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What is Pu’erh Tea ?
Pu’erh tea (pronounced POO-air) is the most oxidized form of tea, often aged, and sometimes very expensive. Unlike other teas, which get stale over time, Pu’erh can mellow and improve with age like fine wine. Some Pu’erh teas are more than 50 years old, and rare Pu’erh teas sell for many thousands of dollars in Asian specialty stores.
Pu’erh teas come from China’s Yunnan Province and are named for a city in southern Yunnan. These teas are highly valued in China where the processing methods have been a well-guarded secret for centuries. Pu’-erh’s distinct flavor comes from the fact that after the leaves are picked, they are made into a sundried base tea called maocha and then fermented. After that, the leaves are aged and then packed into bricks or cakes.
The Pu’erh tea consists of two completely different categories. One is called “Raw purer Tea” and another is “Ripe Pu’erh Tea”. Usually a tea beginner appreciates ripe Pu’erh tea more while the experts and collectors appreciate raw Pu’erh tea better. However, from the process point of view, raw Pu’erh tea and ripe Pu’erh tea are completely two different types of tea.
Raw Pu’erh Tea
Raw Pu’erh tea has a very long history and it was the tea traded through The Ancient Tea Route. Raw Pu’erh tea is also the tea that many tea collectors are enthusiastically searching for.
Understanding The Process of Raw Pu’erh Tea
1. Tea Plucking
Basically, raw Pu’erh tea-making process is similar to that of green tea. But it is not identical. Firstly, the plucking standard is different. For Pu’erh, normally one bud and 3-4 leaves are plucked which is just like oolong tea. On the other hand, green tea is usually made of single bud and 1-2 leaves, but sometimes it is made of single buds. In fact, for further maturation of Pu’erh, the 3rd leaf plays an important role in contributing to the floral note or fruity flavour. As compared to the 1st bud or 2nd leaf, the 3rd leaf has stayed much longer on the tree; hence the 3rd and 4th leaf is very rich in polyphenols and minerals. In order to get a strong flavour and aftertaste, the 3rd leaf is essential.
2. Pan Frying
The plucked tea leaves are fried in a pan in order to deactivate enzymes. During the process of making Pu’erh tea, pan-frying process does not completely deactivate enzymes, but some enzymes still remain alive. Unlike the making of Japanese green tea, the enzymes are completely deactivated due to the intense steaming with saturated steam. Chinese green tea should be of similar way as Pu’erh, since it is also pan-fried. But Chinese green tea is subsequently dried with hot air which will eventually deactivate the remaining enzymes.
3. Sun Drying
As for Pu’erh, the tea leaves are not dried using the hot air, but it’s dried under the sun. Sunshine drying process assists the fermentation. Sunshine drying does not instantly increase the temperature of tea leaves which causes the remaining enzymes to be active. During sunshine drying process, the tea leaves are spontaneously fermented and produce a typical flavour of raw Pu’erh tea.
Ripe Pu’erh Tea
Ripe Pu’erh has a much shorter history compared to raw Pu’erh. Ripe Pu’erh was developed in 1973-1974 at Kunming Tea Factory with reference to the process of ancient dark tea that is produced by mold fermentation. While the tea undergoes fermentation, the mold produces a certain organic acid that causes the pH of the tea to reduced resulting in a complete fermentation within a much shorter duration. Hence, the color of the tea leaves changes to dark brown and produces a mellow taste with thick body. The good quality ripe Pu’erh gives out a flavor like dried Chinese dates. In overseas market, ripe Pu’erh is generally more popular.
Process of Making Ripe Pu’erh Tea
During the production of ripe Pu’erh tea, the initial step is to process the fresh tea leaves into raw Pu’erh which is not immediately transformed into ripe Pu’erh tea but will undergo a process called post fermentation.
Two Stages of Fermentation
Firstly, the raw Pu’erh tea is piled on the ground and water is sprinkled over the tea to initiate the microbiological fermentation. The moist tea leaves are then covered with sheets in order to maintain the humidity. In this stage, bacteria such as actinomycete, will concur and nurture the fermentation process resulting in an increase in temperature that could reach up to 70-80 degree Celsius (peak of fermentation) within the pile of tea leaves. Once a week, the sheets will be opened to mix and even out the moisture within the tea leaves. Several weeks later, when most of the substances are converted, the fermentation process is stopped. Naturally, the temperature also decreases.
The tea leaves are then spread over the floor with the thickness about 200mm. During this process, yeast and mold dominates the fermentation causing the tea leaves to gradually lose their moisture, simultaneously, the appearance of mycelium of mold occurs on the leaves. This process has two objectives which are the drying of tea leaves as well as yeast and mold fermentation. However, if the tea leaves are piled too thick or dried using hot air, the tea flavour will diminish.
Secondary Fermentation-Cha-Tou
During the secondary fermentation, due to the coagulation caused by the mycelium of mold, lumpy tea leaves are formed. The size of cha-tou is approximately 10-40mm whereas the shape is inconsistent. This is called “cha-tou” in Chinese which literally means the “tea head”. Once the cha-tou is formed, the moisture trapped within the leaves will undergo a certain fermentation or maturation that will produce a dried-fruity flavour which inspires manufacturers to cherish it very much. Therefore, it is one of the most expensive and limited tea among ripe Pu’erh teas.
Pu’erh Tea Caffeine Level
Aged Pu’erh Teas are lower in caffeine than younger ones. Post-fermentation by ageing breaks down the caffeine which naturally diminishes the older a tea gets. Generally, Green Pu’erh contains more caffeine than Black Pu’erh as the Black varieties are subjected to additional processing which diminishes the caffeine, which is water-soluble.
(Note: We use the term “Chinese Black Tea” as it is commonly used in the West to describe what are actually known in China as Red Teas. The true Chinese Black Teas as they are known in China are the post-fermented, aged teas such as Pu’erh Tea).
But there is a way to reduce the caffeine level of any tea if you are sensitive to it. Any tea is best made using the traditional Chinese method of tea-making known as Gong Fu Cha (Tea With Great Skill). This highly controlled method of tea-making is characterized by using small teapots and multiple brews with very short steeping times of just a few seconds. This intensifies the flavor of any tea and reduces the caffeine consumed compared to Western methods of tea-making. In Gong Fu Cha, the first brew is for washing the leaves and is poured away, so it is not consumed. This also has the effect of washing away much of the caffeine which is highly soluble in water.
Health Benefits of Pu’erh Tea
1. Reduction in Cholesterol
New studies with Pu’erh tea and health benefits have made a startling discovery; the microbial aging of Pu’erh tea can result in the production of small amounts of lovastatin, a natural statin. In the synthetic form, lovastin is commonly used to treat high cholesterol. Additional studies have shown that long-term use of appropriate amounts of Pu’erh teas have the potential to lower LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) and increase HDL levels (the good cholesterol). There have also been some cases where extensive use of Pu’erh has resulted in a drop of nearly 100 points in cholesterol levels. Please note, if you have a medical condition such as high cholesterol, please consult with your doctor and follow their treatment guidelines.
2. Cleansing
In traditional Chinese herbalism, Pu’erh tea is considered to open the meridians, ‘warm the middle burner’ (the spleen and stomach) and be beneficial to ‘blood cleansing’ and digestion. Many things that are found in our diet, even healthy foods, contain acids and other free radicals that can build up in the body over time. These deposits then get transferred throughout the body in the blood, making it beneficial to consume Pu’erh tea to help cleanse the blood of toxins. The micro-organisms and unique simple sugars that are produced from the Pu’erh fermentation process have been shown to attack the toxins in the blood, removing them from the body and creating a healthier you.
3. Aids in Digestion
The stomach and intestines break down food through a combination of acids and healthy bacteria. The micro-organisms that are present in Pu’erh tea have shown to increase the healthy bacterial flora in the stomach and intestines, which may aid in proper digestion of foods. For this reason, it has been found beneficial to consume Pu’erh tea after heavy meals to aid in better digestion.
4. Aids in Weight Loss
Studies have shown that Pu’erh tea significantly suppresses fatty acid synthesis (FAS). This means that it can literally block your body from producing more fat. Pretty cool, right? The process of lipogenesis (creation of fat by the liver) is blunted by using this traditional tea. On top of that, the caffeine found in Pu’erh triggers your body to secrete the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine which are shown to increase mobilization of stored fatty acids in fat cells. This enables your body to have easier access to use those stored fatty acids as fuel (and not keep it on your belly). Lastly, Pu’erh has been clinically proven to enhance cellular levels of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), which effectively blocks visceral fat accumulation. HSL is a critical enzyme that “unlocks” fat cells so that their contents can be emptied out.
Important to note, pu-erh tea is not a fad diet or miracle cure. Using Pu’erh to lose weight, like all other traditional methods, requires persistence and determination. You will not notice results in an instant. Instead, you will experience gradual improvement of your energy levels, overall well being and last but not least, gradual weight loss. In one French study, participants recorded weight loss was from five to ten pounds over a two-month period. To achieve best possible results, follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly in addition to your teatox, and drink Pu’erh tea about an hour after each meal (or simply after breakfast or lunch) to reduce the amount of fat that is retained and stored from your meal.
5. Reduces Stress and Helps with Sleep
While Pu’erh tea has caffeine, it may seem odd that this tea would assist with sleeping. However despite the caffeine, the key micro-organisms and phyto-chemicals Pu’erh tea contains, GABA and theanine, have been shown to reduce stress levels and increase the production of natural melatonin in the brain, resulting in decreased stress, stabilized mood and improved sleep patterns.
6. Prevention of Illness
Like most teas, Pu’erh has been shown to contain antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. Antioxidants are natural phyto-chemicals that help the body fight off free radical molecules and prevent diseases. The antioxidants that are found in Pu’erh are often in a higher concentration than in most other teas due to the fermentation process that the tea undergoes prior to steeping.
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