple Heaven Cake in the World of Tea
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Mr. Zhou Cong passed away at the end of 2004 without witnessing the full revival of Pu'er tea on the mainland. Could he have foreseen that just a few years after his passing, the Pu'er tea craze would sweep from Hong Kong and Taiwan into the mainland and eventually across the country? The 8582 that he once sold for over ten Hong Kong dollars per piece became a sought-after aged Pu'er tea in the market, with prices