03.05.10
Pu-erh - a tea with a multitude of exceptional qualities
posted by Alexandra Hoover | 4 comments
It’s unlikely you would go out of your way for a cup of aged tea, even if someone told you it was a delicacy. However, there is an exception to everything. Pu-erh is an unusual kind of tea; in fact, many people think it 
tastes better when it is old. Much like wine, it gets better with age.
Pu-erh, however, has a multitude of exceptional qualities that make it well worth trying, whether the buds are old or young. For instance, pu-erh is made from tea leaves that are broad, making the leaves a little different in chemical composition. Fortunately, for those interested in weight loss, this chemical composition helps burn more fat than many other teas.
The way in which pu-erh tea is processed is also notable. Aged pu-erh, or shu, is a post-fermented tea, but its younger variant (sheng) is a green tea. In fact, there are four kinds of pu-erh - maocha (green leaves), green/raw, ripened/cooked, and aged raw (considered the best). Although not all pu-erh is extremely expensive, raw pu-erh, aged from 10 to 50 years, can run thousands of dollars per ounce.
To prepare a delicious cup of pu-erh, you might consider buying mushroom pu-erh, or tuocha. These varieties are smaller and easier to steam. To serve it correctly, try gongfu style, using yixing teaware or a gaiwan teacup. Steep your pu-erh for about five to ten minutes if you want a deep, dark taste. It is acceptable to steep this aged variant for awhile as the slow oxidation and protracted fermentation process make pu-erh less astringent than some teas.
March 5th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Its good to see an article on pu-erh! A very nice introduction to pu-erh newbies!
There are a couple of inaccuracies you may wish to address. First, riped pu-erh is shu, not aged pu-erh, and sheng refers to raw pu-erh but is not necessarily young or green (although it starts out that way, certainly). You refer to this later in the paragraph, but it’s a tad confusing.
Also tuocha is bowl-shaped pu-erh cakes. Mushroom-shaped pu-erh cakes are called jincha and are mostly sold to the Tibetan market.
Also, please recommend to your readers to try steeping pu-erh for MUCH shorter times if doing gongfu cha, particularly with sheng pu-erh. 5-10 minutes would still be strong if brewing English-style, but if brewing gongfu cha style the result would be undrinkable. Many people steep pu-erh in their Yixing or gaiwan for only a few seconds, perhaps half a minute at most.
It’s also well worth recommending that pu-erh go through one or two rinses (pouring off the first steeps) before drinking. It’s traditionally done to remove impurities, but typically the third or fourth infusion is where the real and best tastes of pu-erh start to come out. Good pu-erh can be steeped a dozen times or more (gongfu cha style at least).
Again, a good article! Thanks for writing it!
March 6th, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Alexandra, thanks for the article on pu-erh! I was first introduced to it when I was in Malaysia for work–we went to a tea shop & they told me about this “amazing weight-loss tea”. On first drinking it, though, I almost thought the weight-loss might be because the tea was so unpleasant!
However, I persevered in trying it again, and found a few types that I like. I find the sometimes almost-chocolatey, other times earthy and mushroom-like flavors to be fascinating. When I was in China the last time, one of my colleagues made me some fantastic deep, rich pu-erh from a cake she had at work.
I’d love to see pu-erh tea get so mainstream in the US!
March 6th, 2010 at 5:43 pm
Thanks..very timely to get to read your post, as I just sold some pu-erh to a woman who had never tried it before. I did tell she could steep it slightly longer. Good information, Alexandra.
Have you ever heard and is it true, that the secret to making Pu-erh is guarded to the point of people running the risk of life and limb to attempt to find out? Also have heard it was once illegal to import to the U.S. bcause of mold until they found a way to ferment it safely? Well, I hope the lady enjoys it. Very few of my customers, at least, want to even try it after they smell it so good for her!
March 7th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
We serve a lovely ginger pu-erh at work. : )