1. What is Pu’er?
On 1 December, 2008, the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announced the implementation a national standard of the People's Republic of China, "GB / T 22111-2008 Geographical Indicated Product - Pu’er Tea". The standard specifies that the geographical indicated product, Pu’er, is a type of tea that uses Yunnan sun-greened large leaf tea grows within the scope of protection of the geographical indication as the raw material, and is made by using specific processing technique within the scope of protection of the geographical indication, and thus has unique quality characteristics.
Depending on the processing technique and quality characteristics, Pu’er can be divided into two categories: Raw Pu’er and Ripe Pu’er.
Based on the appearance, Pu’er can also be classified as loose-leaf tea and compressed tea. Loose-leaf Pu’er can be rated on a scale of 11 grades, including Supreme Grade followed by Grade 1 to Grade 10. Compressed Pu’er can be classified according to the shape of tea cakes, such as Yuancha (round-shaped tea), Gongcha (tea for tribute), Tuocha (dome-shaped bowl tea), Zhuancha (brick tea), Jincha (compressed tea), Fangcha (square-shaped tea) and Bamboo Fragrance tea, etc. Among these, Qizi Tea Cakes, one of the common tea products in the market, are classified into the category of Yuancha or Bingcha (cake-shaped tea). Other common compressed tea includes heart-shaped compressed tea and compressed brick tea.
2. What is Raw Pu’er?
Raw Pu’er is a type of compressed tea made and shaped by direct steaming and compressing using Yunnan sun-greened large leaf tea grows within the scope of protection of the geographical indication as the raw material. Tea without being compressed is called Maocha (semi-processed tea or raw tea). The quality of Raw Pu’er is characterized by its dark green color, long-lasting fresh aroma, rich taste with light sweet, greenish-yellow clear infusion and yellowish-green fleshy leaves.
3. What is Ripe Pu’er?
Ripe Pu’er is a type tea made into both loose-leaf and compressed forms by using special processing technique and through the process of post-fermentation (fast or slow post-fermentation) with Yunnan sun-greened large leaf tea grows within the scope of protection of the geographical indication as the raw material. The quality of Ripe Pu’er is characterized by its reddish-brown color, dense and bright red infusion, unique mellow aroma, bold and pure taste with light sweet, and reddish-brown leaves.
4. What is Post-fermentation?
It is the process that under specified environmental conditions, through a comprehensive action of microorganisms, enzymes, heat, and oxidation, the substances contained in leaves of Yunnan sun-greened large leaf tea or Raw Pu’er transformed into the unique quality characteristics of Ripe Pu’er.
5. What Type of Tea is Pu’er?
Dark tea is a type of primarily processed Maocha made of the rough and old fresh leaves of small-and-medium leaf tea trees, while Pu’er a type of reprocessed tea made of sun-greened large leaf tea through natural fermentation and aging or artificial pile-fermentation. Traditionally, Pu’er is classified into the category of dark tea despite of the fact that neither the processing flow nor the quality characteristics of Pu’er is similar to that of the six types of tea. That’s why Yunnan Tea Association have appealed to the Tea Field of China for serious and rigorous discussions among experts and professionals from all over the country on a reclassification of Pu’er in the genealogy of Chinese tea and call it reprocessed special tea.
6. What Do the Mark Numbers of Pu’er Mean?
The Mark Numbers of Pu’er are the names of Pu’er expressed in numbers. Take 7653 as an example, 76 stands for year 1976 in which the formulation of the tea was created; 5 stands for the grade of the tea which goes up with the level of tenderness of the leaves; and the last number (3 in this case) tells the manufacturer of the tea, and 1 stands for Kunming, 2 for Menghai and 3 for Xiaguan.
7. Why is Pu’er also called Qizi Bing (Seven Cakes)?
People started calling Pu’er ‘Qizi Bing’ in the border trade from Tang Dynasty because at that time horse caravans (a train of horses carrying goods) would always bundle seven cakes of Pu’er together into a cylinder shape. Each cake weighed 7 Liang (357 g) and a cylinder of seven cakes weighed 2499 g (about 2.5 kg). 1 pack contains 12 cylinders of tea cakes weighing about 30 kg, and a horse could carry just 2 packs weighing about 60 kg. In addition, in traditional Chinese culture, the number 7 is a symbol of more children, land, income, happiness, wealth and longer living. People believe that seven cakes together betokens complete and success.