Puer Spring Tea, whether to choose loose tea or Compressed tea, depends on personal preference. Loose tea refers to Puer tea that retains its original loose leaf shape, without undergoing pressure to form specific shapes. Loose tea allows beginners to Puer tea to carefully observe the leaves' appearance and color, touch the leaves, and feel the texture of the Puer tea. Because it is not reprocessed, it preserves the original fresh fragrance and sweetness, and is convenient to use. In terms of aging, compressed tea benefits from the local natural environment and scientific storage, attracting a more diverse microbial community compared to loose tea. Therefore, the transformation effect of compressed tea is relatively better due to the combined effects of its processing environment and microorganisms. Loose tea, lacking the high-pressure process and its loose state, misses out on some of the microbial community, resulting in a different flavor.

Puer Spring Tea: Is Loose Tea or Compressed Tea Better?

Characteristics of Puer Loose Tea

1. Convenient for brewing and Observing the Leaves

Loose tea does not require prying, making it easy to use. It enables a detailed observation of the tea's appearance and color, and a clear view of the quality of the raw materials.

2. Better Taste Early On

In the tea community, there is a consensus that raw material (mao cha) tastes better than compressed tea: freshly made sun-dried green tea has the most cooling nature and is when the tea qi is most potent, especially with loose tea having a high aroma. When tea enthusiasts drink loose tea, those who are not accustomed to it might find it too cooling, while those who are adapted to it may enjoy its high and pleasant aroma. Furthermore, loose tea has intact leaves with fewer broken pieces, which means a lower level of astringency and a better taste.

3. Not Suitable for Long-Term Storage

A downside of loose tea is that its aroma dissipates easily, and it takes up a lot of space, making storage inconvenient. The transformation process is also harder to control, as excessive exposure to air can lead to over-oxidation, and during humid seasons like “returning south wind” or “plum rains,” it may become damp and undrinkable.

Therefore, Puer loose tea is better suited for short-term consumption. If you want to quickly reduce the grassy taste of new tea or accelerate its transformation, you can place the tea you plan to drink in a porcelain jar or tin can to allow moderate air contact. After two to three months, the taste will be better.

Characteristics of Puer Compressed Tea

Puer tea is a post-Fermented tea that transforms over time during storage, so tea enthusiasts often buy more when they find a tea they like.

If you plan to store and drink the tea gradually, we recommend choosing compressed tea. Puer cakes, bricks, and tuochas are all examples of compressed tea in different shapes.

1. Convenient for Collection

Compressed Puer tea, with its reduced volume, takes up less space and is easy to collect. Even large collections can be neatly stacked.

2. Better Transformation Results

The transformation of Puer tea requires microbial participation. There is an oxidation process and an anaerobic fermentation process, with the quality change mostly relying on the anaerobic process. Compressed Puer tea creates a stable microenvironment. Just as living in a comfortable place improves one's mood and outlook on life.

With proper storage, the transformation results of the same batch of raw materials after 5 years or even longer will be better for compressed tea compared to loose tea.

3. Requires Prying

The only downside of compressed tea might be the inconvenience of prying, but this varies from person to person. When brewing Gongfu tea, the seemingly cumbersome processes of prying and waking the tea can sometimes serve as a calming ritual and a way to adjust one's mood, enjoying the slow passage of time.