Pu-er (Yunnan Dark Tea)

茶About this tea

Pu-er is produced from the large-leafed Yunnan Dayeh cultivar, grown in the ancient tea forests of Xishuangbanna, Lincang, and the Pu'er prefecture (formerly called Simao). It exists in two fundamentally different forms: sheng (raw or green) and shou (ripe or cooked), and unlike virtually all other Chinese teas it is produced specifically to be aged.

Sheng pu-er is minimally processed — sun-dried maocha pressed into cakes (bingcha), bricks, or tuocha shapes. Young sheng is often bitter, astringent, and vegetal; with years or decades of storage in humid or dry conditions it transforms into something complex, with notes of forest floor, dried fruit, stone, and aged wood. Good aged sheng from well-regarded mountains (Yiwu, Menghai, Lao Banzhang, Jingmai) commands high prices and has been subject to significant speculation.

Shou pu-er was developed in the 1970s by the Menghai Tea Factory as a way to replicate aged character quickly. Fresh maocha is piled, dampened, and left to undergo microbial fermentation (wodui) for 45–60 days. The resulting tea is dark, smooth, with notes of earth, moss, and sweet wood. It lacks the complexity of aged sheng but is affordable, consistent, and accessible.