’12 Thick Virtue

Premiering in 2012, Houde presents as a 600g brick invoking ancient Chinese wisdom. “Hou De Zai Wu” （厚德载物) is a Chinese idiom first appearing in the “Kun Gua” chapter of the Yi Jing (Book of Changes) 《易经·坤卦》.  As explained:

厚德载物，强调容人容物，善待他人他物。厚德可以载物。孔子主张“己所不欲，勿施于人”“己欲立而立人，己欲达而达人”“君子尊贤而容众”
“Great virtue carries great things,” emphasizing tolerance and kindness towards others and all things. Great virtue enables one to bear great responsibilities. Confucius advocated, “Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you,” “Help others to establish themselves if you wish to establish yourself, and help others to succeed if you wish to succeed,” and “A gentleman respects the virtuous and is tolerant of the masses.”

Perhaps greater philosophical conundrums arise with Great Virtue’s composition, as more than a few are convinced that it is simply a rebranding of the famous 7581 recipe.  Such claims are speculative, because recipes are guard secrets.  The charge itself raises additional questions involving yearly variation and raw material quality, which can vary quite a bit.  Additionally, one wonders how to fathom XX81 recipes produced by factories other than Zhongcha/ChinaTea.

To Puerh Junky’s mind, Thick Virtue comes off a bit differently from 7581.  Deepseek notes that though Thick Virtue is in essence 7581, it’s likely that in terms of material and fermentation there are adjustments.  In this regard, it manifests a much greater fruit-forward profile than the prototypical 7581, aligning more with Lancang Gucha’s 0081 and Jingmai Chenchun.

Date sweetness mingles with elements of sandalwood and something like baby powder amidst a thick, silky texture. Beyond date-sweet, there’s a pronounced cherry cough syrup presence that becomes more prominent the longer the brick “wakes” from storage, especially around day five. Vanilla and bitterness are detectable as well.  These conditions also rouse an underlying puckering astringency.  Filling and comforting.

Certified organic.  Originally, Guangdong dry storage.  Moderate storage in LA since Nov ’24.

21¢