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''Pu'er'' or ''pu-erh'' is a variety of
fermented tea Fermented tea (also known as post-fermented tea or dark tea) is a class of tea that has undergone microbial fermentation, from several months to many years. The exposure of the tea leaves to humidity and oxygen during the process also causes ...
traditionally produced in
Yunnan Province Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. In the context of traditional Chinese tea production terminology, fermentation refers to
microbial fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...
(called 'wet piling'), and is typically applied after the tea leaves have been sufficiently dried and rolled. As the tea undergoes controlled microbial fermentation, it also continues to
oxidize Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a d ...
, which is also controlled, until the desired flavors are reached. This process produces tea known as 黑茶 ''hēichá'' (lit. 'black tea') (which is different from the English-language ''
black tea Black tea, also translated to red tea in various East Asian languages, is a type of tea that is more oxidized than oolong, yellow, white and green teas. Black tea is generally stronger in flavour than other teas. All five types are made from ...
'' that is called 红茶 ''hóngchá'' (lit. 'red tea') in Chinese). Pu'er falls under a larger category of fermented teas commonly translated as ''dark teas''. Two main styles of pu'er production exist: a traditional, longer production process known as ''shēng'' (''raw'') pu'er; and a modern, accelerated production process known as ''shóu'' (''ripe'') pu'er. Pu'er traditionally begins with a raw product called "rough" (''máo'') ''chá'' (毛茶, lit. fuzzy/furry tea) and can be sold in this form or pressed into a number of shapes and sold as "''shēng chá'' (生茶, lit. raw tea). Both of these forms then undergo the complex process of gradual fermentation and maturation with time. The ''wòduī'' (渥堆) fermentation process developed in 1973 by the
Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
Tea Factory created a new type of pu'er tea. This process involves an accelerated fermentation into ''shóu'' (or ''shú'') ''chá'' (熟茶, lit. ripe tea) that is then stored loose or pressed into various shapes. The fermentation process was adopted at the
Menghai Menghai County (; Tai Lu: ᨾᩮᩨ᩠ᨦᩁᩣ᩠ᨿ ''Meng Haai'' lo, ເມືອງຮາຍ) is a county under the jurisdiction of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, in the far south of Yunnan, China, bordering Burma's Shan State to th ...
Tea Factory shortly after and technically developed there. The legitimacy of shóu chá is disputed by some traditionalists when compared to the traditionally, longer-aged teas, such as shēng chá. Pu’er can be stored and permitted to age and to mature, like wine, in non-airtight containers before consumption. This is why it has long been standard practice to label all types of pu’er with the year and region of production.


Name

''Pu'er'' is the
pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
romanization Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
of the
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
pronunciation of
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
''Pu-erh'' is a variant of the Wade-Giles romanization (properly ''p‘u-êrh'') of the same name. In Hong Kong the same Chinese characters are read as Bo-lei, and that is therefore a common alternative English term for this tea. The tea got its name from the ancient tea-trading town of Pu'er (普洱), located in today's Ning'er Town (宁洱镇) in Ning'er County, Pu'er prefecture-level city of
Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
.. Pu'er County had its name changed into Simao, after Simao Town, the new county seat in 1950 following the Communist victory. The County of Simao became a prefecture level City and had its name changed to Pu'er in 2007. Although the urban center of the modern Pu'er City remained in Simao, the whole Pu'er region is now sometimes considered the
appellation An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown, although other types of food often have appellations as well. Restrictions other than geographical boun ...
for pu'er proper. Pu'er (and all tea) terminology varies from language to language. For example, pu-er is known in Chinese as a type of 'dark tea' (heicha) while in Spanish it is considered ‘té rojo’ (red tea) and, conversely, what in Chinese is called 'red tea' (hongcha) is known in Spanish as 'té negro' (black tea).


History

Fermented tea leaves has a long history among ethnic groups in Southwest China. These crude teas were of various origins and were meant to be low cost. Darkened tea, or ''hēichá'', is still the major beverage for the ethnic groups in the southwestern borders and, until the early 1990s, was the third major tea category produced by China mainly for this market segment. There had been no standardized processing for the darkening of ''hēichá'' until the postwar years in the 1950s, when there was a sudden surge in demand in Hong Kong, perhaps because of the concentration of refugees from the mainland. In the 1970s the improved process was taken back to Yunnan for further development, which has resulted in the various production styles variously referred to as ''wòduī'' today. This new process produced a finished product in a matter of months that many thought tasted similar to teas aged naturally for 10–15 years and so this period saw a demand-driven boom in the production of ''hēichá'' by the artificial ripening method. In recent decades, demand has come full circle and it has become more common again for ''hēichá'', including pu'er, to be sold as the raw product without the artificial accelerated fermentation process. Pu'er
tea processing Tea processing is the method in which the leaves from the tea plant '' Camellia sinensis'' are transformed into the dried leaves for brewing tea. The categories of tea are distinguished by the processing they undergo. In its most general form, t ...
, although straightforward, is complicated by the fact that the tea itself falls into two distinct categories: the "raw" shēngchá and the "ripe" shóuchá. All types of pu'er tea are created from ''máochá'' ( ), a mostly unoxidized
green tea Green tea is a type of tea that is made from '' Camellia sinensis'' leaves and buds that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process which is used to make oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China, and since the ...
processed from ''Camellia sinensis'' var. ''assamica'', which is the large leaf type of Chinese tea found in the mountains of southern and western Yunnan (in contrast to the small leaf type of tea used for typical green, oolong, black, and yellow teas found in the other parts of China). Máochá can be sold directly to market as loose leaf tea, compressed to produce "raw" ''shēngchá'', naturally aged and matured for several years before being compressed to also produce "raw" ''shēngchá'' or undergo wòduī ripening for several months prior to being compressed to produce "ripe" ''shóuchá''. While unaged and unprocessed, Máochá pǔ'ěr is similar to green tea. Two subtle differences worth noting are that pǔ'ěr is not produced from the small-leaf Chinese varietal but the broad-leaf varietal mostly found in the southern Chinese provinces and India. The second is that pǔ'ěr leaves are picked as one bud and 3-4 leaves whilst green tea is picked as one bud and 1-2 leaves. This means that older leaves contribute to the qualities of pǔ'ěr tea. Ripened or aged raw pǔ'ěr has occasionally been mistakenly categorized as a subcategory of
black tea Black tea, also translated to red tea in various East Asian languages, is a type of tea that is more oxidized than oolong, yellow, white and green teas. Black tea is generally stronger in flavour than other teas. All five types are made from ...
due to the dark red color of its leaves and liquor. However, pǔ'ěr in both its ripened and aged forms has undergone secondary oxidization and
fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
caused both by organisms growing in the tea and
free-radical In chemistry, a radical, also known as a free radical, is an atom, molecule, or ion that has at least one unpaired valence electron. With some exceptions, these unpaired electrons make radicals highly chemically reactive. Many radicals spont ...
oxidation, thus making it a unique type of tea. This divergence in production style not only makes the flavor and texture of pu'er tea different but also results in a rather different chemical makeup of the resulting brewed liquor. The fermented dark tea, hēichá (黑茶), is one of the six classes of tea in China, and ''pǔ'ěr'' is classified as a dark tea (defined as fermented), something which is resented by some who argue for a separate category for ''pǔ'ěr'' tea. As of 2008, only the large-leaf variety from Yunnan can be called a ''pǔ'ěr''.


Processing

Pu'er is typically made through two steps. First, all leaves must be roughly processed into ''maocha'' to stop oxidation. From there it may be further processed by fermentation, or directly packaged. Summarising the steps: * Maocha: Killing Green (杀青) -- Rolling (揉捻) -- Sun Drying (晒干) *# green/raw (生普, sheng cha) *# dark/ripe (熟普, shu cha): -- Piling(渥堆))-- Drying(干燥)) Both sheng and ripe pu'er can be shaped into cakes or bricks and aged with time.


''Maocha'' or rough tea

The intent of the ''máochá '' stage ( or ; literally, "light green rough tea" or "rough tea" respectively) is to dry the leaves and keep them from spoiling. It involves minimal processing and there is no fermentation involved. The first step in making raw or ripened pu'er is picking appropriate tender leaves. Plucked leaves are handled gingerly to prevent bruising and unwanted oxidation. It is optional to wilt/wither the leaves after picking and it depends on the tea processor, as drying occurs at various stages of processing. If so, the leaves would be spread out in the sun, weather permitting, or a ventilated space to wilt and remove some of the water content. On overcast or rainy days, the leaves will be wilted by light heating, a slight difference in processing that will affect the quality of the resulting ''maocha'' and pu'er. The leaves are then dry-roasted using a large
wok A wok (; Pinyin: ; Cantonese ) is a deep round-bottomed cooking pan from China. It is believed to be derived from the South Asian karahi. It is common in China and similar pans are found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as ...
in a process called "killing the green" ( ;
pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: ''shā qīng''), which arrests most
enzyme activity Enzyme assays are laboratory methods for measuring enzymatic activity. They are vital for the study of enzyme kinetics and enzyme inhibition. Enzyme units The quantity or concentration of an enzyme can be expressed in molar amounts, as with any ...
in the leaf and prevents full oxidation. After pan-roasting, the leaves are rolled, rubbed, and shaped into strands through several steps to lightly bruise the tea and then left to dry in the sun. Unlike green tea produced in China which is dried with hot air after the pan-frying stage to completely kill enzyme activity, leaves used in the production of pu'er are not air-dried after pan-roasting, which leaves a small amount of enzymes which contribute a minor amount of oxidation to the leaves during sun-drying. The bruising of the tea is also important in helping this minimal oxidation to occur, and both of these steps are significant in contributing to the unique characteristics of pu'er tea. Once dry, ''máochá '' can be sent directly to the factory to be pressed into raw pu'er, or to undergo further processing to make fermented or ripened pu'er. Sometimes ''Mao Cha'' is sold directly as loose-leaf "raw" Sheng Cha or it can be matured in loose-leaf form, requiring only two to three years due to the faster rate of natural fermentation in an uncompressed state. This tea is then pressed into numerous shapes and sold as a more matured "raw" Sheng Cha.


Pressing

To produce pu'er, many additional steps are needed prior to the actual pressing of the tea. First, a specific quantity of dry ''máochá'' or ripened tea leaves pertaining to the final weight of the ''bingcha'' is weighed out. The dry tea is then lightly steamed in perforated cans to soften and make it more tacky. This will allow it to hold together and not crumble during compression. A ticket, called a "''nèi fēi''" (
Radical 183 or radical fly () meaning "Flight, flying" is one of the 11 Kangxi radicals out of 214 composed of 9 stroke (CJK character), strokes. In the ''Kangxi Dictionary'', there are 92 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this Radic ...
) or additional adornments, such as colored ribbons, are placed on or in the midst of the leaves and inverted into a cloth bag or wrapped in cloth. The pouch of tea is gathered inside the cloth bag and wrung into a ball, with the extra cloth tied or coiled around itself. This coil or knot is what produces the
dimple A dimple, also called a gelasin (, ) is a small natural indentation in the flesh on a part of the human body, most notably in the cheek. Numerous cultures believe that cheek dimples are a good luck charm that entices people who perceive them as ...
d indentation at the reverse side of a tea cake when pressed. Depending on the shape of the pu'er being produced, a cotton bag may or may not be used. For instance, brick or square teas often are not compressed using bags. Pressing can be done by: * A press. In the past, hand lever presses were used, but were largely superseded by
hydraulic press A hydraulic press is a machine press using a hydraulic cylinder to generate a compressive force. It uses the hydraulic equivalent of a mechanical lever, and was also known as a Bramah press after the inventor, Joseph Bramah, of England. He inven ...
es. The press forces the tea into a metal form that is occasionally decorated with a motif in sunken-relief. Due to its efficiency, this method is used to make almost all forms of pressed pu'er. Tea can be pressed either with or without it being bagged, with the latter done by using a metal mould. Tightly compressed ''bǐng'', formed directly into a mold without bags using this method are known as ''tié bǐng'' ( , literally "iron cake/ puck") due to its density and hardness. The taste of densely compressed raw pu'er is believed to benefit from careful aging for up to several decades. * A large heavy stone, carved into the shape of a short cylinder with a handle, simply weighs down a bag of tea on a wooden board. The tension from the bag and the weight of the stone together give the tea its rounded and sometimes non-uniform edge. This method of pressing is often referred to as: "hand" or "stone-pressing", and is how many
artisanal An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, s ...
''pu'er bǐng'' are still manufactured. Pressed pu'er is removed from the cloth bag and placed on latticed shelves, where they are allowed to air dry, which may take several weeks or months, depending on the wetness of the pressed cakes. The pu'er cakes are then individually wrapped by hand, and packed.


Fermentation

Pu'er is a microbially fermented tea obtained through the action of molds, bacteria and yeasts on the harvested leaves of the tea plant. It is thus truly a fermented tea, whereas teas known in the west as black teas (known in China as Red teas) have only undergone large-scale oxidation through naturally occurring tea plant enzymes. Mislabelling the oxidation process as fermentation and thus naming black teas, such as Assam, Darjeeling or Keemun, as fermented teas has long been a source of confusion. Only tea such as pu'er, that has undergone microbial processing, can correctly be called a fermented tea. Pu'er undergoes what is known as a solid-state fermentation where water activity is low to negligible. Both endo-oxidation (enzymes derived from the tea-leaves themselves) and exo-oxidation (microbial catalysed) of tea polyphenols occurs. The microbes are also responsible for metabolising the carbohydrates and amino acids present in the tea leaves. Although the microbes responsible have proved highly variable from region to region and even factory to factory, the key organism found and responsible for almost all pu'er fermentation has been identified in numerous studies as ''
Aspergillus niger ''Aspergillus niger'' is a mold classified within the ''Nigri'' section of the ''Aspergillus'' genus. The ''Aspergillus'' genus consists of common molds found throughout the environment within soil and water, on vegetation, in fecal matter, on de ...
'', with some highlighting the possibility of ochratoxins produced by the metabolism of some strains of ''A.niger'' having a potentially harmful effect through consumption of pu'er tea. This notion has recently been refuted through a systematic chromosome analysis of the species attributed to many East Asian fermentations, including those that involve pu'er, where the authors have reclassified the organisms involved as ''Aspergillus luchuensis''. It is apparent that this species does not have the gene sequence for coding ochratoxin and thus pu'er tea should be considered safe for human consumption.


Ripe and raw pu'er

"Ripened" Shu Cha (熟茶) tea is pressed ''maocha'' that has been specially processed to imitate aged "raw" Sheng Cha tea. Although it is also known in English as cooked pu'er, the process does not actually employ cooking to imitate the aging process. The term may be due to inaccurate translation, as ''shóu'' (熟) means both "fully cooked" and "fully ripened". The process used to convert ''máochá'' into ripened pu'er manipulates conditions to approximate the result of the aging process by prolonged bacterial and fungal fermentation in a warm humid environment under controlled conditions, a technique called ''Wò Duī'' ( , "wet piling" in
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
), which involves piling, dampening, and turning the tea leaves in a manner much akin to
composting Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...
. Studies have shown that the soil suitable for planting Pu'er tea trees is slightly acidic soil with loose soil, deep soil layer, good drainage and ventilation. The piling, wetting, and mixing of the piled ''máochá'' ensures even fermentation. The bacterial and fungal cultures found in the fermenting piles were found to vary widely from factory to factory throughout Yunnan, consisting of multiple strains of ''
Aspergillus ' () is a genus consisting of several hundred mold species found in various climates worldwide. ''Aspergillus'' was first catalogued in 1729 by the Italian priest and biologist Pier Antonio Micheli. Viewing the fungi under a microscope, Miche ...
'' spp., ''
Penicillium ''Penicillium'' () is a genus of ascomycetous fungi that is part of the mycobiome of many species and is of major importance in the natural environment, in food spoilage, and in food and drug production. Some members of the genus produce pe ...
'' spp.,
yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...
s, and a wide range of other microflora. Control over the multiple variables in the ripening process, particularly humidity and the growth of ''Aspergillus'' spp., is key in producing ripened pu'er of high quality. Poor control in fermentation/oxidation process can result in bad ripened pu'er, characterized by badly decomposed leaves and an aroma and texture reminiscent of
compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...
. The ripening process typically takes between 45 and 60 days on average. The ''Wò Duī'' process was first developed in 1973 by Menghai Tea Factory and Kunming Tea Factory to imitate the flavor and color of aged raw pu'er, and was an adaptation of wet storage techniques used by merchants to artificially simulate ageing of their teas.
Mass production Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...
of ripened pu'er began in 1975. It can be consumed without further aging, or it can be stored further to "air out" some of the less savory flavors and aromas acquired during fermentation. The tea is sold both in flattened and loose form. Some tea collectors believe "ripened" Shu Cha should not be aged for more than a decade. Wet pile fermented pu'er has higher levels of caffeine and much higher levels of
gallic acid Gallic acid (also known as 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid) is a trihydroxybenzoic acid with the formula C6 H2( OH)3CO2H. It is classified as a phenolic acid. It is found in gallnuts, sumac, witch hazel, tea leaves, oak bark, and other plants. It i ...
compared with traditionally aged raw pu'er. Additionally, traditionally aged pu'er has higher levels of the antioxidant and carcinogen-trapping
epigallocatechin gallate Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), also known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate, is the ester of epigallocatechin and gallic acid, and is a type of catechin. EGCG – the most abundant catechin in tea – is a polyphenol under basic research for its ...
as well as (+)-
catechin Catechin is a flavan-3-ol, a type of secondary metabolite providing antioxidant roles in plants. It belongs to the subgroup of polyphenols called flavonoids. The name of the catechin chemical family derives from ''catechu'', which is the tannic ...
, (–)-epicatechin, (–)-
epigallocatechin Gallocatechol or gallocatechin (GC) is a flavan-3-ol, a type of chemical compound including catechin, with the gallate residue being in an isomeric trans position. This compound possesses two epimers. The most common, (+)-gallocatechin (GC), CAS ...
,
gallocatechin gallate Gallocatechin gallate (GCG) is the ester of gallocatechin and gallic acid and a type of catechin. It is an epimer of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). In a high temperature environment, an epimerization In stereochemistry, an epimer is one of a ...
, and
epicatechin gallate Epicatechin gallate (ECG) is a flavan-3-ol, a type of flavonoid, present in green tea. It is also reported in buckwheat and in grape. The tea component epicatechin gallate is being researched because in vitro experiments showed it can reverse me ...
than wet pile fermented pu'er. Finally, wet pile fermented puer has much lower total levels for all catechins than traditional pu'er and other teas except for
black tea Black tea, also translated to red tea in various East Asian languages, is a type of tea that is more oxidized than oolong, yellow, white and green teas. Black tea is generally stronger in flavour than other teas. All five types are made from ...
which also has low total catechins.


Classification

Aside from vintage year, pu'er tea can be classified in a variety of ways: by shape, processing method, region, cultivation, grade, and season.


Shape

Pu'er is compressed into a variety of shapes. Other lesser seen forms include: stacked "melon
pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...
s",
pillars A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression (physical), compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column i ...
,
calabash Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...
es, '' yuanbao'', and small
tea brick Compressed tea, called tea bricks, tea cakes or tea lumps, and tea nuggets according to the shape and size, are blocks of whole or finely ground black tea, green tea, or post-fermented tea leaves that have been packed in molds and pressed i ...
s (2–5 cm in width). Pu'er is also compressed into the hollow centers of
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
stems or packed and bound into a ball inside the peel of various
citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...
fruits (''Xiaoqinggan'') or sold as nuggets (''Suiyinzi'' 碎银子 or ''fossilized tea'' 茶化石) or bundles made from tea at the center of wet piles (''Laotoucha'' 老头茶).


Process and oxidation

Pu'er teas are often collectively classified in Western tea markets as post-fermentation, and in Eastern markets as black teas, but there is general confusion due to improper use of the terms "oxidation" and "fermentation". Typically black tea is termed "fully fermented", which is incorrect as the process used to create black tea is oxidation and does not involve microbial activity. Black teas are fully oxidized, green teas are unoxidized, and Oolong teas are partially oxidized to varying degrees. All pu'er teas undergo some oxidation during sun drying and then become either: # Fully fermented with microbes during a processing phase which is largely anaerobic, i.e. without the presence of oxygen. This phase is similar to composting and results in Shu (ripened) pu'er # Partly fermented by microbial action, and partly oxidized during the natural aging process resulting in Sheng (raw) pu'er. The aging process depends on how the sheng pu'er is stored, which determines the degree of fermentation and oxidization achieved. According to the production process, four main types of pu'er are commonly available on the market: * ''Maocha'', green pu'er leaves sold in loose form as the raw material for making pressed pu'er. Badly processed ''maocha'' will produce an inferior pu'er. * Green/raw pu'er, pressed ''maocha'' that has not undergone additional processing; high quality green pu'er is highly sought by collectors. * Ripened/cooked pu'er, ''maocha'' that has undergone an accelerated fermentation process lasting 45 to 60 days on average. Badly fermented ''maocha'' will create a muddy tea with fishy and sour flavors indicative of inferior aged pu'er. * Aged raw pu'er, a tea that has undergone a slow secondary oxidation and microbial fermentation. Although all types of pu'er can be aged, the pressed raw pu'er is typically the most highly regarded, since aged ''maocha'' and ripened pu'er both lack a clean and assertive taste.


Flavour

Ripe pu'er is often described by its multiple layers of aroma: ''duiwei'' (堆味) or fermented flavour, ''cangwei'' (仓味) or storage flavour, ''xingwei'' (腥味) or fish flavour and ''meiwei'' (霉味) moldy flavour. The storage locations (Yunnan, Canton or Hong Kong) and storing conditions (wet vs dry storage) will result in distinct flavours. The aromas can be annotated as camphora (樟香), ginseng (参香), jujube (枣香), costus (木香), minty (荷香) or very aged (陈香). Raw pu'er is often distinguished by its floral (花香), grassy (草香), fresh (清香), herbal (药香), fruity (水果) or honey(蜜香)aroma. Some pu'er are flavour infused, for example Sticky rice pu'er (''Nuomixiang'', 糯米香) are infused with leaves of Semnostachya menglaensis native to Mengla, which gives it a young rice flavour. Bamboo roasted pu'er is encased in bamboo tubes and underwent a smoking process. Tangerine pu'er (''Xiaoqinggan'', 小青柑) were made from small green tangerine stuffed with tea. Flower-infused pu'er are made in the form of tea balls (龙珠) or tea cakes.


Regions


Yunnan

Pu'er is produced in almost every county and prefecture in the province. Proper pu'er is sometimes considered to be limited to that produced in
Pu'er City Pu'er is a prefecture-level city in southern Yunnan Province, China. The urban administrative center of Pu'er is Simao District, which is also the former name of the prefecture-level city itself. A major downturn in the price of tea in 2007 cause ...
.


= Six Great Tea Mountains

= The best known pu'er areas are the Six Great Tea Mountains (), a group of mountains in
Xishuangbanna Xishuangbanna, Sibsongbanna or Sipsong Panna ( Tham: , New Tai Lü script: ; ; th, สิบสองปันนา; lo, ສິບສອງພັນນາ; shn, သိပ်းသွင်ပၼ်းၼႃး; my, စစ်ဆောင် ...
, Yunnan, renowned for their climates and environments, which not only provide excellent growing conditions for pu'er, but also produce unique taste profiles (akin to
terroir (, ; from ''terre'', "land") is a French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, these conte ...
in
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
) in the produced pu'er tea. Over the course of history, the designated mountains for the tea mountains have either been changed or listed differently. In the Qing dynasty government records for Pu'er (普洱府志), the oldest historically designated mountains were said to be named after six commemorative items left in the mountains by
Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang ( zh, t=諸葛亮 / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is r ...
, and using the Chinese characters of the native languages (Hani and Tai) of the region. These mountains are all located northeast of the Lancang River (
Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , ...
) in relatively close proximity to one another. The mountains' names, in the
Standard Chinese Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern Standar ...
character pronunciation are: # ''Gedeng'' ( ) # ''Yiwu'' ( ) # ''Mangzhi'' ( ) # ''Manzhuan'' ( ) # ''Yibang'' ( ) # ''Yōulè'' ( ) Southwest of the river there are also nine lesser known tea mountains, which are isolated by the river. They are: # ''Mengsong'' (勐宋): # ''Pasha'' (帕沙): # ''Jingmai'' (景迈): # ''Nánnuò'' ( ): a varietal of tea grows here called ''zĭjuān'' ( , literally "purple lady") whose buds and bud leaves have a purple hue. # ''Bada'' (巴达): # ''Hekai'' (贺开): # ''Bulangshan'' (布朗山): # ''Mannuo'' (曼糯): # ''Xiao mengsong'' (小勐宋): For various reasons, around the end of the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
and at the beginning of the ROC period (the early twentieth century), tea production in these mountains dropped drastically, either due to large forest fires, overharvesting, prohibitive imperial taxes, or general neglect. To revitalize tea production in the area, the
Chinese government The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, mili ...
in 1962 selected a new group of six great tea mountains that were named based on the more important tea-producing mountains at the time, including Youle mountain from the original six.


= Other areas of Yunnan

= Many other areas of Yunnan also produce pu'er tea. Yunnan prefectures that are major producers of pu'er include
Lincang Lincang () is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Yunnan province, People's Republic of China. History Lincang was previously called Baihuai during the Shang dynasty. On December 26, 2003, the state council approved the cancell ...
,
Dehong The Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture is located in western Yunnan province, People's Republic of China, and is one of the eight autonomous prefectures of the province, bordering Baoshan to the east and Burma's Kachin State to the west. ...
, Simao,
Xishuangbanna Xishuangbanna, Sibsongbanna or Sipsong Panna ( Tham: , New Tai Lü script: ; ; th, สิบสองปันนา; lo, ສິບສອງພັນນາ; shn, သိပ်းသွင်ပၼ်းၼႃး; my, စစ်ဆောင် ...
, and Wenshan. Other notable tea mountains famous in Yunnan include among others: * ''Bāngwǎi'' ( ) * ''Bānzhāng'' ( ): this is not a mountain but a Hani village in the Bulang Mountains, noted for producing powerful and complex teas that are bitter with a sweet aftertaste * ''Yìwǔ'' ( ) * ''Bada'' (巴達山) * ''Wuliang'' * ''Ailuo'' * ''Jinggu'' * ''Baoshan'' * ''Yushou'' Region is only one factor in assessing a pu'er tea, and pu'er from any region of Yunnan can be as prized as any from the Six Great Tea Mountains if it meets other criteria, such as being wild growth, hand-processed tea.


Other provinces

While Yunnan produces the majority of pu'er, other regions of China, including
Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
and
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
, have also produced the tea. The Guangyun Gong cake, for example, although the early productions were composed of pure Yunnan ''máochá'',David Collen, after the ‘60s the cakes featured a blend of Yunnan and Guangdong ''máochá'', and the most recent production of these cakes contains mostly from the latter. In late 2008, the Chinese government approved a standard declaring pu'er tea as a "product with geographical indications", which would restrict the naming of tea as pu'er to tea produced within specific regions of the Yunnan province. The standard has been disputed, particularly by producers from
Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
. Fermented tea in the pu'er style made outside of Yunnan is often branded as "dark tea" in light of this standard.


Other regions

In addition to China, border regions touching Yunnan in
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
,
Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
, and
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
are also known to produce pu'er tea, though little of this makes its way to the Chinese or international markets.


Cultivation

The method of cultivation can have as much of an effect on the final product as region or grade. There are three widely used methods of cultivation for pu'er: * Plantation bushes (''guànmù'',
Radical 75 or radical tree () meaning "tree" is one of the 34 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals in total) composed of 4 stroke (CJK character), strokes. In the ''Kangxi Dictionary'', there are 1,369 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this ...
; ''taídì'',
''Di'' () is one of the oldest Chinese terms for the earth and a key concept or figure in Chinese philosophy and Chinese folk religion, religion, being one of three powers (', ) which are Tian, Heaven, Earth, and Humanity (, ), a phrase which ori ...
): Cultivated tea bushes, from the seeds or cuttings of wild tea trees and planted in relatively low altitudes and flatter terrain. The tea produced from these plants are often considered inferior due to the use of pesticides and
chemical fertilizer A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
in cultivation, the lack of pleasant flavors, and the presence of bitterness or astringency. * "Wild arbor" trees (''yěfàng'', ): Though often conflated with wild tree especially by producers, this method involves trees from older plantations that were cultivated in previous generations that have gone feral due to the lack of care. These trees are said to produce teas of better flavor due to the higher levels of
secondary metabolite Secondary metabolites, also called specialised metabolites, toxins, secondary products, or natural products, are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, fungi, animals, or plants, which are not directly involved in the norm ...
s produced in the tea tree. Additionally, the trees are typically cared for using organic practices, which includes the scheduled
pruning Pruning is a horticultural, arboricultural, and silvicultural practice involving the selective removal of certain parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. The practice entails the ''targeted'' removal of diseased, damaged, dead, ...
of the trees in a manner similar to
pollarding Pollarding is a pruning system involving the removal of the upper branches of a tree, which promotes the growth of a dense head of foliage and branches. In ancient Rome, Propertius mentioned pollarding during the 1st century BCE. The practice oc ...
. Despite the good quality of their produced teas, "wild arbor" trees are often not as prized as truly wild trees. * ''Wild trees'' (gŭshù, ; literally "old tree"): Teas from old wild trees, grown without human intervention, are typically the highest valued pu'er teas. Such teas are valued for having deeper and more complex flavors, often with camphor or "mint" notes, said to be imparted by the many camphor trees that grow in the same environment as the wild tea trees. Young raw pu'er teas produced from the leaf tips of these trees also lack overwhelming astringency and bitterness often attributed to young pu'er. Pu'er made from the distinct but closely related so-called ''wild'' species ''
Camellia taliensis ''Camellia taliensis'' (also known as Yunnan large leaf varietal tea, wild tea, Dali tea, Yunnan broad tea, and others; 大理茶) is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree whose leaves and leaf buds are used to produce tea. It is of the gen ...
'' can command a much higher price than pu'er made from the more common ''
Camellia sinensis ''Camellia sinensis'' is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree in the flowering plant family Theaceae. Its leaves and leaf buds are used to produce the popular beverage, tea. Common names include tea plant, tea shrub, and tea tree (not to ...
.'' Determining whether or not a tea is wild is a challenging task, made more difficult through the inconsistent and unclear terminology and labeling in Chinese. Terms like ''yěshēng'' ( ; literally "wild" or "uncultivated"), ''qiáomù'' (
Radical 75 or radical tree () meaning "tree" is one of the 34 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals in total) composed of 4 stroke (CJK character), strokes. In the ''Kangxi Dictionary'', there are 1,369 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this ...
; literally "tall tree"), ''yěshēng qiáomù'' (
Radical 75 or radical tree () meaning "tree" is one of the 34 Kangxi radicals (214 radicals in total) composed of 4 stroke (CJK character), strokes. In the ''Kangxi Dictionary'', there are 1,369 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this ...
; literally "uncultivated trees"), and ''gǔshù'' are found on the labels of cakes of both wild and "wild arbor" variety, and on blended cakes, which contain leaves from tea plants of various cultivations. These inconsistent and often misleading labels can easily confuse uninitiated tea buyers regardless of their grasp of the
Chinese language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the wor ...
. As well, the lack of specific information about tea leaf sources in the printed wrappers and identifiers that come with the pu'er cake makes identification of the tea a difficult task. Pu'er journals and similar annual guides such as ''The Profound World of Chi Tse'', ''Pu-erh Yearbook'', and ''Pu-erh Teapot Magazine'' contain credible sources for leaf information. Tea factories are generally honest about their leaf sources, but someone without access to tea factory or other information is often at the mercy of the middlemen or vendor. Many pu'er aficionados seek out and maintain relationships with vendors who they feel they can trust to help mitigate the issue of finding the "truth" of the leaves. Even in the best of circumstances, when a journal, factory information, and trustworthy vendor all align to assure a tea's genuinely wild leaf, fakes teas are common and make the issue even more complicated. Because collectors often doubt the reliability of written information, some believe certain physical aspects of the leaf can point to its cultivation. For example, drinkers cite the evidence of a truly wild old tree in a
menthol Menthol is an organic compound, more specifically a monoterpenoid, made synthetically or obtained from the oils of corn mint, peppermint, or other mints. It is a waxy, clear or white crystalline substance, which is solid at room temperature and ...
effect ("
camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel ('' Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the k ...
" in tea specialist terminology) supposedly caused by the
Camphor laurel ''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree that is commonly known under the names camphor tree, camphorwood or camphor laurel. Description ''Camphora officinarum'' is native to China south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan, southern ...
trees that grow amongst wild tea trees in Yunnan's tea forests. As well, the presence of thick veins and sawtooth-edged on the leaves along with
camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel ('' Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the k ...
flavor elements are taken as signifiers of wild tea.


Grade

Pu'er can be sorted into ten or more grades. Generally, grades are determined by leaf size and quality, with higher numbered grades meaning older/larger, broken, or less tender leaves. Grading is rarely consistent between factories, and first grade tea leaves may not necessarily produce first grade cakes. Different grades have different flavors; many bricks blend several grades chosen to balance flavors and strength.


Season

Harvest season also plays an important role in the flavor of pu'er. Spring tea is the most highly valued, followed by fall tea, and finally summer tea. Only rarely is pu'er produced in winter months, and often this is what is called "early spring" tea, as harvest and production follows the weather pattern rather than strict monthly guidelines.


Tea factories

Factories are generally responsible for the production of pu'er teas. While some individuals oversee small-scale production of high-quality tea, such as the Xizihao and Yanqinghao brands, the majority of tea on the market is compressed by factories or tea groups. Until recently factories were all state-owned and under the supervision of the ''China National Native Produce & Animal Byproducts Import & Export Corporation'' (CNNP), Yunnan Tea Branch. Kunming Tea Factory, Menghai Tea Factory, Pu'er Tea Factory and Xiaguan Tea Factory are the most notable of these state-owned factories. While CNNP still operates today, few factories are
state-owned State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...
, and CNNP contracts out much production to privately owned factories. Different tea factories have earned good reputations. Menghai Tea Factory and Xiaguan Tea Factory, which date from the 1940s, have enjoyed good reputations, but in the twenty-first century face competition from many of the newly emerging private factories. For example, Haiwan Tea Factory, founded by former Menghai Factory owner Zhou Bing Liang in 1999, has a good reputation, as do
Changtai Tea Group is a District in Zhangzhou in southern Fujian Province in the People's Republic of China. It is located just outside the Zhangzhou's central urban area. Local Dialect The one and only local dialect of Changtai District is Hokkien The Ho ...
, Mengku Tea Company, and other new tea makers formed in the 1990s. However, due to production inconsistencies and variations in manufacturing techniques, the reputation of a tea company or factory can vary depending on the year or the specific cakes produced during a year. The producing factory is often the first or second item listed when referencing a pu'er cake, the other being the year of production.


Recipes

Tea factories, particularly formerly government-owned factories, produce many cakes using recipes for tea blends, indicated by a four-digit ''recipe number''. The first two digits of recipe numbers represent the year the recipe was first produced, the third digit represents the grade of leaves used in the recipe, and the last digit represents the factory. The number 7542, for example, would denote a recipe from 19''75'' using ''fourth''-grade tea leaf made by Menghai Tea Factory (represented by ''2''). * Factory numbers (fourth digit in recipe): *# Kunming Tea Factory *# Menghai Tea Factory aka Dayi *# Xiaguan *# Lan Cang Tea Factory or Feng Qing Tea Factory *# Pu-erh Tea Factory (now Pu-erh Tea group Co. Ltd ) *# Six Famous Tea Mountain Factory *# unknown / not specified *# Haiwan Tea Factory and Long Sheng Tea Factory Tea of all shapes can be made by numbered recipe. Not all recipes are numbered, and not all cakes are made by recipe. The term "recipe," it should be added, does not always indicate consistency, as the quality of some recipes change from year-to-year, as do the contents of the cake. Perhaps only the factories producing the recipes really know what makes them consistent enough to label by these numbers. Occasionally, a three digit code is attached to the recipe number by hyphenation. The first digit of this code represents the year the cake was produced, and the other two numbers indicate the production number within that year. For instance, the seven digit sequence ''8653-602'', would indicate the ''second'' production in 200''6'' of factory recipe 8653. Some productions of cakes are valued over others because production numbers can indicate if a tea was produced earlier or later in a season/year. This information allows one to be able to single out tea cakes produced using a better batch of ''máochá''.


Tea packaging

Pu'er tea is specially packaged for trade, identification, and storage. These attributes are used by tea drinkers and collectors to determine the authenticity of the pu'er tea.


Individual cakes

Pu'er tea cakes, or ''bǐngchá'' ( 饼茶 or 餅茶), are almost always sold with a: * ''Wrapper'': Made usually from thin cotton cloth or cotton paper and shows the tea company/factory, the year of production, the region/mountain of harvest, the plant type, and the recipe number. The wrapper can also contain decals, logos and artwork. Occasionally, more than one wrapper will be used to wrap a pu'er cake. * ''Nèi fēi'' (
Radical 183 or radical fly () meaning "Flight, flying" is one of the 11 Kangxi radicals out of 214 composed of 9 stroke (CJK character), strokes. In the ''Kangxi Dictionary'', there are 92 characters (out of 49,030) to be found under this Radic ...
or ): A small ticket originally stuck on the tea cake but now usually embedded into the cake during pressing. It is usually used as proof, or a possible sign, to the authenticity of the tea. Some higher end pu'er cakes have more than one nèi fēi embedded in the cake. The ticket usually indicates the tea factory and brand. * ''Nèi piào'' ( ): A larger description ticket or flyer packaged loose under the wrapper. Both aid in assuring the identity of the cake. It usually indicates factory and brand. As well, many ''nèi piào'' contain a summary of the tea factories' history and any additional laudatory statements concerning the tea, from its taste and rarity, to its ability to cure
disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
s and effect
weight loss Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat (adipose tissue), or lean mass (namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon, and other conn ...
. * ''Bǐng'' ( or ): The tea cake itself. Tea cakes or other compressed pu'er can be made up of two or more grades of tea, typically with higher grade leaves on the outside of the cake and lower grades or broken leaves in the center. This is done to improve the appearance of the tea cake and improve its sale. Predicting the grade of tea used on the inside takes some effort and experience in selection. However, the area in and around the dimple of the tea cake can sometimes reveal the quality of the inner leaves. Recently, ''nèi fēi'' have become more important in identifying and preventing
counterfeit To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...
s. Menghai Tea Factory in particular has begun
microprinting Microprinting is the production of recognizable patterns or characters in a printed medium at a scale that requires magnification to read with the naked eye. To the unaided eye, the text may appear as a solid line. Attempts to reproduce by meth ...
and embossing their tickets in an effort to curb the growth of counterfeit teas found in the marketplace in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Some ''nèi fēi'' also include vintage year and are production-specific to help identify the cake and prevent counterfeiting through a surfeit of different brand labels. Counterfeit pu'er is common. The practices include claiming the tea is older than it actually is, misidentifying the origin of the leaf as Yunnan instead of a non-Yunnan region, labeling terrace tea as forest tea, and selling green tea instead of raw pu'er. The interpretation of the packing of pu'er is usually dependent on the consumer's knowledge and negotiation between the consumer and trader.


Wholesale

When bought in large quantities, pu'er tea is generally sold in stacks, referred to as a ''tǒng'' ( ), which are wrapped in
bamboo shoot Bamboo shoots or bamboo sprouts are the edible shoots (new bamboo culms that come out of the ground) of many bamboo species including ''Bambusa vulgaris'' and ''Phyllostachys edulis''. They are used as vegetables in numerous Asian dishes and b ...
husks, bamboo stem husks, or coarse paper. Some tongs of vintage pu'er will contain a ''tǒng piào'' ( ), or tong ticket, but it is less common to find them in productions past the year 2000. The number of ''bǐngchá'' in a ''tǒng'' varies depending on the weight of individual ''bǐngchá''. For instance one ''tǒng'' can contain: * Seven 357–500 g 'bǐngchá', * Five 250 g mini-'bǐngchá' * Ten 100 g mini-'bǐngchá' Twelve ''tǒng'' are referred to as being one ''jiàn'' ( ), although some producers/factories vary how many ''tǒng'' equal one ''jiàn''. A ''jiàn'' of tea, which is bound together in a loose bamboo basket, will usually have a large ''batch ticket'' ( ; pinyin: ''dàpiào'') affixed to its side that will indicate information such as the batch number of the tea in a season, the production quantities, tea type, and the factory where it was produced.


Aging and storage

Pu'er teas of all varieties, shapes, and cultivation can be aged to improve their flavor, but the tea's physical properties will affect the speed of aging as well as its quality. These properties include: * ''Leaf quality'': ''Maocha'' that has been improperly processed will not age to the level of finesse as properly processed ''maocha''. The grade and cultivation of the leaf also greatly affect its quality, and thus its aging. * ''Compression'': The tighter a tea is compressed, the slower it will age. In this respect, looser hand- and stone-pressed pu'er teas will age more quickly than denser hydraulic-pressed pu'er. * ''Shape and size'' : The more surface area, the faster the tea will age. ''Bǐngchá'' and ''zhuancha'' thus age more quickly than ''golden melon'', ''tuocha'', or ''jincha''. Larger ''bingcha'' age slower than smaller bǐngchá, and so forth. Just as important as the tea's properties,
environmental factor An environmental factor, ecological factor or eco factor is any factor, abiotic or biotic, that influences living organisms. Abiotic factors include ambient temperature, amount of sunlight, and pH of the water soil in which an organism lives. Bi ...
s for the tea's storage also affect how quickly and successfully a tea ages. They include: * ''Air flow'': Regulates the oxygen content surrounding the tea and removes odors from the aging tea. Dank, stagnant air will lead to dank, stale smelling aged tea. Wrapping a tea in plastic will eventually arrest the aging process. * ''Odors'': Tea stored in the presence of strong odors will acquire them, sometimes for the duration of their "lifetime." Airing out pu'er teas can reduce these odors, though often not completely. * ''Humidity'' : The higher the humidity, the faster the tea will age. Liquid water accumulating on tea may accelerate the aging process but can also cause the growth of mold or make the flavor of the tea less desirable. 60–85% humidity is recommended. There is an ongoing argument as to whether high fluctuations in humidity negatively impact tea quality. * ''Sunlight'': Tea that is exposed to sunlight dries out prematurely, and often becomes bitter. * ''Temperature'': Teas should not be subjected to high heat since undesirable flavors will develop. However at low temperatures, the aging of pu'er tea will slow down drastically. It is argued whether tea quality is adversely affected if it is subjected to highly fluctuating temperature. When preserved as part of a ''tong'', the material of the ''tong'' wrapper, whether it is made of bamboo shoot husks, bamboo leaves, or thick paper, can also affect the quality of the aging process. The packaging methods change the environmental factors and may even contribute to the taste of the tea itself. Age is not the sole factor in determining pu'er quality. Similar to
aging wine The aging of wine is potentially able to improve the quality of wine. This distinguishes wine from most other consumable goods. While wine is perishable and capable of deteriorating, complex chemical reactions involving a wine's sugars, acids and ...
, the tea reaches a peak with age and can degrade in quality afterwards. Due to the many recipes and different processing methods used in the production of different batches of pu'er, the optimal age for each tea will vary. Some may take 10 years while others 20 or 30+ years. It is important to check the status of ageing for your teacakes to know when they have peaked so that proper care can be given to halt the ageing process.


Raw pu'er

Over time, raw pu'er acquires an earthy flavor due to slow oxidation and other, possibly microbial processes. However, this oxidation is not analogous to the oxidation that results in green,
oolong Oolong (, ; (''wūlóngchá'', "dark dragon" tea)) is a traditional semi-oxidized Chinese tea ('' Camellia sinensis)'' produced through a process including withering the plant under strong sun and oxidation before curling and twisting.Zhonggu ...
, or black tea, because the process is not catalyzed by the plant's own enzymes but rather by fungal, bacterial, or autooxidation influences. Pu'er flavors can change dramatically over the course of the aging process, resulting in a brew tasting strongly earthy but clean and smooth, reminiscent of the smell of rich garden soil or an autumn leaf pile, sometimes with roasted or sweet undertones. Because of its ability to age without losing "quality", well aged good pu'er gains value over time in the same way that aged roasted oolong does. Raw pu'er can undergo "wet storage" (''shīcāng'', 湿 ) and "dry storage" (''gāncāng'' ), with teas that have undergone the latter ageing more slowly, but thought to show more complexity. Dry storage involves keeping the tea in "comfortable" temperature and humidity, thus allowing the tea to age slowly. Wet or "humid" storage refers to the storage of pu'er tea in humid environments, such as those found naturally in Hong Kong, Guangzhou and, to a lesser extent, Taiwan. The practice of "Pen Shui"
Radical 85 or radical water () meaning "water" is a Kangxi radical; one of 35 of the 214 that are composed of 4 strokes. Its left-hand form, , is closely related to Radical 15, ''bīng'' (also known as 两点水 ''liǎngdiǎnshuǐ''), meaning "i ...
involves spraying the tea with water and allowing it dry off in a humid environment. This process speeds up oxidation and microbial conversion, which only loosely mimics the quality of natural dry storage aged pu'er. "Pen Shui"
Radical 85 or radical water () meaning "water" is a Kangxi radical; one of 35 of the 214 that are composed of 4 strokes. Its left-hand form, , is closely related to Radical 15, ''bīng'' (also known as 两点水 ''liǎngdiǎnshuǐ''), meaning "i ...
pu'er not only does not acquire the nuances of slow aging, it can also be hazardous to drink because of mold, yeast, and bacteria cultures. Pu'er properly stored in different environments can develop different tastes at different rates due to environmental differences in ambient humidity, temperature, and odors. For instance, similar batches of pu'er stored in the different environments of
Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
,
Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
and
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
are known to age very differently. Because the process of aging pu'er is lengthy, and teas may change owners several times, a batch of pu'er may undergo different aging conditions, even swapping wet and dry storage conditions, which can drastically alter its flavor. Raw pu'er can be ruined by storage at very high temperatures, or exposure to direct contact with sunlight, heavy air flow, liquid water, or unpleasant smells. Although low to moderate air flow is important for producing a good-quality aged raw pu'er, it is generally agreed by most collectors and connoisseurs that raw pu'er tea cakes older than 30 years should not be further exposed to "open" air since it would result in the loss of flavors or degradation in mouthfeel. The tea should instead be preserved by wrapping or hermetically sealing it in plastic wrapping or ideally glass.


Ripe pu'er

Since the ripening process was developed to imitate aged raw pu'er, many arguments surround the idea of whether aging ripened pu'er is desirable. Mostly, the issue rests on whether aging ripened pu'er will, for better or worse, alter the flavor of the tea. It is often recommended to age ripened pu'er to air out the unpleasant musty flavors and odors formed due to maocha fermentation. However, some collectors argue that keeping ripened pu'er longer than 10 to 15 years makes little sense, stating that the tea will not develop further and possibly lose its desirable flavors. Others note that their experience has taught them that ripened pu'er indeed does take on nuances through aging, and point to side-by-side taste comparisons of ripened pu'er of different ages. Aging the tea increases its value, but may be unprofitable.


Vintaging

The common misconception is that all types of pu'er tea will improve in taste—and therefore gain in value—as they get older. Many different factors play into what makes a tea ideal for aging and the aging process itself. Further, ripe (shu) pu'er will not evolve as dramatically as raw (sheng) pu'er will over time due to secondary oxidation and fermentation. As with aging wine, only finely made and properly stored teas will improve and increase in value. Similarly, only a small percentage of teas will improve over a long period of time. From 2008 Pu'er prices dropped dramatically. Investment-grade Pu'er did not drop as much as the more common varieties. Many producers made large losses, and some decided to leave the industry altogether.


Preparation

Preparation of ''pu'er'' involves first separating a portion of the compressed tea for brewing. This can be done by flaking off pieces of the cake or by steaming the entire cake until it is soft from heat and hydration. A ''pu'erh knife'', which is similar to an oyster knife or a rigid
letter opener Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...
, is used to pry large horizontal flakes of tea off the cake to minimize leaf breakage. Smaller cakes such as ''tuocha'' or mushroom ''pu'erh'' are often steamed until they can be rubbed apart and then dried. In both cases, a vertical sampling of the cake should be obtained since the quality of the leaves in a cake usually varies between the surface and the center. ''Pu'erh'' is commonly brewed in the Gongfu style using ''
Yixing Yixing () is a county-level city administrated under the prefecture-level city of Wuxi in southern Jiangsu province, China, and is part of the Yangtze River Delta. The city is known for its traditional Yixing clay ware tea pots. It is a pene-excla ...
teaware Teaware is a broad international spectrum of equipment used in the brewing and consumption of tea. Many components make up that spectrum, and vary greatly based upon the type of tea being prepared, and the cultural setting in which it is being ...
'' or a
gaiwan A (; ) or () is a Chinese lidded bowl without a handle, used for the infusion of tea leaves and the consumption of tea. It was invented during the Ming dynasty. It consists of a bowl, a lid, and a saucer. History Prior to the Ming dynasty (1 ...
, a Chinese brewing vessel consisting of bowl, lid, and saucer. Optimum water temperatures are generally regarded to be in the range of 85-99 °C depending on the quality and processing of the ''pu'erh''. The leaves are traditionally given one or more "rinses" before the first infusion, involving exposing them to hot water for 2–5 seconds and subsequently discarding the extract produced. This is done to saturate the leaf with water and allow it to decompress, as well as remove any small leaf particles that could adversely affect the outcome of the first infusion. The first infusion is steeped for 12 to 30 seconds, followed by later infusions repeatedly increasing by 2–10 seconds. The prolonged steeping sometimes used in the west can produce dark, bitter, and unpleasant brews. Quality aged ''pu'erh'' can yield many more infusions, with different flavor nuances when brewed in the traditional Gongfu method. Because of the prolonged fermentation in ripened ''pu'erh'' and slow oxidization of aged raw ''pu'erh'', these teas often lack the bitter, astringent properties of other teas, and can be brewed much stronger and repeatedly, with some claiming 20 or more infusions of tea from one pot of leaves. On the other hand, young raw ''pu'erh'' is known and expected to be strong and aromatic, yet very bitter and somewhat astringent when brewed, since these characteristics are believed to produce better aged raw ''pu'erh''.


Judging quality

Quality of the tea can be determined through inspecting the dried leaves, the tea liquor, or the spent tea leaves. The "true" quality of a specific batch of ''pu'erh'' can ultimately only be revealed when the tea is brewed and tasted. Although not concrete and sometimes dependent on preference, there are several general indicators of quality: * ''Dried tea'': There should be a lack of twigs, extraneous matter and white or dark mold spots on the surface of the compressed ''pu'erh''. The leaves should ideally be whole, visually distinct, and not appear muddy. The leaves may be dry and fragile, but not powdery. Good tea should be quite fragrant, even when dry. Good pressed pu'er cakes often have a matte sheen on the surface, though this is not necessarily a sole indicator of quality. * ''Liquor'': The tea liquor of both raw and ripe ''pu'erh'' should never appear cloudy. Well-aged raw ''pu'erh'' and well-crafted ripe ''pu'erh'' tea may produce a dark reddish liquor, reminiscent of a dried
jujube Jujube (), sometimes jujuba, known by the scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'' and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus ''Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. Description It is a smal ...
, but in either case the liquor should not be opaque, "muddy," or black in color. The flavors of ''pu'erh'' liquors should persist and be revealed throughout separate or subsequent infusions, and never abruptly disappear, since this could be the sign of added flavorants. ** ''Young raw pu'erh'': The ideal liquors should be aromatic with a light but distinct odors of
camphor Camphor () is a waxy, colorless solid with a strong aroma. It is classified as a terpenoid and a cyclic ketone. It is found in the wood of the camphor laurel ('' Cinnamomum camphora''), a large evergreen tree found in East Asia; and in the k ...
, rich herbal notes like
Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
, fragrance floral notes, hints of
dried fruit Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed either naturally, through sun drying, or through the use of specialized dryers or dehydrators. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to th ...
aromas such as preserved
plum A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...
s, and should exhibit only some grassy notes to the likes of fresh
sencha is a type of Japanese ''ryokucha'' (, green tea) which is prepared by infusing the processed whole tea leaves in hot water. This is as opposed to matcha (), powdered Japanese green tea, where the green tea powder is mixed with hot water and th ...
. Young raw pu'er may sometimes be quite bitter and astringent, but should also exhibit a pleasant mouthfeel and "sweet" aftertaste, referred to as ''gān'' (甘) and ''húigān'' (回甘). ** ''Aged raw pu'erh'': Aged pu'er should never smell moldy, musty, or strongly fungal, though some ''pu'erh'' drinkers consider these smells to be unoffensive or even enjoyable. The smell of aged ''pu'erh'' may vary, with an "aged" but not "stuffy" odor. The taste of aged raw ''pu'erh'' or ripe ''pu'erh'' should be smooth, with slight hints of bitterness, and lack a biting astringency or any off-sour tastes. The element of taste is an important indicator of aged ''pu'erh'' quality, the texture should be rich and thick and should have very distinct ''gān'' (甘) and ''húigān'' (回甘) on the tongue and cheeks, which together induces salivation and leaves a "feeling" in the back of the throat. * ''Spent tea'': Whole leaves and leaf bud systems should be easily seen and picked out of the wet spent tea, with a limited amount of broken fragments. Twigs and the fruits of the tea plant should not be found in the spent tea leaves; however, animal (and human) hair, strings,
rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
grains and chaff may occasionally be included in the tea. The leaves should not crumble when rubbed, and with ripened ''pu'erh'', it should not resemble compost. Aged raw ''pu'erh'' should have leaves that unfurl when brewed while leaves of most ripened ''pu'erh'' will generally remain closed.


Practices

In
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
, the tea is called ''po-lay'' (). It is often drunk during
dim sum Dim sum () is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cuis ...
meals, as it is believed to help with digestion. It is not uncommon to add dried
osmanthus ''Osmanthus'' ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. Most of the species are native to eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Indochina, the Himalayas, etc.),and was ...
flowers,
pomelo The pomelo ( ), ''Citrus maxima'', is the largest citrus fruit from the family Rutaceae and the principal ancestor of the grapefruit. It is a natural, non-hybrid, citrus fruit, native to Southeast Asia. Similar in taste to a sweet grapefr ...
rinds, or
chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center ...
flowers into brewing pu'er tea in order to add a light, fresh fragrance to the tea liquor. Pu'er with chrysanthemum is the most common pairing, and referred as ''guk pou'' or ''guk bou'' ( ; ; pinyin: jú pǔ). Sometimes wolfberries are brewed with the tea, plumping in the process.


Research

There is no evidence that consuming pu'er tea promotes loss of
body weight Human body weight is a person's mass or weight. Strictly speaking, body weight is the measurement of weight without items located on the person. Practically though, body weight may be measured with clothes on, but without shoes or heavy accessor ...
in humans.


Popular culture

In the Japanese manga
Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters colle ...
, the name of the character
Pu'ar ''Dragon Ball'' is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The franchise features an ensemble cast of characters and takes place in the same fictional universe as Toriyama's other work, ''Dr. Slump''. While many of the cha ...
is a pun on pu'er tea.


See also

*
List of Chinese teas This is a list of Chinese teas. Chinese tea is a beverage made from the leaves of tea plants (''Camellia sinensis'') and – depending on the type of tea – typically 60–100 °C hot water. Tea leaves are processed using traditional Chi ...
*
Anhua tea Anhua County () is a county in the Province of Hunan, China, it is under the administration of Yiyang Prefecture-level City. Located in the north-central part of the province, the county is bordered to the north by Dingcheng District of Changd ...
* Liubao tea


Notes


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Puer Tea Chinese teas Green tea Fermented tea Dim sum Chinese tea grown in Yunnan Yunnan cuisine Tourism in Yunnan