Pu-erh tea

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Pu-erh or Puer tea (Chinese: 普洱茶; Hanyu Pinyin: pǔ'ěrchá) is a fermented tea, named after Pu'er countyin Yunnan, China. It is an unusual tea, because unlike other teas which are consumed shortly after production, it can be over 50 years old and is usually aged at least 1-4 years. Over this time it acquires an earthy flavour due to fermentation. This leads to Pu-erh having the unique trait among tea varieties of not losing its qualities after a year or two and of being classified by connoisseurs by year of production.

In Cantoneseculture, pu-erh is known as po-lay, bo-lay tea, or bo-nay tea and is often drunk during dim summeals with family and friends, as it is believed to help with digestion. Pu-erh is considered a medicinal tea in China.

The Pu-erh tea has been subject to a number of health studies. A number of medical studies have substantiated claims that the tea helps reduce cholesterollevels and saturated fatsin humans, and that it might also assist in weight loss.

History

Unlike other varieties of tea, Pu-Erh Tea is traditionally made with older leaves (not the first flush or budding leaves) from tall and old trees. These trees are of a type only found in Yunnan Province, known as broad leaf tea. The leaves are covered with fine hairs, are larger than other tea leaves, and have a different chemical composition. The leaves are then left green or moderately fermented before being dried. Often times the tea is then formed into cakes or bricks, wrapped in paper or pomello rinds, and stored outside exposed to moisture, air, and heat in order to further mature. Then the tea is stored underground for several years before taking on the darker, mellower characteristics that make Pu'erh tea. This type of tea originated from the natural aging process that happened along the ancient caravan routes, and the tea bricks were at times used as a form of currency. The tea bricks developed a unique flavor that was then refined by aficionados. One of the most expensive and rare Pu'erh teas is made from the droppings of worms that eat stored Pu'erh bricks.

Varieties

Many have mistakenly categorised cooked Pu-Erhas a sub class of black tea, due to its dark color. In fact, it is impossible to process cooked Pu-Erhfrom black tea. There are 2 major categories of Pu-Erh:

• Green (青饼 qīng bǐng) This tea, after drying, is left unadultered to age naturally. Though it takes longer to mature, it is considered superior by aficionados.
• Cooked (熟饼 shú bǐng) This tea is manipulated to accelerate the aging process.

Factories

• Kunming tea factory in Kunming.
• Menghai tea factory
• Xiaguan tea factory
• Nan Jian tea factory
• Haiwan tea factory
• Six Famous Tea Mountain tea factory
• Mengku tea factory

Preparation

Pu-erh is generally expected to be served Gong-Fustyle, generally in Yixingteaware.

Because of the prolonged fermentation and oxidization cooked Pu-Erhoften fails to develop the bitter, astringent properties of other teas, and can be brewed much stronger and for hours. cooked Pu-Erh is often steeped for long periods of time and can acquire a dark black color, as dark as strong coffee, however this is not generally done with uncooked Pu-Erhwhether aged or not aged as it will spoil the taste of the tea.

External links

• Pu-erh.NetLots of information on Pu-Erh preparation, types, brands, and reviews on the vendors who sell it.
• Pu-erh TalkGreat information on Pu-erh.de:Pu-Erh-Tee

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Wikipedia article Pu-erh tea.