“Our most intimate contact with the natural environment occurs when we eat it.” This is how British historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto begins his best-selling book Eating: How Food Transformed Us and Our Global History, published in 2000.
Extending this statement to tea is most fitting. Industrial civilization and urbanization have distanced us from nature; even the food we eat is often processed on production lines with various additives. Only tea remains true to its natural origins, presenting the essence of nature amidst steel, concrete, glass, and exhaust fumes.
Puer tea brings the clear winds and bright moons, sunshine and dew, morning mist and evening clouds, floral and woody fragrances from the vast mountains along the Lancang River into a single cup, presenting the entirety of nature before us. This most intimate contact between humans and nature not only makes Puer's coarse leaves stand out but also turns Puer into the ultimate tea among all varieties. Many Puer enthusiasts share a common sentiment: no matter which type of tea they used to drink, once they start drinking Puer, it's difficult to go back to other teas. As such, there's a saying among Puer drinkers: “The final destination for tea lovers is Puer.”
I haven't had the experience of transitioning from other teas, so I can't empathize with the difficulty of “going back.” However, having grown up drinking Yunnan green teas and then naturally progressing to Puer, the only tea I can truly accept is Puer. I've tried various other teas, but my body is already saturated with the essence of Puer. Drinking anything else either fails to satisfy or causes discomfort, with the exception of Wuyi Oolong. Thus, I often limit myself to a mere taste of other teas.
Puer's distinct character is shaped by the unique geography, climate, natural ecology, and regional environment of the mid-lower reaches of the Lancang River. The Hengduan Mountains block cold northern air, making southwestern Yunnan a natural greenhouse suitable for subtropical plants since ancient times, providing the ideal environment for the birth and evolution of tea plants, making it the center for the origin and evolution of the world's tea trees.
Under the protection of the continuous Hengduan Mountains, southwestern Yunnan becomes a favored child of Mother Earth. Not far to the west lies the Bay of Bengal, while to the east, the Pacific monsoon exerts influence. Warm and humid winds from the west and moist and warm winds from the east converge. The Himalayas and Hengduan Mountains block cold northern air and create a significant low-pressure zone. Coupled with the “moisture channels” of the Nujiang and Lancang river valleys, like two giant “humidifiers,” these conditions pull a “tongue-shaped temperate and humid zone” northward by four to seven latitudes, transforming a subtropical mountain climate into one with tropical characteristics, ensuring a year-round spring-like climate and ample rainfall.
The towering mountains and deep valleys carve this land into interconnected yet independent small regions, bringing diverse flavors to Puer tea. The abundant sunshine, rich plant communities, superior natural conditions, varied landscapes, and special processing methods imbue Puer tea with the taste of sunlight and the vibrant essence of nature.
The fusion of sunlight and natural essence makes Puer tea either firm yet gentle, gentle yet firm, or a harmonious blend, offering a rich tasting experience. The large, thick leaves of the large-leaf variety are rich in substances, resulting in a Puer tea with complex flavors, smooth penetration, delicate and long-lasting taste, and deep, heavy aroma.
The richness of Puer tea is its most prominent characteristic, evident not only in the age of the trees, the peaks, the aroma, and the taste, but also in its different forms, ways of enjoyment, and constant transformation. For many teas, there is only one method of preparation and one flavor. For example, Longjing tea emphasizes lightness and freshness, Wuyi rock tea focuses on baking skills, Zhengshan Xiaozhong requires smoky richness, and Fuding White Tea is known for its elegance and grace… While these teas each have their own unique qualities, their overall flavors tend to be singular, judged primarily by quality.
Puer tea, however, encompasses everything. It includes raw and ripe teas, new, mid-aged, and old teas, pure and blended teas from specific peaks, as well as cakes, bricks, tuos, and loose leaf forms… Even the taste of a single peak's ancient tree tea can vary widely. Add in the distinctions between raw and ripe, blending, and storage, and Puer presents a world of flavors that can satisfy every palate.
More importantly, Puer tea is a living entity that constantly evolves. Over time, young teas gradually transform into mid-aged and aged teas in storage. During this process, Puer tea, rich in probiotics, trace elements, and various active substances, undergoes a metamorphosis in terms of aroma, taste, mouthfeel, and health benefits, bringing anticipation and pleasant surprises.
Green Tea is enjoyed for its freshness and fragrance, while Puer tea is savored for its growth and transformation. As time passes, green tea fades from strong to weak, from good to bad, whereas the changes in Puer tea resemble a parabola, moving from weak to strong, from simple to full-bodied, from green and astringent to bold, from bold to mellow, and finally to serene.
Puer embraces the breezes and moonlight, and each cup bears unique flavors. Puer tea captures the natural essence of all of Yunnan, from the clear winds and bright moons to the sunshine and dew, from morning mist and evening clouds to floral and woody fragrances. A myriad of flavors and tastes suffices for a lifetime of savoring. Be it a naive and inexperienced youth, an energetic and assertive young adult, a calm and dignified middle-aged person, or a wise and reserved elder, everyone can find different flavors and reflections of themselves in a cup of Puer tea.
Original article published in Puer magazine
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