The principle of collecting Pu'er Tea is to taste old tea, drink ripe tea, and store raw tea. Raw Pu'er tea is the best for collection because it is made from Yunnan large-Leaf sun-dried Green Tea that is steamed and pressed. It contains a wealth of substances and has the characteristic of improving with age, with its color and flavor changing over time. As such, it has high collection value. Ripe tea, on the other hand, is made through fermentation and pile-fermentation, stabilizing its contents and flavor, which does not change much over time, making its collection value relatively low.

       Is it better to collect ripe or raw Pu'er tea:

       1. Young Raw Pu'er Tea

       Young raw tea refers to tea with a short age. It is made from leaves picked from large-leaf tea trees in Yunnan Province, processed through fixation, sun-drying, and then pressed into the shape of a tea cake, becoming a raw Pu'er tea cake.

       Young raw Pu'er tea is very stimulating and needs a long time to mature before it becomes mellow and palatable. If consumed soon after production, it will have a relatively astringent taste. If you enjoy drinking it right away, as long as it suits your taste, there's no need to consider its aging potential.

       If you plan to collect it for long-term maturation, it is recommended to choose teas with rich quality, changing broth, pure and thick flavors, and substantial broth. The advantages of young raw Pu'er tea are: it is inexpensive, easy to afford, and readily available. It is also durable and can occasionally be enjoyed like fresh green tea.

       The disadvantages of young raw Pu'er tea are: it has a relatively astringent flavor; it requires more storage space and a long maturation period, with uncertain flavor after maturation (if selected without experience).

       2. Ripe Pu'er Tea

       Ripe Pu'er tea is further processed by taking finished raw Pu'er tea and using artificial pile-fermentation technology to degrade and transform the stimulating substances in the large-leaf tea from Yunnan, shortening the original 20-30 year maturation period. If the Fermented tea is steamed and pressed into cakes, it becomes ripe Pu'er tea cakes.

       Since ripe Pu'er tea has been artificially and quickly degraded of its stimulating substances, it has a slightly aged flavor. Also, since it doesn't require long-term storage, it is relatively cheap, which is the biggest advantage of ripe tea, being absolutely affordable.

       For a decent entry-level ripe loose tea, as long as it suits your taste, you can buy it without considering whether you need to store it for several years before drinking. The advantages of ripe tea are: low price, easily available, easy to get started with, sweet water, no need for storage maturation, and can be enjoyed immediately.

       The disadvantages are: the broth lacks vitality compared to raw tea and may have off-flavors. Some may still have a pile-fermentation flavor (some products are not well pile-fermented), like the smell of soil, or even an acidic taste; there is less room for improvement through maturation compared to raw tea.

       3. Aged Raw Pu'er Tea

       If your financial situation allows, the ideal choice would be to purchase some aged raw Pu'er tea (aged for over 20 years) that can be consumed immediately. This way, you avoid the risk of storing tea and can achieve the effect of buying and drinking immediately.

       The advantages of aged raw Pu'er tea are: excellent quality and good taste, with a significant aged tea style, which is the flavor generally sought after by connoisseurs. After purchasing, you can enjoy it immediately without needing to store it for maturation. You can consume the entire cake without taking the risk of storage.