Puerh Tea
A guide to choosing a puerh tea that you'll love November 18 2015
Puerh is still something new for most tea drinkers in America. The choices can be pretty overwhelming. Puerh is an incredibly complex tea with a history spanning a millennia and a half. We often get asked how to choose a puerh tea for the first time. It can be a daunting experience. However, with a little guidance you can make a choice that will satisfy both your curiosity and your palate.
One of the most important things to realize about puerh is that puerh is not a single tea. There is no one puerh tea experience. The scope of flavors and aroma possible is probably as broad as all other teas combined. Each of the following variables adds an order of magnitude to the complexity:
- tea tree varietal
- tea tree age (young plantation trees or ancient trees older than America)
- region / terroir
- farm / soil management
- season of picking (Spring / Summer / Fall)
- plucking standard / leaf grade
- roasting method (wok temperature / length of roasting)
- rolling method (hand rolled versus machine rolled)
- drying method (sun dried versus air dried)
- cake compression (loose versus tight)
- storage methods (humid versus dry)
- length of storage
That's a lot to keep track of and I don't intend to confuse you. I mean to highlight the rich depth of exploration possible within puerh tea. In your search for amazing puerh remember two things; you will not love ALL puerh, and there IS a puerh tea out there that you will love. Experimentation and exploration is key.
I'm often asked to recommend puerh to new drinkers. I respond first with a question. "What do you like to drink now? What beverages do you currently like and why?" Depending on the answer I can guide one to a puerh they will like with a fairly high degree of accuracy.
"I like to drink green tea"
If you like to drink green tea you should start out exploring young sheng (raw) puerh. Young sheng puerh means puerh 6-10 years old or younger. Anything picked in the last few years qualifies as young puerh. A reputable vendor of puerh will be able to tell you what kind of puerh they sell and how old it is. If anyone ever sells you just "puerh" and has no more info about it you should walk away. It is highly likely that is not going to be a pleasurable experience.
Young sheng puerh is biologically similar to green tea. A lot of the highlights you get from green tea are in young sheng puerh. When sheng puerh is young it has not yet gone through all the micro-biological changes that are present in sheng puerh aged a few decades or more. The flavor profile can vary from vegetal to floral to fruity. It will brew light in color but be rich in flavor. It may be bitter and astringent but should balance that with a sweetness. I sometimes describe it as green tea plus. It will be like a really rich green tea that just keeps giving. You should be able to steep the same leaves over 10 times.
Some good examples of young sheng puerh we sell are:
- 2019 "Moon Princess"
- This is an autumn cake from Bangdong Mountain. It is an affordable beginner sheng puerh.
- 2016 "Hidden Song"
- This is a thick bodied tea with a vegetal / beany experience. It brews with strong aromas and a savory umami notes.
- 2015 "Gu Ming Xiang Bing"
- A blend of two contrasting tea mountains this puerh is both delicate and harsh at the same time. Light and floral or strong and bitter all depend on how you brew it.
- 2020 "Honeybomb"
- This tea is all about the magical honey aromas that come from Jingmai Mountain. We blended this cake this year to highlight Jingmai aroma. It is soft brewing and easy to drink.
"I like to drink oolongs"
Oolong tea is also a pretty complex category. If you like drinking oolongs you're probably already familiar with tea exploration and are willing to dive headfirst into exploring puerh. Here's a few teas to think about:
- 2016 "Beneath an Emerald Sea"
- Crisp and floral with strong honey aroma. Long lasting aftertaste. Can brew bitter and astringent with heavy steepings.
- 2005 Changtai "Top of the Clouds"
- This is a very complex tea that was humid stored for a decade in Guangdong. It has depth of flavor and aroma with very present apricot notes.
"I like to drink coffee"
This was me before I discovered puerh for the first time. I was passionately into coffee. I was on a coffee journey searching for the perfect cup and perfect brew. It was a journey I enjoyed greatly until I found puerh tea. The things I liked the most about coffee I find in shou (ripe) puerh. It is emotionally similar to coffee. The flavors and aroma are not the same, but the emotion is there. Shou puerh starts off life as sheng puerh. Then it goes through a careful process of heat and humidity manipulation to accelerate the natural aging process. The process can take 1-3 months depending on the desired outcome. The processes utilized are very tricky to master. If you mess it up you can literally create stinking garbage. If you get it right though it can be amazing. In many cases the exact methods are considered intellectual property of the companies that have perfected them. It would be similar to the recipe for Coca-Cola. Shou puerh is a relatively new category of tea. The methods were only invented in the 1970's.
Shou puerh brews up dark and thick with intriguing aromas. The aromas can be woodsy, earthy, mineraly; and hopefully not fishy. Imagine a walk through the forest right after a rain. The flavors can be harder to nail down but will be similar to the aroma with more depth. You can sometimes find choclate or malty notes. Shou puerh will be smoother than young sheng puerh. It will be noticeably less bitter and astringent but may have those characters hiding in the layers. Shou puerh is mellow and easy to drink. It's a perfect pick-me-up on cold, dark, wet winter mornings.
Some of our more popular shou puerhs are:
- 2019 "Dark Depths"
- For a coffee lover this is a real treat. This tea brews up thick and dark and oily and viscous. It is emotionally very similar to coffee.
- 2016 "White Label"
- This is a bud heavy, dark brewing puerh tea that is affordable and easy to brew.
- 2020 "The Way"
- This shou puerh tea has noticeable bitterness that adds an intriguing balance to the experience
- 2000 "Old Warrior"
- This is an amazing shou puerh with deep depth of flavor and aroma experience. While not exactly 'coffee-ish' it is definitely worth experiencing.
"I like to drink red tea / black tea"
If Black tea is your thing we have 3 amazing teas for you. The large leaf "dian hong cha" material from Yunnan is arguably the best black tea in the world.
Give these a try:
- 2021 "Roam" Dian Hong Black Tea Blend
- This black tea is clean and vibrant with a pleasant herbal profile and low in tannins. This is a perfect daily drinker. The hearty aroma is brisk and greets you with a hint of citrus.
- 2021 "Big Red" Dian Hong Black Tea Blend
- This black tea has a full body that develops into flavors of dried fruits and barrel aged rum. The sweetness lingers with just a bit of smokiness. The aroma is deep and sweet with a hint of cedar.
- 2021 "Intergalactic" Dian Hong Black Tea Blend
- This black tea is full of golden buds and develops an impressive body. The cacao-like tanginess fades into a mellow woodsy aftertaste reminiscent of brandy and expensive pipe tobacco. There is an invigorating dry fruit aroma in this tea that is laced with notes of dark chocolate.
What do I need to know about tea "energy"?
This is a complex subject. Tea energy or "cha qi" as it is called in China is a quality of tea that has a relaxing / energizing affect on the body and the mind. It affects each person differently and is likely tied to chemicals reactions in the body to caffeine, L-theanine, and various polyphenols. The exact experience can vary based on individual metabolism. If you are looking for cha qi we have a few teas that might help you out.
- 2021 Altered State
- This is our best attempt to make a cha qi heavy tea. We took all the teas that give us the strongest tea energy reaction and blended together into this tea. This is definitely worth a try!
- 2020 Slumbering Dragon
- This is our original cha qi powerhouse. This is an intense tea! It is worth the experience. It brews STRONG and bitter with the most delightful blueberry aroma.
- 2020 Baby Dragon
- This is "Slumbering Dragon" lite. We blended it down to take the bitter edge off and offer a more affordable tea.
Experimentation and Exploration
As I mentioned above experimentation and exploration are key. Nearly all the teas we sell are sold in sample sizes. Buy a few samples of the different puerhs that intrigue you and start brewing with them. We encourage people to have a tea journal. Think of it like a science project. Write down the details of aroma and flavor and how they change over the multiple steepings. Keep track of how many grams of leaf you use to how many milliliters of water. Track brewing temperature and steeping times. Experiment with the variables. Brew long and brew short. You'll quickly find what works for you. If something doesn't taste right when you brew it try brewing it different next time. If you find a way to brew that you like you're doing it right.
- What is Puerh? Three Tea Educational Tasting Set
- If you're just getting started we sell a puerh starter set. It includes samples of shou puerh, young sheng puerh, and aged sheng puerh. It's a perfect way to get a snapshot picture of the flavor and aroma experience possible within puerh.
- Puerh Tea Elementals
- This is a collection of 8g sheng puerh tea balls that give insight into the unique regional specifics of puerh tea.
Can't Decide?
We sell sample packs that take out all the guess work! These are discounted collections of puerh tea samples that are a great way to try it all!
- Sheng Puerh Tea Super Sample Pack
- 13 different teas; more than 200 grams of sheng puerh!
- Shou Puerh Tea Super Sample Pack
- 7 different teas; more than 120 grams of puerh!
- Aged Puerh Tea Super Sample Pack
- 9 Different Teas; more than 200 grams of puerh!
Puerh Education: Grade of Leaf January 15 2015
When a system is too complex it is hard to fully understand the underlying pieces. Why does Dayi, or other companies, use the recipe they use for their classic puerh cakes? Why do they add more lower leaf grades to some recipes and more higher leaf grades to other recipes? To answer these questions and begin to understand puerh we need to remove extraneous variables. Tasting different blended puerhs will only cause more confusion unless you can remove variables and focus on small changes. With the CPTR research cakes I saw a unique opportunity. I could remove many variables and focus solely on how leaf grade changed the tea. With these cakes the variables of region, farm, production method, tree age, processing methods, and post processing storage methods were all identical and therefore cancelled each other out. Focus can be given to the grade of leaf.What is Huang Pian? September 05 2014
She pauses her diligent hunt for just a moment to lift the entire mat up into the air in one swift motion that momentarily suspends each leaf in front of her face. As the leaves fall back into place she begins a rhythmic circular motion that spreads the leaf across the woven surface. The mat back on the ground she begins the hunt again. She is looking for broken leaves, yellow leaves, leaves that didn’t roll tightly, and leaves that are too big. These she sets aside in a special pile. These aren’t pretty leaves; they’re runts. The market doesn’t want these leaves. They have ‘standards’. These leaves are called ‘lao huang pian’, or just ‘huang pian’.What does puerh tea have to do with marriage? July 13 2014
This is our simple wish: A long, happy marriage filled with delicious tea!Bulang Mountain Puerh April 29 2014
As our dust cloud pulled up and we emerged covered in dirt and sweating from the afternoon heat, we must have been an interesting spectacle. Nevertheless Yan invited us in for tea. The factory buzzed with youthful social activity. Workers arrived with backs bearing fresh picked tea. Many kilos of this green gold was delivered, weighed, bought, and recorded. We sat, drank tea, and chatted about how our journey had brought us here. Yan broke the news that our car would never make it to Laoman'e...Jingmai Mountain and Mangjing Village April 09 2014
The forest became thicker the higher we climbed that steep path. Entering the forest the high trees created a protective canopy. The forest floor was well maintained and easy to walk through. Before we knew it we were surrounded by ancient tea trees. I've seen pictures, but nothing is like being amidst a forest like this. The scene offered both serenity and tranquility. The rustling of the tea tree leaves brought a cool breeze announcing Spring with a sweet aroma. The suns rays piercing the upper forest canopy with the slowly swaying branches performed a shadow puppet show on the forest floor to entertain us. It was a singular moment that I won't soon forget.