Translating Sheng number codes

[danek]

Please forgive my ignorance, but I'm just starting to explore pu-erh and don't totally have a grasp of the identification yet.

Let's say I see a bing that's identified as "yygh-012".
It's my understanding that yy identifies the year the recipe was developed, as in 75 = 1975.
g identifies the grade of the leaves, as in 4, but 4 out of how many? And, is a higher number necessarily better?
h identifies the number of harvest of the year, as in the 1st or 2nd harvest.

But what do the last 3 numbers mean? Like 901 or 002? Can anyone clarify this for me, or correct my original declassifications?

 

[arghblech]

Please forgive my ignorance, but I'm just starting to explore pu-erh and don't totally have a grasp of the identification yet.

Let's say I see a bing that's identified as "yygh-012".
It's my understanding that yy identifies the year the recipe was developed, as in 75 = 1975.
g identifies the grade of the leaves, as in 4, but 4 out of how many? And, is a higher number necessarily better?
h identifies the number of harvest of the year, as in the 1st or 2nd harvest.

But what do the last 3 numbers mean? Like 901 or 002? Can anyone clarify this for me, or correct my original declassifications?

h != harvest year
h == factory designation

The last 3 digits are the production run identifier so 901 means first run of 2009. 705 would be the fifth run of 2007.

so 7542-802 is:

2008's second run of of Dayi's 1975 recipe made with grade 4 leaves.

 

[netsurfr]

http://www.jas-etea.com/pages/Recipes-or-%22What-do-those-numbers-mean%3F%22.html provides some information on this question. You will also find other Pu-erh information in the drop down menu for "All about Pu-erh" at this website.

 

[ouch]

g identifies the grade of the leaves, as in 4, but 4 out of how many? And, is a higher number necessarily better?

The lower number is considered the higher grade (you can even get a grade "0"), but that doesn't necessarily translate into better tea. The larger, lower grade leaves add a lot of body to the blend.