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Back to Basics I: Puerh (third): General

I noticed recently that quite a few people follow my blog then they must not understand much. So I decided to start this new series "Back to Basics" to make content accessible to all. Moreover, it is always good to get back to basics. I do not give the series on Wulong provided, and expect soon to introduce tasting notes.

I said that simplification often leads saying things which become rapidly incomplete inaccurate. It's a compromise I'm willing to do here, for the sake of accessibility.

puerh I begin with because it is a family about which we hear a lot of things easier, everything and anything. Indeed, it is fashionable, because its effects "slimming" sell. I tell you right away if you expect miracles in drinking gallons is that you are a victim of the pub ...

What the puerh, and he's different from other teas?

is a Chinese tea already. There are six main categories of Chinese teas: green tea, white, yellow, red (or black) blue-green (called wulong) teas and said post-fermented. The puerh is a post-fermented tea. Pu'er is originally the name of a town in Yunnan which was a hub of tea a long time ago.

Why "post-fermented"?

tea leaves, like any plant, contain enzymes which if not neutralized will cause rapid oxidation after picking. Most teas will be treated immediately after harvest to halt this phenomenon, they retain their quality and freshness. The leaves are just past puerh wok and then dried in the sun that will not eliminate all the enzymes. Tea and evolve with the time. This tea custody, with vintages like wine.

What is puerh taste?

puerh A young, after harvesting is very green and often a bit steep to taste, in addition to being astringent. Quickly, helping the fermentation, the tea will lose the enthusiasm to round off the leaves from browning slowly. The taste will become sweeter, more fruity. This trend will continue for some years, depending on storage conditions (see below) and enter an area bastard, a period where the flavors will be more balanced, where tea will not be as pleasant to drink. In this, and for many other reasons, puerh lot like wine. It will emerge from this period with a different identity. Flavors that emerged will be able to take on camphor, licorice, wood, earth, etc.. These will develop further with time. A puerh can be kept for several decades.

see Why Are puerh that cost so much?

An old puerh is something very popular, so very expensive. In recent years, its popularity has mushroomed and the speculation was "naturally" developed and blew up prices, making the old puerh totally out of reach of ordinary mortals. Thus, this ever increasing demand contributed to the emergence of very low quality products, and other counterfeits are legion. Order a puerh at random without knowing anything there in the jungle of products and retailers is a bet that you will have very little chance of winning. And the price will not be a criterion that quality.

How many kinds of puerh are there?

the mid-70s, to meet the growing demand puerh old, has been invented a method of artificially aging do to take advantage of flavors close puerh old, low cost and quickly. Basically, the tea is stored in warehouses with very high humidity and high ambient heat so that the leaves work. This is called puerh cooked or cha shu , as opposed to raw puerh or sheng cha that will age "naturally."

Why quotes?

Because there are several ways to store puerh, each ranging from tea yield a quite different. We're talking dry storage and wet storage. We also hear Stockpiling Hong Kong or others. Basically, the more puerh sheng (raw) will be kept in dry conditions, over its evolution and transformation will be slow. A wet storage will accelerate the process but will change the taste significantly, just as the manufacture of a cooked puerh although not so extreme after all. Puerh the most expensive and sought after are those stored in dry conditions. In general, a puerh has taken longer to turn will be better, but it is a matter of taste first. What is certain however, that storage is too wet is dangerous because of some harmful mold, or otherwise unacceptable to the taste of tea.

To return to puerh cooked, it will taste different level of course an old puerh sheng. It will be in the same vein, sometimes it closer but still play in the same court. You can find a lot of these mediocre teas, more than in the puerh believed.

How to navigate through the incredible range of choice?

puerh We will distinguish between large firms than smaller farms. Generally, large marks (Menghai, Haiwan, etc..) Are quite known for their blends (mixtures of leaves of different crops and locations, even years) and their forms, with names like barbarians 7542, 8582, etc.. The aim is to produce a tea that will look like from one year to another. Regarding the forms, the first 2 digits indicate the first year of release of this mixture, the 3rd is the grade of leaves used, and the last number of the plant. There are 8 grades of leaves, corresponding to the 8th largest leaves (Fu Cha Wrong thank you!)

Smaller farms are generally composed of sheets of wafers in one place and a single harvest. But this is not a general rule. Some retailers are pressing their own cookies, so they can include quality control and manufacturing steps. This is for example the case of Essence of Tea, Land of China 3 House of Teas, etc..

Then, like wine, there are vineyards. For puerh, these mountains. Each bring a different character to the tea. An amateur will take the time to try and find his preferences. But two producers of the same soil, there may be many things that will change. Add to this a few years of storage in different conditions and two teas of the same soil can be terribly different. One specialist said it will probably be able to recognize the source.

The puerh comes mainly from a few regions: Xishungbanna, Simao, and Hong Lin Cang, all included in the province of Yunnan. Include some famous names of mountains: Mengsong, Menghai (also a firm), Bada Banzhang, Yiwu, etc.. I refer to the excellent work of Olivier de puerh.fr and outstanding blog William Bannablog .

We often hear of ancient tea trees, old, ancient, millennia ...

A good selling point ... Indeed, an old tree will give a better tea in general. But must still be sure that there marked on the label is true. If this is indeed the case, a former tea is much better than a young, generally.

much for this first part. I hope not saying too much trouble. I will publish your comments as appropriate.

you soon.


Cup: Deishi Sibuya, Hagi-yaki.
Saucer: Seigan Yamane, Hagi-yaki.