2003 Brown Changtai

This product ships directly from the teashop Taishunhe in Taiwan.

Single stamp with barcode version

TSH says:

Changtai's Benchmark Mid-Aged Tea: 2003 Zōng Chāngtài (Brown Changtai) – "88" Version

The Brown Changtai series includes many batches, among which two are generally recognized for their superior quality. Hong Kong tea expert Fu Yun (浮雲), in his article "An Analysis of Various Batches of Brown Changtai" (解析各批次棕昌泰) published in the 40th issue of Pǔ'ěr Hú Yì (Puer Tea Ware Art magazine), distinguished them as follows:

• Wángzhě Zōng Chāngtài (King Brown Changtai): Features a "single tiānshū (Heavenly Script)" and no barcode.
• Bābā Zōng Chāngtài (Baba/Eight-Eight Brown Changtai): Features a "single tiānshū (Heavenly Script)" and has a barcode.

The defining characteristic of the 88 Brown Changtai is that its miánzhǐ (cotton paper wrapper) includes a barcode. Additionally, a single yìnzhāng (seal/stamp) is pressed onto the tea cake's nèifēi (inner ticket). The text on this seal is rendered in zhuàntǐzì (ancient seal script characters), making its specific content indecipherable. Consequently, the market refers to this seal as a tiānshū (Heavenly Script). A single such seal denotes it as a "single tiānshū," while two seals would classify a cake as a "double tiānshū."