Puer tea, puerh or pu-erh

Briefly about puer tea

Puer tea is a type of post-ripened tea produced in the southern part of China's Yunnan province, near the Mekong River and the borders of Laos, Vietnam, and Burma. According to legend, it was named after the city of Puerh, which was a major stop and center on the Tea Horse Road trade route. (You may see many spellings of the tea name: pu erh, pu er, puerh, and puer are all correct.)

Two types are known according to the processing method: Shu (fermented, dark) and Sheng (raw, green).

Post-ripened teas, as their name suggests, are suitable for long-term aging, such as white teas or roasted oolongs.

Cultivation and preparation of Puer tea raw materials:

Tea plant type: it must be made from the Yunnan large-leaf variety (Da Ye Zhong; Sinensis Assamica) and several subspecies

Place of production - Yunnan: China has regulated which areas of tea can be considered puer, a protected product.

Tea leaf harvesting: Leaves can be harvested in spring, summer and autumn. Spring and autumn teas are the most valuable. They are harvested in combinations of bud; bud+one leaf; bud+two leaves.

Sheng and Shu - Which puer variety should I choose?

Sheng - “green puerh" Making light, raw, green puerh (sheng): The leaves are dried in the sun for a few hours, then lightly fried in large woks.
Then they are rolled by hand : this breaks the cell walls so that the moisture inside the leaf is released, starting the fermentation process and bringing out the flavors and aromas inside the leaf. They are then left to rest and then dried again.
The tea thus produced is called " Mao Cha ", a raw tea that is either sold in loose tea form or taken to be pressed. (It ripens more quickly in loose tea form than in pressed form.) When pressed, the leaves are lightly steamed again to soften them, wrapped in cloth, and then weighed or pressed into the desired shape by machine.

Then the maturation process begins , so that the tea can continue to develop and mature over the course of 15-20 years. In the case of a well-prepared Puer made from the right ingredients, the positive change in taste can take up to several decades.

The taste of sheng puer is floral, fruity, slightly mineral. Of course, it depends on what kind of tea mountain and year we taste the tea, but these are some general characteristics. If we prepare them at a lower temperature, they become fruitier and lighter, if we use hotter water, their pleasant tartness also emerges.

Shu - “dark puerh" Making dark puer (shu): The processing of dark puer up to the "Mao Cha" stage is the same as for sheng puer. From there, however, the process changes: instead of steaming and pressing into shape, it is "steamed", i.e. placed in piles in a humid environment and covered, imitating - and accelerating - the natural ripening process.

The wet raw material is turned over several times and carefully sorted to ensure that only the best quality tea leaves remain and that everything goes smoothly during the ripening process. This process can take 6 months to 1 year, under the supervision of careful hands and expert eyes. The taste of shu puer is earthy, oily and characteristic.

Because of its fermented nature, many people think of the autumn forest. It is often date-like, silky and spicy. We highly recommend drinking this type of tea instead of coffee! It is gentle on the stomach, keeps you awake without overdoing it, and is also delicious and flavorful. Steps in the processing of Puer tea The videos were made on Jingmai Mountain, in Yunnan Province.

The first steps in making puer tea, the leaves that have been picked and softened and wilted for half a day are baked. The oxidation of the leaves is partially stopped. The processed puerh raw material is pressed into “Mao cha” tea discs. After drying, the processed tea leaves are softened a little to press them into discs. You can see the making of puerh tea discs in the video. Fully processed and dried tea leaves are called Mao cha, or raw tea. They are called this as long as they are fresh and not pressed into disc form. For all types of tea, “semi-finished” teas are called this.

A brief history of Puer tea

The history of pu-erh tea production, according to some researchers, dates back to 200 BC, during the Han Dynasty. According to historical writings, the tea was made by ethnic minorities primarily for their own consumption. It was sometimes exported to Tibet, Mongolia, or Southeast Asia, where it was a trade item.

Yunnan Province was the starting point of the famous "Horse Tea Road" (茶馬古道) trade route, from where tea was transported to Tibet and northern China. It is considered the second "Silk Road".

The pressing of tea leaves into shapes (disks, bricks, or nests) was for practical reasons: it was easier to transport. Post-fermentation was facilitated by the vagaries of the weather at that time, facilitated by Yunnan's humid climate and frequent rainfall.

The spread of Shu Puer tea - Why is it so popular?

The accelerated ripening process technique was developed by the famous Meng Hai tea factory in Kunming in 1972. From then on, we know the concept of Shu Puer.

The technique of fermenting tea leaves already existed in other areas of China, such as Guangxi Province, where fermented tea called Liu Bao was already made.

The development of shu puer became necessary because people liked the taste of old, matured and mature teas, which could be achieved after 40-50 years. A “faster” process was needed, which could bring out mature flavors in about 3 months.

The "puerh bubble" that inflated prices in 2003-2004 caused a flood of low-quality counterfeit teas to enter the Chinese market. Teas from this period are still considered suspect and should only be purchased from a trusted source.

The main, famous and larger traditional puer tea factories are: Menghai, Xiaguan, Kunming .
Newer factories with a good reputation: Haiwan, Xing Hai, Changtai, Mengku, Nan Jian.

It is worth purchasing Shu Puer tea from medium and larger tea factories, as they have all the tools for safe fermentation.

Sheng puer t, on the other hand, comes from smaller tea makers, tea farmers. Like smaller wineries, they live together with tea and make outstanding, personal and energetic tea.

Making Puerh tea at home - main parameters

Water: Soft water with low dissolved mineral content, good taste (total dissolved mineral content: below 200mg/l; PH above 7). Spring water (Lajos spring) or filtered water, possibly supplemented with magnesium, is ideal.

Amount of tea leaves: The Asian preparation method is the most ideal for making tea.
A larger amount of tea leaves (5 - 7 gr) and a smaller amount of water (140 ml) with a short steeping time (10-15 sec) is recommended.

Separating the pressed tea leaves: Use a knife for separating Puer tea or a stronger, shorter (but not too sharp) blade to spread the leaves that have been pressed into discs. Be very careful when separating the tea discs.

Making Shu and Sheng puer tea

It is recommended to start pouring light (sheng) puer at a lower temperature (85-90C) and increase the temperature as the pouring progresses. It is worth preparing sheng puer teas in a gaiwan (a Chinese cup with a lid) for younger people, while Yixing clay pots are good for older people.
Soaking time is approximately 10 seconds.

Dark (shu) puer can withstand heat and longer steeping, use a yixing clay pot to make it. These hold heat well and are easy to handle. The temperature can be raised to boiling point, the steeping time here is also about 10 seconds, which can be increased as the infusions progress.

Important to know! If you drink both sheng and shu puer, you should definitely pay attention to the brewing equipment. If you would use a porous, clay tool for both, and the same one, don't do it! The "memory" property of clay remembers the specific tea type in its pores, so an unglazed clay pot is only suitable for brewing one type of tea.

For tea making, you can use traditional tools, but you can also choose from more modern ones if you are in the office or want to make delicious tea quickly. You can find tea making tools here. Yixing clay pot For Sheng Puer tea over 3 years old and Shu Puer tea, the unglazed, porous clay pot is an ideal choice. It retains heat well and can keep the tea leaves at a relatively constant temperature between pourings. The pot requires a little attention to care for, but it is worth trying and making it a permanent companion on our tea table if we like Puer teas or baked oolongs.

Gaiwan

The most perfect tea-making tool, the gaiwan, or lidded cup, used in China. A practical tool for younger sheng and shu teas.

The health effects of puer

In China, puer tea is widely used in folk medicine. Shu (ripened) puer and the older, more mature sheng puer teas are excellent for aiding digestion after a heavy meal.

Interesting study on the health effects of tea here and here .

What are the effects of Puer tea?

According to Chinese medicine, it has a beneficial effect on reducing high blood pressure, can also reduce high blood sugar levels, and has a beneficial effect on digestion, especially the Shu Puer tea type that has undergone accelerated fermentation.

It has proven to be very effective in aiding digestion after heavy meals, relieving headaches, and keeping you awake.

You can find more information in the article.

Many people also consume it for its energizing effect, making it an ideal and healthier alternative to coffee. You can find more information in the article.

How do I make Puer tea?

It is recommended to prepare Puer teas using Asian proportions and preparation methods.

Making Shu Puer: (Accelerated Fermented Tea) Traditionally, use 4 grams of tea leaves per 100 ml of water. You can of course vary this according to your personal taste, but for those who have not consumed this type of tea before, start with this ratio.
So. 4 gr tea leaves / 100 ml water. The water should be 100 C, after a quick wake-up, you can pour it several times. The steeping times should be approx. 20-30 seconds.

Making Sheng Puer: Use 85-90 degree water if you are dealing with younger Sheng Puer tea. The water to tea leaf ratio is similar to that of Shu Puer.

You can also prepare it in the Western way. In this case, 5 g of tea leaves, 200-300 ml of 95C° water and steeping for 1 minute is ideal. You can find more information in the article.

What is puerh tea?

Puer tea is a tea from the Yunnan province, also famous for its subtropical climate, and is a type of tea fermented naturally or by an accelerated process. Another criterion is that it is made from the large-leaf tea plant native to this region and is usually pressed into a disc shape. You can find more information in the article.

How do I make puerh tea?

Measuring tea leaves If you have purchased a puerh disc from a tea shop, you have probably seen them use a puerh knife to cut the required amount of disc for you. From this, break off a serving size of tea leaves, which may vary depending on your taste.

Tea leaf steeping time Western method: 5.5 gr puer tea, pour 350 ml of water at 100 C into a pot, steep for 2 minutes, then strain. You can repeat the steeping process once more. The steeping time should also be 2 minutes.

According to the Asian method, 5.5 grams of tea leaves are poured into a 120 ml pot and water at 100 C. After a quick awakening, prepare your tea, taking into account the pouring time between 30-60 seconds.
The leaves can be poured several times.