·      Famous for history and curative properties

·      Bureau of Standard Measurement of Yunnan Province defined Pu er as

Not all experts agree with definition. It is however partially justified by the quality of the tea tree grown in Yunnan.

·      Youle

·      Banzhang

·      Manzhuan

·      Yiwu

·      Mensong

Renowned for tea production

·      Banpen

·      Yiban

·      Created a rise in price and opportunity

·      Year 2000- many people invested in plantations

·      Year 2007- Quick growth of Sheng Pu er led to a peak, fall, and speculative bubble burst.

·      Investors pulled out and now the market seems to be stabilizing

·      Rarity of product still demands a high price

·      Best tea comes from all wild tea trees, which are several centuries old.

·      Fermented 10-50 years

·      Not considered fully mature until they have been aged for 30 years. Labeled as “vintage”.

·      Shou is processed the same as Sheng; the fermentation process is faster, and occurs over 45-60 days.

·      Made for immediate consumption and the taste doesn’t get significantly better with aging.

·      Usually made with lower quality tea leaves and almost exclusively from plantations.

·      Distinguishing features

·      Zhuan cha (the brick) 9 oz

·      Tuo cha (the nest) 3.5-9 oz

·      Jin gua (the pumpkin) comes in several sizes

·      “The Mushroom” roughly 8 oz

·      “The Cube” 1/6 oz

·      Can also be made into custom or decorative shapes, like a Buddha or pig for specific events.

**Couldn’t find photos that were labeled for reuse for the cube, mushroom and pumpkin shape.

·      Usually a small piece of paper placed on the leaves after being compressed.

1.     Maocha

2.     Sheng processing or Shou

1.     Picking: the quality of Pu er depends on the part on the plant material used. A grading system from one to nine defines the size of the leaves which are used.

2.     Withering: processing Pu er teas begins with withering the freshly picked tea leaves. The leaves are spread in the sun for a few hours. In industrial processing the leaves are spread on racks in a room and heated with hot-water radiant heat.

3.    Heating: Small-scale heating takes place in pans and lasts for two to three minutes. The batches of leaves are far bigger than those used when producing green teas. The pans are usually heated by means of wood fires.

4.    Rolling: The leaves are then rolled by hand on a bamboo mat until they form a large ball. In industrial processing, th leaves are rolled in the same type of round roller press as used for black teas or for curly leaf green teas.

5.    Second Heating: Sometimes the leaves are heated a second time in the pans, also for two to three minutes.

6.    Second Rolling: The same method is used as for the first rolling: by hand on a bamboo mat (the traditional method) or rolled in a round roller press (the industrial method).

7.    Drying: Distinguishing features after the second rolling, the leaves are dried in the sun or in a temperature and moisture controlled greenhouse. In industrial processing, the leaves are dried on a conveyor belt that passes through a heating machine.

8.    Sorting: Next, all residue is eliminated form the leaves by means of manual sorting.

9.    Moacha is then ready: The people who produce Moacha sell it to specialized processors who then compress the leaves into different shapes.

·      The highest quality leaves are usually reserved for Sheng Pu er, maocha can be used to produce both types of Pu er teas.

2.     Compression: The leaves are split into groups that correspond to the desired weight of each cake to be formed. They are then sprayed with steam to hydrate and soften them so they are malleable. Then the paper indicating the trademark of the tea is inserted into the leaves. The moist leaves are then placed in a cloth. According to tradition they are then pressed under a stone. A hydraulic press is sued for mechanical compression.

3.     Drying: Once the cakes are compressed they are laid out to dry in the air without any cloths so any residual moisture can escape. In industrial processing sometimes the cakes are placed in a room hated by hot water pipes to speed up the drying process. The cakes are then returned to their weight prior to dampening. Packaging: Traditionally the cakes were wrapped individual identifying paper, group the cakes in lots of seven (called tong) and package each in a dried bamboo bark. Each tong was placed in a bamboo basket as part of a lot of six (called jin).

1.    Fermentation: the leaves are placed in a room and covered with water and a cloth. They are then exposed to high heat and humidity for 45-65 days. During this stage they will be turned over several times.

2.    Sorting: Once the accelerated formation is over, the leaves are first sorted by machine then by hand in order to eliminate unfermented leaves.

3.    Compression: Next, the same compression process as for Sheng Pu er is used. However few Shou Pu er teas are compressed by the traditional method. Hydraulic pressed are generally used. Once all the stages are complete it is wise to wait at least three months before drinking the tea produced to allow the fermentation process to stabilize.

Ideal humidity is between 60-70 percent, in a dark room, where they will not be exposed to light and has good air circulation.

Should be kept away from other strong aromas they can absorb (spices, coffee, etc)

Ideally Sheng and Shou should be kept separate.

·      Cakes of Pu er are inscribed Yunnan qi zi bing cha, which means “the tea cake of the seven sons of Yunnan

·      Seven is a lucky number for the Chinese

·      The use of plural implies that the family will produce many sons which implied good fortune.

·      When one buys a cake of Pu er you are also buying a promise of prosperity.

·      The round shape represents the full moon. Which for the Chinese symbolizes a gathering of a whole family.

Sheng Pu er teas less than 10 years old

Appearance of the leaves: Longish leaves or compressed shapes (nest, cube, cake, brike)

Quantity: 1/12 oz (2.5 grams) of tea to 1 cup (250 ml) water. Or 1 teaspoon per cup.

Temperature: 194-203 degrees F.

Length of Infusion: 3-5 minutes

Extra: Rinse for 5 seconds. If the leaves are broken and smaller shorten the infusion.

 Shou Pu er (any age) and Sheng Pu er over 10 years old

Appearance of the leaves: Longish leaves or compressed shapes (nest, cube, cake, brike)

Quantity: 1/10oz (3 grams) of tea to 1 cup (250 ml) water. Or 2 teaspoon per cup.

Temperature: 203 degrees F.

Length of Infusion: 4-6 minutes

Extra: Rinse twice for 5 seconds. If the leaves are broken and smaller shorten the infusion.

Theaflavins Yellow color

Zong-mao Chen

Shu-jun Cheng

Miao-Ian Chen

·      (E)-2-hexenal

·      (E)-2- pentenal

·      (E,Z)-2,4-heptadienal

·      Ionones and their oxides

·      (Z)-jasmone

*These compounds are reported as being produced during the microbial-fermentation.

(4.4) (4.4.1)

·      aldehydes

·      ketones

·      2,5-dimethyl pyrazine

·      2,6- dimethyl pyrazine

Especially increased during fungal growth

·      (E,Z) 2,4-heptadienal

·      Furfural

·      (E,E)-2,4-heptadienal

·      (E,E)-2,4-octadienal

Presumed the increased compounds contributed to the formation of the fungus flower flavor of Fuzhan brick tea.

Study done by Wang et al. 1991

*Sterile pile-fermenting (SPF)

·      Experiment found that OPF sample contained more terpenols and phenols, while the SPF sample contained more aldehydes and ketones.