China’s Mystery Tea:Puerh

All tea comes from the same plant which is Cameilla sinensis includingwhite tea, which has very little processing, green tea which is not oxidized, oolong tea which is partially oxidized and black tea which is fully oxidized.These are the four most well known types of tea.The fifth category is Puerh tea which can be green or black.What makes it unique is the tea is fermented and aged.

Although green tea receives a great deal of attention for it’s health benefits, it is thought Puerh has equal if not more health benefits than any other category of tea.

Puerh Defined

Puerh leaves are generally from the Yunnanprovince of China.The leaves are plucked from very old tea trees.Unlike the neatly pruned tea bushes, puerh tea leaves are very large and can be the size of a man’s hand.The tea plant is the subtropical variation Camellia sinensis var. assamica (Assam bush).It is know as Yunnan Big Leaf or dayeh.The trees grow randomly throughout the hillsides and mountain slopes making the gathering of this popular tea difficult and time consuming.

The leaves are sprayed with a bacterium and allowed to undergo a fermentation process.Although the larger and older dayeh tea plants have plenty of natural bacterium on the surface of the leaf to begin the chemical fermentation process required for puerh.

Raw verses Cooked Puerh

There are two categories of puerh:raw or green puerh and cooked or black puerh.Raw puerh is fired to stop all enzymatic processes and prevent oxidation but not enough to eliminate moisture needed for the fermentation.It is then piled onto the floor and the leaf is turned regularly allowing all leaves to experience the inner core of the pile where the heat is high and microbial activity is crucial.The tea is then packed into either the traditional or modern compressed shapes.It remains into a compressed form aging for the next ten years or so.Sometimes the aging is completed in caves giving it a unique characteristic as found in Golden Moons’ Puerh.

Cooked puerh is also referred to as Shou puerh.The grading of this category refers to the leaf not the quality.The wet pile fermentation consists of mostly loose-leaf tea leaves verses packed.The process is similar to the green up to the point of piling the tea on the factory floor.It is allowed to ferment in the pile usually during the summer due to the ideal muggy summer weather conditions to generate and regulate fermentation.The final stage is a firing to expel excess moisture and prevent spoilage.It is ready to drink and is packed in a variety of containers.

The compressed form of cooked puerh is also called “wet-storage”.The same method is followed as above except it is not fired quite as dry.After forming the tea into discs they are store above 80 percent humidity and sometimes wetted down.This is an accelerated fermentation therefore it lacks the complexity in taste of the aged puerh but is much less expensive being ready to drink after only two to three years.

Health Benefits

The health benefits of puerh tea have been observed for hundreds of years. It is thought that puerh is the most taken tea in Asian countries.Once used for medicinal purposes it is now consumed as a beverage of choice.

Some of the benefits associated with puerh include lowering cholesterol and preventing the LDL or bad cholesterol from forming in the arteries.In China is taken after a heavy meal to aid with digestion and metabolism of fats.This is another reason many women drink it to aid in weight loss.Researchers at Taiwan national University believe that the same degree of antioxidant catechins found in green tea are also found in puerh (M.L. Heiss, R. J. Heiss, 2007).

Those who travel outside of the country are recommended to take puerh tea with them.In the event of consuming unclean water, this fermented brew helps to balance the intestinal flora.Next time you have a queasy stomach, brew some puerh and see how fast your nausea disappears.

Collecting the Eras of Puerh

Like fine wine, puerh tea increases in value with age.There are a few categories mentioned in the “The Art of Tea” volume 3 which include the Antique Age, Masterpiece Era, and the the Seven-son Era (Qi Zi Bing).

The Antique Age includes Puerh tea cakes produced prior to the formation of the People’s Republic of China.Production was done by private businesses and sometimes single family farms.The demand for puerh from the end of the Qing Dynasty and the new China (1949) was not great.The cakes were not wrapped in paper as we see in other ages but they do include a trademark ticket.All puerh cakes, even today, have a ticket imbedded into the cake to indicate the maker of the tea cake.The Antique age ended in 1950 with end of private and family run Puerh businesses.

The Masterpiece Age is in the 1950’s and 1960’s.The distinguishing factor is the use of an outer wrapping made of hand made paper.They included the name of the “China Tea Corporation Yunnan Provincal Branch” printed in a ring around the central character.These are rare teas, yet still available for a price.

The Seven-Son Era began in 1972 when the “China National Native Produce & Animal By-products Import & Export Corporation “ (CNNP) was formed.At this time the CNNP took over all puerh production.This was the beginning of large exportation of puerh.Many of these cakes are now just reaching maturity and connoisseurs are very interesting in tasting them.

The modern market differs from the previous two because the laws in production of tea in China have relaxed allowing privatization of tea factories in the making puerh tea.Secondly the world demand for puerh has greatly increased production and some fear a stress on the natural ecology of the wild tea trees.

Because of this increase production with limited resources there are many poor quality or imitations are on the market.If you are a collector of puerh make sure you deal with a reputable dealer who understands how to read the mark and ticket of the tea.

Conclusion

This so called “Mystery Tea of China” has seen a huge increase in popularity over the last few decades.This increase in popularity has been to the investment value by collectors and the increased awareness of the health benefits from this unique category of tea.For this author, the increased interest is in the smooth, earthy flavor only a puerh can offer . The rest is just a bonus.

If you have never tried a puerh tea before you are in for an interesting experience.Don’t be put off by the odor of some of the puerh teas, the test in the taste.You won’t regret it and who knows, maybe you will become a collector of the most complex and healthy teas available – puehr.