What Is Pu-erh Tea? Raw vs. Ripe, History, and How to Judge Quality

What is Pu-erh Tea?

What defines the quality of Pu-erh tea? How do we choose the right quality?
And what is the best way to drink it?

Every year, I visit Yunnan and stay in ethnic minority villages high in the mountains for one to two months to purchase tea. In this article, I would like to share what I have learned there and answer common questions about Pu-erh tea.

Pu-erh tea has been made since ancient times in Xishuang Banna, Pu-erh, Lincang, Baoshan, and Dali in southern Yunnan Province. To understand Pu-erh tea, you first need a basic understanding of the history of Yunnan and the surrounding regions.

The History of Pu-erh Tea

Yunnan Province, in southern China, was not always part of China. Yunnan was formally incorporated into China during the Yuan dynasty, when the Mongol army led by Kublai destroyed the Kingdom of Dali in 1253. Later, during the Ming dynasty, rule over present-day Yunnan was further strengthened. Before that, diverse peoples, including Mongol and Tai groups, formed small states and governed them independently.

For this reason, the borders of that time were different from today's, and Pu-erh tea production was not limited to Yunnan but spread into the neighboring countries. In fact, ancient tea trees several hundred years old exist in Vietnam, Myanmar, and Laos, and Pu-erh tea is produced there as well. We have also visited tea-producing areas in Laos and Myanmar and seen the situation for ourselves.

Pu-erh Tea Began to Be Made 700–800 Years Ago

The history of Pu-erh tea spans 700–800 years. Pu-erh tea (raw Pu-erh) as we know it today is said to have begun only 700–800 years ago. Before that, tea took different forms in each era. For example, 2,000 years ago, tea leaves that were simply dried, much like herbal medicine, were used in trade.

Pu-erh Tea Was the Tea of Ethnic Minorities

Even after Pu-erh tea began to be made 700–800 years ago, it was historically not a tea drunk by the Han Chinese of mainland China. Pu-erh tea was produced by minority ethnic groups for their own consumption and sometimes exported to Tibet, Myanmar, Mongolia, and Southeast Asia, where it was an important trade commodity, traded for horses or other goods.

Yunnan Tea Was Carried Along the Ancient Tea Route and Traded for Horses

Xishuang Banna is situated at the southern end of Yunnan, bordering Vietnam and Laos. Much of the tea produced here was carried north and gathered in the town of Pu-erh (普洱). This trade route is called "The Ancient Tea Route" (茶馬古道), sometimes referred to as the second Silk Road.

Pu-erh (普洱) town, a hub for tea trading, gives Pu-erh tea its name. In Cantonese, Pu-erh tea is also called Bo Lei tea. Pu-erh and Bo Lei refer to the same kind of tea.

Some people believe that good Pu-erh tea means tea from Xishuang Banna. Historically, however, not all of the raw material was sourced within Xishuang Banna. In reality, raw material from other regions, starting with Lincang, was gathered to make the products. Because Lincang is at a very high altitude, very good tea leaves can be found there even in areas without famous names. In that sense, it is not appropriate to define quality by region.

Four Major Regions in Yunnan Producing Pu-erh Tea

Xishuang Banna is renowned for Pu-erh tea due to its historical significance. However, other regions in Yunnan also produce Pu-erh tea, especially in mountainous areas like Wu Liang Shan (无量山), Ai Lao Shan (哀牢山), and Da Xue Shan (大雪山), and along rivers like the Mekong River. The four major Pu-erh tea-producing regions are Xishuang Banna (西双版納), Lin Cang (臨滄), Pu-erh (普洱), and Chang Ning (昌寧).

The Pu-erh Boom

Pu-erh tea was once generally regarded as an ethnic tea drunk by minorities in a remote frontier region, and even the emperors of China did not drink it. In the 1900s, Pu-erh tea was sold in Hong Kong and Guangdong, but only as an inexpensive, tasty everyday tea. However, especially after 2000, the Pu-erh boom spread rapidly, with collectors from Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Taiwan fueling it. Together with China's remarkable economic growth, the price of Pu-erh tea soared. At the same time, the rising prices brought modern agriculture and mass production, and the number of areas where quality has clearly declined has increased.

Two Types of Pu-erh Tea

Pu-erh tea includes two main categories: "Raw Pu-erh Tea" and "Ripe Pu-erh Tea." The tea with a long history, made for hundreds of years, is raw Pu-erh, and the tea that collectors and investors eagerly seek is also raw Pu-erh. These two types of tea are completely different in their processing methods. The diagram below shows the difference between how raw and ripe Pu-erh are made.

Raw Pu-erh Tea

Tea Plucking Standard

The process of making raw Pu-erh tea is basically similar to that of green tea, but the pan-frying conditions and the drying method that follows are different. Unlike green tea, which uses only buds or one bud and two leaves, Pu-erh is plucked with two to four leaves per bud. Because these leaves have stayed on the tree for a long time, they are rich in polyphenols and minerals, which are essential for a good aroma and aftertaste. Conversely, Pu-erh made mostly from buds contains too many amino acids, which promote the Maillard reaction, so it does not develop a good aroma when aged for a long time.

Withering

Withering is usually carried out for 6 to 12 hours. Withering means gradually wilting the leaves, which activates enzymes and promotes the fermentation that forms a floral aroma. For Pu-erh tea, the leaves are usually withered by leaving them spread out and still. Longer withering produces a more aromatic tea, but it also lowers the moisture of the leaves and increases the risk of scorching during pan-frying. The withering time and the thickness of the layer of leaves are therefore adjusted to the day's temperature, humidity, and the moisture of the leaves.

During withering, β-primeverosidase in the leaves is activated and hydrolyzes the monoterpene glycosides, geranyl and linalyl glycosides. This reaction releases volatile aroma compounds such as geraniol and linalool, and the aroma of the leaves changes to something vibrant and floral. Notably, oxidizing enzymes such as polyphenol oxidase (PPO) are not involved in withering, so the leaves stay green unless a problem with the withering conditions activates PPO. Meanwhile, the hydrolytic enzymes form aroma compounds and create the floral aroma.

Pan-frying Process

The harvested leaves are pan-fried in a pan heated with firewood. Although it is called pan-frying, the leaves are not actually processed by direct heat from the pan. As the leaves heat up in the pan, steam is generated, and it is this steam that deactivates the enzymes. The process looks similar to green tea, where the enzymes are deactivated directly by heat from the iron plate, but the principle is different.

Compared to green tea, for making raw Pu-erh tea, a larger amount of tea leaves (5–7kg) is put into a pan, and the pan-frying is done at a lower temperature. Basically, a high temperature is maintained in the first half and lowered in the second half. The principle is the same as cooking rice: steam is drawn out of the leaves in the first half, and pan-frying proceeds as the steam fills the leaves. In the second half, it is therefore important to lower the temperature to prevent scorching while steaming the leaves. Skillfully pan-fried tea allows the steam to gradually permeate, preventing a sharp rise in temperature, while simultaneously inducing enzyme fermentation in the stems, resulting in slight fermentation within the tea leaves.

The thickness and size of the pan used for pan-frying also greatly affect the quality of the tea. The type of pan shown in the photo below is commonly used by ethnic minorities, but because it is thin, the heat is distributed unevenly and the leaves scorch easily. A small pan can also process only a small amount of leaves at a time, so not enough steam is kept inside the leaves. When pan-frying in a small pan, the steam escapes quickly and the leaves dry out before pan-frying is complete. To prevent this, farmers try to apply higher heat, which makes the leaves even more likely to scorch. Higher-quality processing requires a thick, large pan. However, good pans have not spread to ethnic minority villages deep in the mountains, and it is precisely in such places that good tea is made. This is a frustrating problem for those of us who buy the tea.

Sunshine Drying Promotes Further Fermentation

Raw Pu-erh tea is dried in the sun. Sunshine drying, rather than hot air drying, allows the very small amount of remaining enzymes in the stems to get activated, aiding slight fermentation and making the tea more flavorful. The aroma of Pu-erh tea depends heavily on the weather. Pu-erh tea dried on a day with bad weather has an unpleasant smell, like laundry that has not dried properly. The weather is a very important factor in making good Pu-erh tea.

With Aging, the Aroma Moves Through Green Tea, White Tea, Oolong, and Black Tea Notes

Freshly made raw Pu-erh tea leaves are yellowish-green. As the storage period gets longer, however, the leaves gradually darken toward brown; in practice, they turn a yellowish color in about 5 to 10 years. The taste of raw Pu-erh is close to green tea or white tea while it is fresh. With aging, it develops a floral aroma, then a fruity aroma with further aging, and finally a dried fruit aroma. The enjoyment of raw Pu-erh comes from its evolving flavors over time, and the quality also changes depending on how it is stored. (Storage is explained in detail later.)

Ripe Pu-erh Tea

Ripe Pu-erh Has a Very Short History

While raw Pu-erh has a long history of 700–800 years, ripe Pu-erh tea was developed in 1973–1974 at Kunming Tea Factory (昆明茶厂), inspired by the processing methods of dark teas such as Fu brick tea. Ripe Pu-erh is not made from fresh leaves; raw Pu-erh is used as its raw material. The leaves are piled and moistened, and they mature rapidly through fermentation by aerobic bacteria such as actinomycetes, anaerobic bacteria, and fungi such as molds and yeasts. As a result, the tea develops a sweet aroma reminiscent of dried fruit in a short period.
The leaves turn black to brown, and the liquor shows a deep brown to red color, with a mellow taste.

Most Pu-erh Tea Sold Overseas Is Ripe Pu-erh

Ripe Pu-erh is more popular in overseas markets, and most of the Pu-erh tea sold in Japan is ripe Pu-erh. Because ripe Pu-erh generally sells at lower prices, the more premium the raw material, the more likely it is to be used for raw Pu-erh. However, some companies do produce ripe Pu-erh from carefully selected, high-quality raw material.

Spring-Harvested Ripe Pu-erh Is Extremely Rare

Most ripe Pu-erh is made for overseas markets and northern China, so ripe Pu-erh made from spring, summer, and autumn tea is usually blended at the end to even out quality and price before it is sold. Of course, the tea with outstanding quality is spring tea. To secure ripe Pu-erh made only from spring tea, we deal directly with producers and have them produce it for us on reservation.

Cha-tou

During the fermentation process by actinomycetes, the mycelium produced by the microorganisms causes the tea to form clumps. These clumps are called Cha Tou, which means "tea head" in Chinese. Cha Tou forms in a state where it contains moisture inside, creating an anaerobic environment within. This unique condition leads to a distinctive aging process, resulting in a very unique flavor from Cha Tou.

Tea with Earthy Flavor

Many people have experienced ripe Pu-erh tea that smells moldy or earthy. However, these flavors are not due to issues with fermentation but rather the raw materials used. When farmers process Pu-erh tea in a hurry during rainy weather, for example, the tea can end up with a burnt smell due to improper heat control. If such raw Pu-erh tea is used as a material and undergoes microbial fermentation, it can surprisingly result in ripe tea with moldy or earthy flavors. This type of flavor is called "camphor flavor." In some regions, including Southeast Asia, this flavor is actually preferred. Consequently, some factories have started using intentionally fumigated raw materials to produce ripe Pu-erh tea with a camphor flavor.

How Is the Quality of Pu-erh Tea Determined?

Not only for Pu-erh tea, the quality of tea is determined by the length of the aftertaste, a gentle mouthfeel, and the clarity of the flavor and aroma.

What Is Aftertaste?

Aftertaste refers to the taste felt in the throat that lingers, giving depth to the tea. Terms like "aftertaste," "depth of taste," "softness," "smoothness," "thickness," "lingering taste," "long-lasting taste," or "long finishing" describe this sensation. When you drink low-quality tea, the aroma is strong, but nothing remains afterward. Good tea goes deep into the throat, and both the aroma and the sweetness last a long time. In Chinese, this sensation is called Hui-gan (回甘).

This is not limited to tea. The taste of delicious foods, fruits, vegetables, wine, sake, and juice can all be explained with aftertaste as the yardstick. Compare a delicious apple juice with one that is not so good. What is the difference?

Is it sweetness?

Would adding sugar to the less delicious apple juice make it delicious?

In fact, what all foods have in common is that delicious foods have a long aftertaste. It gives the taste depth, a three-dimensional quality. Foods that are rich in minerals and have a long aftertaste taste more intense.

The quality of tea is basically determined by the length of its aftertaste, and the price rises in proportion to its intensity. In other words, if you do not understand exactly what aftertaste is, the relationship between quality and price will not make sense.

The intensity of the aftertaste is influenced by the minerals in the tea. In other words, the higher the quality of the raw materials, the stronger the aftertaste.

Five Important Principles in Defining the Quality of Pu-erh Tea

These principles apply not only to Pu-erh tea but to all kinds of teas: the intensity of aftertaste, body, flavor profile, process defects, and freshness.

Body

Body is often confused with aftertaste or physical texture. It refers to the fullness, boldness, width of flavor, roundness, total mouth-feel, and concentration of flavor that spreads in the mouth. A stronger body enhances flavor intensity and mouth-feel. Alkaline minerals like calcium, sodium, and potassium contribute to the body of tea. Additionally, silicon also affects the body. Generally, tea grown in areas with terrain formed by the uplift of the sea produces full-bodied tea.

Flavor Profile

Flavor defines the character of tea and does not indicate quality. It is similar to the color of a photograph, which varies with different cameras or lenses but does not define their quality. While selecting Pu-erh tea, the focus is on aftertaste and body first, followed by flavor. Improperly fermented teas with moldy or earthy flavors are immediately eliminated according to our criteria.

Process Defects

Process defects include issues in plucking, handling, processing, compression, and drying. Grading involves minus points for defects such as smoky flavor, damaged leaves, overheated or burnt leaves, excessive fermentation, and insufficient drying. While perfect tea is ideal, minor defects may be acceptable if the price is right. Some defects, like over pan-frying, become unnoticeable with aging.

Freshness

Freshness relates to the condition of tea during storage, logistics, and handling. Even well-made tea can produce a stale flavor if not properly stored. Contrary to belief, Pu-erh tea can oxidize, resulting in a stale flavor. Well-matured Pu-erh tea gives a sweet, fruity flavor, similar to sugar cane, honeyed fruit, or dried fruit.

Factors Determining the Quality of Raw Materials

Understanding the factors contributing to a long aftertaste is key when choosing Pu-erh tea. To get a long aftertaste, it is essential to find tea that grows slowly, in other words, tea that takes its time to grow. What matters to us is knowing which conditions affect the growth rate of tea. There are thousands of tea-producing areas, so tasting at random will not lead you to good tea. You have to narrow down the environments that produce the raw leaves you are looking for.
From our experience of staying in the producing areas for long periods, we understand that the following factors affect the length of the aftertaste.

Altitude

Not only for Pu-erh tea, higher altitude benefits tea by providing stronger sunlight and cooler temperatures at night, resulting in richer flavor and stronger aftertaste. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and perform photosynthesis during the day, while at night, they absorb oxygen and carry out respiration, consuming energy. In other words, high temperatures and strong sunlight during the day lead to active production, while cooler temperatures and thinner air at night slow down consumption, so the components that contribute to aroma and taste accumulate in the leaves. This slow growth results in higher quality tea.

Latitude

The Pu-erh producing areas border Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar, and some places have a tropical rainforest climate. Even at the same altitude, the farther south you go, the warmer the nights become. As a general rule, therefore, better tea is made at somewhat higher latitudes. On the other hand, if the latitude is too high, the daytime temperature is too low to make good tea.

Age of the Tea Tree

The age of the tree is an important quality factor when choosing Pu-erh tea. Older tea trees have longer roots, and longer roots mean a larger surface area and a greater ability to absorb minerals, producing a stronger aftertaste. However, if fertilizer is applied, even old tea trees will produce tea with a weaker taste, similar to that of younger trees. Old trees produce high-quality leaves because they grow slowly, but fertilizer raises the nitrogen concentration and speeds up their growth. To preserve the unique qualities of old tea trees, it is essential to cultivate them without using any fertilizer.

Frequency of Plucking

The earlier the tea is plucked, the better its quality, and the second and third flushes that grow after plucking are inferior to the first flush. What matters is buying the first flush. Some people insist on Ming Qian tea, plucked before the Qingming Festival, but tea from old trees or high-altitude areas grows slowly, so it is not unusual for the first flush to bud in mid-April, or even in May. What matters is that it is the first flush.

How many times a tree was plucked in the previous year affects the quality of the next year's tea. When tea is plucked only once in spring, the tree has a full year until the next spring to take its time and store enough minerals. On the other hand, if tea is plucked again and again in spring, late spring, summer, and autumn, the tree has to keep supplying minerals, the minerals in the tea plants and roots become diluted, and by winter the tree has not stored enough minerals for the new buds of the following spring. As a result, the quality of the spring tea naturally declines. In famous producing areas, tea sells at very high prices, so it is not unusual for tea to be plucked all year round. This eventually lowers the quality of the whole producing area. High-quality tea is plucked only once in the spring.

Soil Condition

Mineral composition in the soil affects aftertaste and body. Clay soil rich in iron is ideal; soil rich in iron, such as red soil and yellow clay, enhances the aftertaste. When the soil contains minerals such as zinc and copper, it takes on a deep red to purple color. Tea grown in such soil is often strongly astringent and is not very desirable.

Soil containing alkaline metals such as calcium and potassium affects the fullness of the tea. In Japanese tea growing, it is common knowledge that acidic soil is good for tea, but as far as I know, many famous producing areas were formed by the uplift of the seabed and consist of alkaline soil derived from it. Generally, tea grown in areas with terrain formed by the uplift of the sea produces full-bodied tea.

Quality Year: The Less Rain, the Better the Tea

Like wine, tea quality varies by year. Pu-erh tea can be stored, so it also takes know-how, such as buying more in a quality year and keeping it in stock. Basically, the slower tea grows, the better its quality. When there is little rain, the tea takes its time to grow, which gives it a richer aftertaste that lasts longer. Tea grows better in relatively warm, dry conditions. Warmth means plenty of sunlight, so the leaves produce more of the components that create aroma and taste. When it is dry, the night temperature drops even further (radiative cooling), and the lack of water slows the growth rate.

Conversely, in years with a lot of rain, the quality of the tea declines and the aroma becomes weaker. With a lot of rain, the tea shoots up quickly. Fast growth makes the taste thin and, of course, shortens the aftertaste. Yunnan's weather varies by region. Yunnan is very large, with a total area of 380,000 square kilometers, larger than Japan, so its climate is not uniform. The south is influenced by Asian monsoon weather, and the southwest and west by continental weather. For this reason, the ideal climate differs from prefecture to prefecture even within Yunnan.

Agricultural Practice: Natural Farming

Finally, here is the most important factor affecting quality. When nitrogen fertilizer is applied, whether organic or inorganic, the tea grows faster, carries out more photosynthesis, and enlarges its leaves. At the same time, to store amino acids in its cells, the tea synthesizes and accumulates a lot of theanine. Theanine is said to be the umami component of Japanese tea, but umami does not equal deliciousness. Umami is only one of the tastes, and it is a great misunderstanding that tea is delicious because it contains many amino acids. In fact, leaves rich in theanine have fewer polyphenols and fewer minerals. As a result, the aftertaste of the tea weakens and the taste becomes flat.

To produce high-quality tea, it is important not to apply nitrogen fertilizer, organic or inorganic. However, tea needs nitrogen to grow. To supply nitrogen, microorganisms such as root nodule bacteria, which can take in nitrogen from the air in a form that tea roots can easily absorb, are essential. For these microorganisms to maintain their ecosystem and live in the soil of the tea garden, it is important to leave the weeds growing in the garden as they are. Removing weeds unknowingly destroys a vast ecosystem in the soil. Natural farming avoids fertilizers and herbicides, promoting a healthy underground ecology.

Pruning of Tea Trees

Modern agricultural practices include pruning to increase production. Pruned tea trees produce lower quality tea due to rapid growth and lower mineral content. Slower-growing, unpruned trees produce better-tasting tea. This is similar to the effect of multiple tea plucking sessions.

Wild Tea

The Truth About the "Wild Tea" Often Seen in Tea Shops

Wild tea refers to natural tea growing in the mountains. In Pu-erh tea shops and on the internet, you often see names that emphasize the words "wild Pu-erh," but in reality most of these are not wild tea.

What is often seen in recent years is tea from cultivated gardens that were abandoned and have gone wild, sold as "wild tea." However, this is not wild tea but tea from abandoned gardens (ye fang cha), and it is not appropriate to call it wild tea.

In Yunnan, there is also a custom of calling Camellia taliensis "wild tea," whether it is wild or cultivated. Strictly speaking, only tea growing naturally in the mountains should be called wild tea, but people in Yunnan call Camellia taliensis wild tea without hesitation, even when it is grown in a field. This comes from the fact that Camellia taliensis originally grew wild in the mountains, and it is similar to how we Japanese still call tara buds (young shoots of the Japanese angelica tree) grown in fields "mountain vegetables." For this reason, most of the wild tea on the market was not harvested in the mountains. To give another example, think of the crimson glory vine (Vitis coignetiae), a wild grape that originally grows in the mountains of Japan. It is sometimes cultivated for wine and other products. Cultivated vines are not wild grapes in the true sense, yet they are still called by the same "mountain grape" name. Camellia taliensis being called wild tea has much the same nuance.

Wild Tea Exploration Video

Click the image below to watch the video on YouTube.

The Smoky Aroma of Raw Pu-erh

With tea that farmers make themselves, the leaves sometimes scorch during pan-frying because the farmers lack proper equipment or pay little attention to control. When buying directly from farmers, you sometimes come across this type of tea. The leaves are actually scorched, but many people describe the smell as smoky. We try to buy tea that is not scorched, but it is also true that some customers like the toasty aroma that scorching creates.

Aging of Pu-erh Tea

Both raw and ripe Pu-erh change in flavor and aroma through aging, but this change is not fermentation by microorganisms or enzymatic reactions. Microorganisms and enzymes cannot work in an environment where the moisture content is 10% or less. Like the aging of wine, the aging of tea involves oxidation-reduction reactions that occur without oxygen. Oxidation does not necessarily require oxygen. Chemically, oxidation means not only receiving oxygen but also losing electrons or hydrogen. Oxidation in the presence of oxygen proceeds too far and causes deterioration such as a stale odor, but when tea is stored without oxygen for a long time, limited oxidation reactions proceed and form a sweet, fruity aroma.

Why Age Pu-erh Tea?

The main reason to age Pu-erh tea is probably the change in aroma. With aging, the aroma of Pu-erh tea changes year by year. The aroma changes most noticeably in raw Pu-erh, which is a lightly fermented tea, but we also recommend aging ripe Pu-erh.

With raw Pu-erh, longer aging is not always better. What matters is creating the aroma you like. For example, raw Pu-erh aged for a few years develops a sweet, honey-like aroma. In fact, many customers like this aroma, and in our shop, a tea quickly becomes popular once it changes to a honey aroma.
Women and younger people in particular tend to prefer tea that has changed to a honey aroma after a few years of aging over deeply aged Pu-erh.

Aging for about 7 to 10 years brings out even sweeter aromas, like dried apricot, fig, and brown sugar. If you serve it without saying anything, some customers think it is black tea or oolong tea because of its sweet aroma.
This level of aging tends to be preferred by men and older people, and even younger people often find somewhat aged tea tastier in winter.

In other words, longer aging is not always better. What matters is knowing your own preference and setting the aging period to match it.

As for ripe Pu-erh, aging makes the texture on the tongue smoother and increases the sweet aroma of dried jujube.
Ripe Pu-erh also changes to an aroma that more people enjoy when it is kept for several years or more.

Aging proceeds faster the higher the annual average temperature of the storage place. For example, in the tropics, aging proceeds several times faster than in Japan.

Aging Does Not Change the Quality of Tea

Aged Pu-erh is sought after, but its quality remains the same as freshly produced tea. The aftertaste, one of the most important quality factors of tea, does not change no matter how many years the tea is stored. With raw Pu-erh, however long the tea is kept, the length of the aftertaste is determined by the quality of the raw leaves. In other words, the quality of tea depends on the quality of the leaves when they were plucked, regardless of the length of aging, and there is never any alchemy by which long aging raises the quality of poor tea.

Apart from the aftertaste that reflects quality, however, the mouthfeel and texture become softer as the storage period gets longer. Tea aged for a long time gives a sensation like sugar melting in your mouth.

Why Do Tea Collectors Seek Aged Pu-erh from Famous Factories?

Until around the 1970s, tea in Yunnan Province was cultivated naturally without the use of fertilizers or pesticides, regardless of the region. This was because, at that time, the value of Yunnan tea was not widely recognized and it was considered a peripheral tea. Therefore, even the famous factories that produced Pu-erh tea cakes during that time used only raw materials from natural cultivation. Naturally, if you drink tea from that era today, it has a strong aftertaste and tastes very delicious. However, people who have tasted this tea often mistakenly believe that its quality is due to aging, equating aging with quality improvement. Unfortunately, even if the tea produced by these factories today is aged for many years, it will never match the tea from the 1970s. This is because the quality of the tea produced today is completely different from that of the past. On the other hand, even today, in remote mountainous areas, there are still tea trees cultivated without fertilizers, as in the past. Pu-erh tea made from these tea leaves has a very long and strong aftertaste, allowing you to enjoy an excellent flavor even without aging.

Pu-erh Storage Is Full of Superstitions

When Pu-erh tea is stored exposed to outside air, the moisture content of the leaves rises and their quality deteriorates. Storing tea in humid conditions causes spoilage, and if the surface moisture rises too much, mold can even develop. Of course, it is a different story if the tea is stored in a room with air conditioning 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

As the best way to store Pu-erh tea, we recommend sealing it in an aluminum bag or similar package with thorough deoxidation.

Some people age their tea in ceramic jars, such as Yixing (zisha) clay jars, but we do not recommend this method. The storage container can affect the taste of the tea, and long-term storage can change the aftertaste and flavor. Even if you want to age tea with oxygen, the ideal method is to put it in an aluminum bag and seal it tightly.

Another Reason Pu-erh Tea Is Compressed

Think about why Pu-erh tea is compressed in the first place. Easy transport is one reason, but the most important one is that compression makes the inside of the cake oxygen-free. In Japan today, this can easily be done with a vacuum packaging machine, but Pu-erh tea has been kept airless inside by compression for hundreds of years, since long before such modern equipment existed.

Pu-erh Tea Used to Be Compressed Rock-Hard

In the 1960s, Pu-erh tea was compressed tightly to eliminate oxygen, resulting in well-matured tea with honey-like flavors. These tightly compressed cakes were called "iron bing." They were rock-hard, like iron. I have experienced this myself: a knife could not cut into this tea at all, and the only way to break it apart was to chip at it with a chisel. When such a tightly compressed cake was aged for a long time, the aroma differed between the surface and the inside. The strong compression kept the inside airless, and oxygen could not penetrate it. With iron bing, the surface had a slightly stale odor, but when you shaved off tea from inside the cake and brewed it, it had a fruity, honey-like aroma.

Recently, however, cakes compressed rock-hard draw many complaints because they are too hard. For this reason, Pu-erh tea is now compressed more loosely. The leaves are easier to break apart, but oxygen penetrates the cake more easily, and loosely compressed tea exposes the leaves to oxygen, causing undesirable oxidation. To create the same conditions as the rock-hard tea of the past, we remove oxygen by adding an oxygen absorber. Storing Pu-erh tea without oxygen mimics the effects of these tightly compressed "iron bing" and actually creates a sweet, fruity aroma.

A Sweet Aroma Forms After a Few Years of Aging

In general, raw Pu-erh has a floral aroma at 1 to 3 years, changes to a fruity aroma at 3 to 5 years, then develops aromas like honey and dried fruit, and after that changes to a woody aroma. Older is not always better. Generally, women and younger people tend to prefer tea aged for about 1 to 7 years.

Various Shapes of Pu-erh Tea

Qi Zi Bing Cha Is the Name of a Shape, Not a Type of Tea

Many people picture a pizza-shaped cake when they think of Pu-erh tea. However, Pu-erh tea is originally in loose-leaf form, called "san cha" or "mao cha" (毛茶), with separate, individual leaves like green tea. When we buy tea, we also buy it as loose leaves. Loose leaves are easier to judge for quality, and if anything has been mixed in, it is relatively easy to tell. The loose leaves are then softened with steam and compressed into various shapes in a process called compression.

Pu-erh tea is thought to have been compressed long ago so that it was easier to carry over long distances as a trade commodity. However, the shape it is compressed into has nothing to do with its quality. Whether it is pizza-shaped like qi zi bing cha or mushroom-shaped like tuo cha, shape and quality are unrelated. Tea shape is determined by client requirements. Many people assume that small mini tuo cha are generally low in quality, but if the raw tea is of good quality, its quality is no different from other shapes. The pizza shape of qi zi bing cha is the typical form of Pu-erh tea, but for ease of brewing, mini tuo cha is a shape we recommend.

Why Most Pu-erh Tea Cakes Weigh 357g

By the way, do you know why the standard weight of qi zi bing cha is 357g? Traditionally, tea cakes have been bundled in sets of seven. In China, the standard weight unit is 1 Jin (斤), equivalent to 500g. A stack of seven 357g Pu-erh tea cakes weighs 2,499g or about 5 Jin, a convenient round number.

Compressing Pu-erh Tea

Pu-erh tea is compressed into shapes like pizza. The process involves weighing tea leaves, placing them in a mold, steaming, packing into a cotton bag, and compressing. Basically, the loose leaves are softened with steam, put into a cloth bag, and shaped in one go. The whole process takes less than a minute and is carried out very efficiently. Raw Pu-erh can be shaped with relatively little steam and low pressure. However, microbial fermentation reduces the stickiness of ripe Pu-erh leaves, so ripe Pu-erh needs more steam and higher pressure. Proper drying is crucial to avoid moisture damage.

The following photos were taken at a large factory. Similar processes are carried out at smaller factories and farms.

Epilogue

The joy of drinking Pu-erh tea is that we can indulge and discover different varieties of tea from various ages of tea trees. The taste, flavor and not to mention the aftertaste are precisely reflected from the Pu-erh tea's long history, its growing environment and the people who produce this tea. The history, culture, weather and land of Yunnan is concentrated in the Pu-erh tea. Another interesting fact about drinking Pu-erh tea is to enjoy its variation of flavour through aging. The flavour of Pu-erh tea varies as much as we change when time goes by. By customizing the flavour according to your own preference, you will be a part of manufacturing it. It is a delight to serve Pu-erh tea of various flavours at different occasions for distinctive guests. Do share these experiences with us by deepening your understanding and knowledge.