Tracing back the history of Puer Tea, there have always been two strands: loose tea and Compressed tea. Loose tea came first before compressed tea appeared, and both have received high praise at different times.

Loose Tea

During the Ming Dynasty, the process for making loose tea in Yunnan was already basically complete. At that time, Gantong tea from Dali, Taihua tea from Fengqing, and Puer tea were considered the three major teas, but they were still in a “grass flavor” stage. There was still the bias that “Yunnan's tea is bitter and not fine,” but it was also hard to overlook their unique quality of “the longer it is stored, the better its taste becomes.”

Compressed Tea

The “Dian Lüe” (Records of Yunnan) during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty recorded: “What scholars and commoners use are all Puer teas, steamed into blocks, brewed with a grassy flavor, slightly better than drinking water.” This marked the appearance of the prototype of compressed tea.

By the Qing Dynasty, Puer tea had developed significantly, and compressed tea made by steaming also gradually thrived. By the Republican era, the round cake shape of tea was largely fixed. At this time, there was loose tea and compressed tea, with compressed tea further divided into square tea, round tea, tuocha, brick tea, etc.

One of the common forms of compressed tea: round cake tea

Today, looking back over the history of Puer tea, the main reasons for the development of compressed tea's form include:

Tribute to Emperors

The highest-quality compressed teas were of the same form but varied in specifications, specifically for tribute to the imperial court. The specifications of tea sold to the public were distinguished from those of tribute teas. At this point, compressed tea as a craft had widely developed, and Puer tea, as a compressed tea “especially favored in the capital,” gained remarkable historical prestige.

Tea-Horse Trade

In tea-horse trade, various forms and specifications of compressed teas circulated in the market for ease of transportation and taxation, especially those belonging to Puer which became famous throughout the land.

Processing Technology

From the perspective of tea alone, it might be difficult to understand the changes in the stages of compressed tea, but from the standpoint of processing technology, after the Tang Dynasty, Chinese Tea production began to abandon traditional pharmaceutical processing in favor of culinary processing. And “mantou” separated from the category of cakes around the Tang and Song periods, which may provide a historical perspective for reference.

Late Transformation

In addition to the historical inheritance of the craft, from the perspective of late transformation, compressed Puer tea not only retains aroma and quality more easily than loose tea but also allows adjustment of tightness to appropriately control the timing and space for its late transformation, making it beneficial for storage and collection.

High-temperature steamed compressed tea undergoes faster initial transformation than loose tea, then slows down later on.

In modern times, the development of compressed tea has become even richer, with various shapes generated due to requirements for portability, aesthetics, and scene-specific needs. In the foreseeable future, the development of Puer tea in terms of appearance will continue. For the tea industry itself, following the development of the times, meeting or even guiding consumer demand, will allow the greatest promotion of Puer tea, enabling more people to drink good tea simply and conveniently.