Pu-erh: Difference between revisions

No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
[[File:Hekai-Gushu.webp|thumb|right|Pu-erh ''Beng'']]
[[File:Hekai-Gushu.webp|thumb|right|Pu-erh ''Beng'']]
{{#ev:youtube|v=QE-aXKxPagY||right|Farmer-leaf: Making Pu-erh tea - Step by step guide}}
{{#ev:youtube|id=QE-aXKxPagY||right|Farmer-leaf: Making Pu-erh tea - Step by step guide}}


'''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>.
'''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>.
Line 38: Line 38:


=== Ripe pu-erh ===
=== Ripe pu-erh ===
[[File:Puer2.jpg|thumbnail|right|Cooked Pu-erh tea]]


"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".
"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".