Pu-erh: Difference between revisions

[[File:Hekai-Gushu.webp|thumb|right|Pu-erh ''Beng'']]

'''Pu-erh tea''' (普洱茶), also spelled as '''pu'er tea''', is a variety of fermented tea produced in Yunnan province, China. Fermentation is a tea production style in which the tea leaves undergo microbial fermentation and oxidation after they are dried and rolled. This process is a Chinese specialty and produces tea known as [[Hei Cha]] ([[wiktionary:黑茶|黑茶]]), commonly translated to dark, or black tea (this type of tea is completely different from what in West is known as "black tea", which in China is called "red tea"). The most famous variety of this category of tea is Pu-erh from Yunnan Province, named after the trading post for dark tea during imperial China. Real Pu-Erh tea is made of tea leaves harvested of hughe tea trees called Qimao. Initially it was assumed that thoes trees are just very tall [[Assam]] bushes but recent DNA test showed that it's an entire new species. The discoverer named this plant [[Camellia taliensis]] to honor the Dai (Thai) minority which uses this plant traditionally to produce tea. <ref>Bio Med Central: [http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/12/92 Phylogeography of Camellia taliensis (Theaceae) inferred from chloroplast and nuclear DNA: insights into evolutionary history and conservation]</ref>.

==Processing==

Pu-erh is typically made through the following steps:

# green/raw 青普: sun fixation 曬青 > rolling 揉捻 > sun drying 曬乾

=== Ripe pu-erh ===

"Ripened" Shou Cha (熟茶) tea is pressed ''maocha'' that has been specially processed to imitate aged "raw" Sheng Cha tea. Although it is also known as cooked pu-erh, the process does not actually employ cooking to imitate the aging process. The term may come about due to inaccurate translation due to the dual meaning of ''shú'' (熟) as both "fully cooked" and "fully ripened".

!T

|-

|''Bing'', ''Beeng'', Cake, or Disc

| 饼茶

===Process and oxidation===

All Pu-erh teas undergo some oxidation during sun drying and then become either 1) fully fermented with microbes during a processing phase which is largely anerobic, i.e. without the presence of oxygen. This phase is similar to composting and results in Shu (ripened) Pu-erh, or 2) partly fermented (by microbes) and partly oxidized during the natural aging process resulting in Sheng (raw) Pu-erh. The aging process is controlled by the owner and thus the degree of fermentation and oxidization achieved depends on how the Sheng Pu-erh is stored.

===Regions===

====Yunnan====

Yunnan province produces the vast majority of ''pu-erh'' tea. Indeed, the province is the source of the tea's name, pu-erh Hani and Yi Autonomous County. ''pu-erh'' is produced in almost every county and prefecture in the province, but the most famous ''pu-erh'' areas are known as the Six Famous Tea Mountains [[wiktionary:六|六]][[wiktionary:大|大]][[wiktionary:茶|茶]][[wiktionary:山|山]]

=====Six famous tea mountains=====

The six famous tea mountains are a group of mountains in Xishuangbanna, renowned for their climates and environments, which not only provide excellent growing conditions for ''pu-erh'', but also produce unique taste profiles (akin to terroir in wine) in the produced ''pu-erh'' tea. Over the course of history, the designated mountains for the tea mountains have either been changed or listed differently.

===Cultivation===

Perhaps equally or even more important than region or even grade in classifying ''pu-erh'' is the method of cultivation. ''pu-erh'' tea can come from three different cultivation methods:

*Plantation bushes (''guànmù'', [[wiktionary:灌|灌]][[wiktionary:木|木]]; ''taídì'', [[wiktionary:台|台]][[wiktionary:地|地]]): Cultivated tea bushes, from the seeds or cuttings of wild tea trees and planted in relatively low altitudes and flatter terrain. The tea produced from these plants are considered inferior due to the use of pesticides and [[Fertilizer|chemical fertilizer]] in cultivation, and the lack of pleasant flavours, and the presence of harsh bitterness and astringency from the tea.

==Recipes==

Tea factories, particularly formerly government-owned factories, produce many cakes using recipes for tea blends, indicated by a four-digit ''recipe number''. The first two digits of recipe numbers represent the year the recipe was first produced, the third digit represents the grade of leaves used in the recipe, and the last digit represents the factory. The number 7542, for example, would denote a recipe from 19''75'' using ''fourth''-grade tea leaf made by Menghai Tea Factory (represented by ''2''). There are also those who believe that the third number indicates a recipe for a particular production year.

*'''Factory numbers (fourth digit in recipe):'''

==Tea packaging==

''pu-erh'' tea is specially packaged for trade, identification, and storage. These attributes are used by tea drinkers and collectors to determine the authenticity of the pu-erh tea.

==Aging and storage==

''pu-erh'' teas of all varieties, shapes, and cultivation can be aged to improve their flavour, but the tea's physical properties will affect the speed of aging as well as its quality. These properties include:

* ''Leaf quality'': The most important factor, arguably, is leaf quality. ''Maocha'' that has been improperly processed will not age to the level of finesse as properly processed ''maocha''. The grade and cultivation of the leaf also greatly affect its quality, and thus its aging.

===Ripe pu-erh===

Since the ripening process was developed to imitate aged raw ''pu-erh'', many arguments surround the idea of whether aging ripened ''pu-erh'' is desirable. Mostly, the issue rests on whether aging ripened ''pu-erh'' will, better or worse, alter the flavor of the tea.