Pu-erh

Pu-erh (pu’er cha, 普洱茶) is the famous post-fermented tea of Yunnan, named after the town of Pu’er through which tea caravans passed for centuries. It is the one tea that people not only drink but lay down: time does not spoil it — it matures.

Two paths of one tea

Pu-erh comes in two kinds. Sheng pu-erh is “raw”: pressed sun-dried leaf that ripens on its own over decades, from ringing freshness to deep copper. Shou pu-erh is “ripe”: the wet-piling technique gives it a dark, velvety, earthy character in a matter of weeks. Same leaf — different destinies.

In the Chinese tradition

Pu-erh is pressed into cakes, bricks and nests, wrapped in paper and bamboo, inscribed and stored — a good cake only gains value with the years. Portioned mini cakes are a modern continuation of the same tradition: one small cake for one tea session, no knife or scales needed. In traditional thinking pu-erh “warms”, helps after a rich meal and turns a table into a long, unhurried conversation.

How to brew

Hot water at 95–100 °C, short steeps, and discard the first pour to wake the pressed leaf. Pu-erh is generous: both sheng and shou hold many infusions, and shou can even be simmered.