Pu-Erh is the only tea with aging potential. Considering the time it takes to age pu-erh, collectors undoubtedly want to acquire products that will provide a great return for their time and money. There are no easy formulas that collectors can employ which will simplify this task. For the most part, collectors have to rely on their taste and past successes to select a potential aging pu-erh candidate, and for some who are just starting out on their pu-erh collecting journey, their first steps into pu-erh collecting can be confusing.
In the past, pu-erh was meant to be enjoyed as part of daily life. The concept of pu-erh collecting did not come until more recently. As a result, most early Hao (factories) had access to the finest leaves since the demand for pu-erh was not high, however we do not know what exactly what leaves were used in the earliest pu-erh.
In the past, pu-erh was meant to be enjoyed as part of daily life. The concept of pu-erh collecting did not come until more recently. As a result, most early Hao (factories) had access to the finest leaves since the demand for pu-erh was not high, however we do not know what exactly what leaves were used in the earliest pu-erh.
Pu-Erh
Until fairly recently the Chinese Government only allowed the use of plantation leaves for pu-erh production. The strict quality control meant that pu-erh was only made from cultivated bushes. However, in the late ‘90s when the China National Native Produce and Animal By-Products Import and Export Corporation (CNNP), recognized a rising demand for pu-erh tea, they began to allow more freedom to producers. The leaves now can come from wild arbor trees and wild trees.
Currently, there is a trend for pu-erh factories to use wild arbor leaves in their productions. There can be some uncertainty associated with using wild leaves. It is not known whether wild arbor leaves have the capacity for aging. This does not mean that it isn't possible to creat an aging-worthy pu-erh with wild arbor leaves - it only means that it may be harder to determine what is quality and what is not.
Another interesting development in pu-erh production is the increasing practice of factories producing pu-erh entirely made of silver buds leaves. When it comes to pu-erh, "white pu-erh" is a totally foreign concept that began in about 2001. However, as in the case of wild arbor leaves, its aging potential is yet to be fully understood and evaluated.
Currently, there is a trend for pu-erh factories to use wild arbor leaves in their productions. There can be some uncertainty associated with using wild leaves. It is not known whether wild arbor leaves have the capacity for aging. This does not mean that it isn't possible to creat an aging-worthy pu-erh with wild arbor leaves - it only means that it may be harder to determine what is quality and what is not.
Another interesting development in pu-erh production is the increasing practice of factories producing pu-erh entirely made of silver buds leaves. When it comes to pu-erh, "white pu-erh" is a totally foreign concept that began in about 2001. However, as in the case of wild arbor leaves, its aging potential is yet to be fully understood and evaluated.
Pu-Erh History
There are currently 10 leaf grades with the lower numbers representing finer, younger leaves while the higher numbers represent leaves which are older and less tender. For the most part, factories will blend different grades from different areas to produce a nice tasting pu-erh. Don't use leaf grade as anything more than a guide for selecting pu-erhs. There are some gems you may miss out on if you only select the highest grade-leaf pu-erh.
There are a some pu-erhs on the market which are a higher grade that are currently prized and sought after by pu-erh lovers. Menghai Tea Factory's recipes: 7572 , 8582 and 8592 are proving to be age-worthy and well made. If you're collecting ripe or cooked (shu) pu-erh, look for these: 7562 and the 7581 (ripe) brick teas from the Menghai and the Kunming factories respectively.
What Should I Buy?
Tea factories produce many cakes by recipe, indicated by a recipe number - a four digit number on the package. The first two digits represent the year the recipe was first produced, the third digit the grade of leaves used in the recipe, and the last digit represents the factory. 7542, for example, would be a recipe from 1975 using fourth-grade tea leaf made by Menghai Tea Factory (2). There are also those who believe that the third number indicates a recipe for a particular production year.
Factory numbers (fourth digit in the recipe number):
1 Kunming Tea Factory
2 Menghai Tea Factory
3 Xiaguan Tea Factory
4 Lan Cang Tea Factory or Feng Qing Tea Factory
5 Pu'er Tea group Co.Ltd
6 Six Famous Tea Mountain Factory
7 not specified
8 Haiwan Tea Factory and Long Sheng Tea Factory
Factory numbers (fourth digit in the recipe number):
1 Kunming Tea Factory
2 Menghai Tea Factory
3 Xiaguan Tea Factory
4 Lan Cang Tea Factory or Feng Qing Tea Factory
5 Pu'er Tea group Co.Ltd
6 Six Famous Tea Mountain Factory
7 not specified
8 Haiwan Tea Factory and Long Sheng Tea Factory
Pu-tential
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Pu-erh is a type of tea made from a large leaf variety of the tea plant. Pu-erh tea can be purchased as either raw/green (sheng) or ripened/cooked (shou), depending on processing method or aging. Sheng pu-erh can be roughly classified on the tea oxidation scale as a green tea, and the shou variant as post-fermented tea. The fact that pu-erh fits in more than one tea type poses some problems for classification. For this reason, the "green tea" aspect of pu-erh is sometimes ignored, and the tea is regarded solely as a post-fermented product. Pu-erh, unlike most other teas, can be aged and are classified by vintage like wine.
Pu-erh can be sold loose-leaf or pressed into cakes, bowls, mushrooms and bricks. The compressed shapes tend to age much better than loose leaf pu-erh.
Pu-erh can be sold loose-leaf or pressed into cakes, bowls, mushrooms and bricks. The compressed shapes tend to age much better than loose leaf pu-erh.
Preparation of pu-erh involves first separating a well-sized portion of the compressed tea for brewing. This can be done by flaking off pieces of the cake or by steaming the entire cake until it is soft from heat and hydration. A pu-erh knife is used to pry large horzontal flakes of tea off the cake such as to minimize leaf breakage. Steaming is usually performed on smaller teas such as tuocha or mushroom pu-erh and involves steaming the cake until it can be rubbed apart and then dried. In both cases, a vertical sampling of the cake should be obtained since the quality of the leaves in a cake usually varies between the surface and the center of the cake.
Pu-erh is generally expected to be served Gongfu style, generally in Yixing teaware or in a covered Chinese teacup called a gaiwan. Optimum temperatures are generally regarded to be around 95 degrees celcius for lower quality pu-erhs and 85-89 degrees Celsius for good ripened and aged raw pu-erh. 100 degrees celcius equals 212 degrees fahrenheit.
Steeping times last from 12-30 seconds in the first few infusions, up to 2-10 minutes in the last infusions. The prolonged steeping techniques used by some western tea makers can produce dark, bitter, and unpleasant brews. Quality aged pu-erh can yield many more infusions, with different flavour nuances when brewed in the traditional Gong-Fu method.
Because of the prolonged fermentation in ripened pu-erh and slow oxidization of aged raw pu-erh, these teas often lack the bitter, astringent properties of other tea types, and also can be brewed much stronger and repeatedly, with some claiming 20 or more infusions of tea from one pot of leaves. Young, raw pu-erh is known and expected to be strong and aromatic, yet very bitter and somewhat astringent when brewed, since these characteristics are believed to produce better aged raw pu-erh.
Pu-erh is generally expected to be served Gongfu style, generally in Yixing teaware or in a covered Chinese teacup called a gaiwan. Optimum temperatures are generally regarded to be around 95 degrees celcius for lower quality pu-erhs and 85-89 degrees Celsius for good ripened and aged raw pu-erh. 100 degrees celcius equals 212 degrees fahrenheit.
Steeping times last from 12-30 seconds in the first few infusions, up to 2-10 minutes in the last infusions. The prolonged steeping techniques used by some western tea makers can produce dark, bitter, and unpleasant brews. Quality aged pu-erh can yield many more infusions, with different flavour nuances when brewed in the traditional Gong-Fu method.
Because of the prolonged fermentation in ripened pu-erh and slow oxidization of aged raw pu-erh, these teas often lack the bitter, astringent properties of other tea types, and also can be brewed much stronger and repeatedly, with some claiming 20 or more infusions of tea from one pot of leaves. Young, raw pu-erh is known and expected to be strong and aromatic, yet very bitter and somewhat astringent when brewed, since these characteristics are believed to produce better aged raw pu-erh.
Brewing
