Pu’er tea is a unique Chinese black tea originating from Yunnan Province. The tea is fermented with a special method, bringing a distinctive aroma and taste. Pu’er tea can help with weight loss, cholesterol increase, cancer prevention, liver protection, and many other health benefits. If you are a tea lover, this article provides you with much helpful information about Pu’er tea and its benefits.
Contents
Introduction
China is the birthplace of tea and tea drinking culture. The country has a long-lasting history of tea plantation and production, with various types of tea. Pu’er tea is among the most special and well-known teas in this Asian country. Firstly, let’s take a close look at the generation information about this distinctive type of tea.
What is Pu’er tea? Understanding the history of Pu’er tea

Pu’er tea or Pu-erh tea is a unique type of Chinese post-fermented tea that is produced from a larger leaf strain of Camellia Sinensis called Dayeh. Dayeh trees, ancient plants with mature leaves, are usually cultivated in temperature regions. Especially, while its leaves can be harvested any time in the year, local farmers believe that mid-spring is the best time to pick them.
Ideal environmental and weather conditions in Yunnan province make great contributions to the unique flavor of this tea.
Regarding origin, the plantation of Pu’er started during the Eastern Han Dynasty(roughly 25-220CE) and people began selling as goods in the Tang Dynasty. Especially, during the Ming and the Qing Dynasty, tea became famous and was popularized in society.
The story of the tea creation came from the preservation ideas of many tea suppliers in the past. At that time, the demand for tea drinking increased so they must come up with efficient preserving methods of tea during long journeys of delivery.
Quickly after, Pu’er tea has become an inevitable household amenity, with typical aroma, taste, and various health benefits.
Nowadays, Pu’er tea has been prominent worldwide, not only in Oriental countries but in many Western ones.
Source:artoftea.com/blogs/tea-101/what-is-pu-erh-tea
Pu’er tea variants

Pu’er tea comes in two variants including raw(sheng) and cooked/ riped (shou) types. Here are the differences in the processing of the two distinctive Pu’er tea types.
Raw Pu’er tea
This way of processing starts with the leaves being withered and then heaped into piles. This step is called “ Wo Dui” or “ moist track” which allows bacteria to ferment the tea leaves. The “ moist track” is considered as the most significant step of the process because during fermenting the typical character of tea begins to develop.
Next, the tea leaves are partially pan-fired in order to halt enzyme activity, then they are lightly rolled and kneaded. After that, tea leaves are dried in a “ Dry Storage” environment with moisture so that the tea will oxidize. From this step, the tea leaves can be compressed into cakes or left in loose-leaf form, creating the raw Pu’er tea.
Cooked Pu’er tea
This processing method was practiced in the early 1970s. At that time, the Yunnan Kunming tea factory wanted to speed up their process of production so they came up with the idea of tea cooked processing method.
In the processing, the tea leaves after being picked and withered are mixed with a bacterial culture to replicate the bacteria. Such an environment would be created during natural fermentation. The tea then is fully oxidized for roughly 40 days in a hot and humid environmental condition. Finally, they are fired to create a dark, earthy infusion.
Half-cooked Pu’er tea, another tea type, can be created in the cooked processing method. This type of Pu’er tea is the perfect mixture of raw and cooked leaves, which is smoke-steamed and pressed to create a beautiful mixed color of light and dark leaves.
Source:artoftea.com/blogs/tea-101/what-is-pu-erh-tea
Pu’er tea taste and flavor

Pu’er tea has a smooth taste in green and black varieties. The tea comes in a mildly sweet flavor and has the typical aroma of autumn leaves. In particular, tea flavor can help to classify two grades of tea: good quality and bad quality. Good quality Pu’er tea comes in a deep and rich flavor such as earthy or mushroomy whereas, bad quality has muddy and moldy tastes.
Pu’er tea is often paired with rich desserts or enjoyed after heavy or greasy meals, like dim sum in China and Hong Kong.
Apart from its original flavor, Pu’er tea can be also blended to meet various consumers’ tastes. Some blending Pu’er tea includes Chrysanthemum Pu-erh, a traditional Chinese blend, or Rishi’s Pu-erh, composed of ginger Pu-erh tea and vanilla-mint Pu-erh tea.
Source: thespruceeats.com/what-is-pu-erh-tea-766434
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How to produce Pu’er tea? Pu’er tea manufacturing process
Pu’er tea is produced with two special methods including classical pressing and wet-piling.
The Classical Pressing Method
Summary: Harvesting – Blanching – Rolling – Sun-drying – Storage- Pressing – Ripening
Harvesting: Fresh tea leaves can be picked any time around the year but the best time for harvesting is in the early spring (March), in the middle of spring ( April), and late spring (May).
Blanching: Fresh tea leaves then are subjected to the branching process by baking on a hot pan with constant manual mixing until the leaves become very soft and liberate a unique grass fragrance.
Rolling: This rolling step ensures the easy releasing of tea leave flavor when brewing with hot water.
Sundrying: Under sunlight with constant mixing, the tea leaves are penetrated by the heat and infrared rays. Simultaneously, the sunlight can help remove the moisture and promote chemical reactions in the leaf matrix. This step can take two days to accomplish.
Storage: To preserve the tea taste, flavor, and hue, dried raw tea should be packed in a large, clean gunny bag and stored in an ideal temperature- and humidity-controlled room.
Pressing: Dried tea leaves are then pressed into different shapes
Ripening: This final step is essential for making good-quality Pu’er tea.
Wet-Piling Method
Summary: Harvesting – Blanching – Rolling – Sundrying- Fermenting- Mixing – Airdrying- Selecting and grouping- Packaging and pressing
Wet-Piling Method is similar to the Classical Pressing Method in harvesting, blanching, rolling, and sun-drying steps. Here are the distinctive steps in this method.
Fermenting: In this step, enzymatic and nonenzymatic oxidations help to transform tea components. This oxidating process takes place slowly and persistently with the assistance of a microbe and an oxygen environment.
Mixing: The fermented tea, after being determined the degree of fermentation, is broken down, mixed, and piled up again.
Airdrying: The piled tea is separated into several specific parts and is dried with air instead of the sunlight. Tea is dried until its moisture ratio reaches roughly 14%.
Selecting and grouping: The tea products then are sorted and grouped into specific grades, based on their color, size, fragrance, and appearance.
Packaging and pressing: Finally, the tea products are pressed into different shapes such as cubic, brick, bowl, etc, and packed in a gunny sack and are stored in a dried stock room.
Source: yunnanexploration.com/manufacturing-process-of-puer-tea
Benefits of the Pu’er tea

Pu’er tea is unique in aroma and taste but is beneficial in the health aspect. Here are some health benefits of this special tea.
Assist in weight loss
The lovastatin in Pu’er tea can help with the digestion system and fat breakdown as well as with relieving symptoms of constipation. In fact, fermented tea can introduce healthy probiotics or beneficial gut bacteria to drinkers. These probiotics help to strengthen blood sugar control, an important factor in weight management and hunger.
Lower cholesterol
Pu’er tea contains small amounts of a chemical called lovastatin which is a prescription medicine for reducing cholesterol. Especially, Pu’er tea extract powder is ideal for lowering cholesterol levels effectively.
Inhibit cancer growth
It is believed that oxidized tea polyphenols can help to prevent or treat certain types of cancer. These polyphenols have the function to eliminate free radicals as well as to stop the production of irregular cells.
Strengthen liver and heart health
People believe that one cup of Pu’er tea per day can help to lower the risk of heart disease. In addition, by preventing and reversing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, Pu’er tea can enhance your liver health as well.
Increase energy and prevent illness
Pu’er tea contains caffeine so this type of tea is ideal for boosting energy. It can also help you relax and stay focused better. In fact, tea is often consumed in the morning or early afternoon to increase energy levels. However, the amount of caffeine in the tea is less than in coffee so it doesn’t harm your health.
Furthermore, Pu’er tea is high in antioxidants and vitamin C which can help to prevent illnesses such as the common cold and flu.
Although Pu’er tea brings a myriad of health benefits, you shouldn’t ignore its side effects. Some side effects you should take notice of such as insomnia, dizziness, shaking, dehydration, etc. Drink a sufficient amount of tea every day and you will feel the magical changes in your body and mind!
Source:
healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/pu-erh-tea-benefits#benefits-uses
webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-1169/pu-erh-tea
drunkenonion.com/blogs/food-talk/pu-erh-tea-health-benefits
Vietnamese tea ingredients | Facts wholesalers should know before purchasing
Conclusion
Pu’er tea is one of the most special Chinese tea which is produced by the typical fermented process. Pu’er has not only unique in taste, flavor, and liquor but brings many important health benefits to drinkers. To get more interesting information about this type of tea, connect our tea experts via info@vietnam-tea.com to be consulted.
About Future Generation Co,.Ltd

We are FGC, the biggest tea exporter in Vietnam and one of the biggest tea suppliers in the world. Our tea products are diverse in types, grades, and production methods. We provide customers with Loose tea (such as Black tea, Green tea, and Oolong tea), Specialty tea (such as Matcha), RTD Tea, and Teabags. Our mission is to become Vietnam’s leading healthy beverage company.
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