Drinking Pu-erh as compressed tea or as loose mao cha is purely a matter of personal preference. Pressing Pu-erh from loose tea into compressed forms is a relatively intricate technique. Veteran tea drinkers are certainly familiar with this, while new enthusiasts can learn about it here.

Compressed Pu-erh tea, whether raw or ripe, is made from Yunnan large-leaf varietal sun-dried green tea. Raw tea is pressed directly, while ripe tea is fermented before pressing. What are the purposes of pressing Pu-erh?

1. To facilitate transportation and reduce loss/damage.

2. To facilitate storage.

3. To better preserve the tea's aroma. The aromatic compounds in Pu-erh tea can gradually dissipate over time when left exposed. After pressing and proper packaging and storage, the tea fragrance can be better retained.

Pressing loose mao cha into a cake involves six steps.

1. Weighing, 357g.

Precise weight is the prerequisite for ensuring the uniformity of the Pu-erh cake.

2. Placing the loose tea into the cylinder and inserting the "neifei" (inner ticket).

The neifei embedded in the cake's surface must be placed inside the cylinder along with the loose tea to guarantee its authenticity and the integrity of the cake's surface.

3. High-temperature steaming to soften.

As shown in the image, high-temperature steam continuously rises beneath the iron cylinder. The loose tea inside quickly softens from the steam, preparing it for the next shaping step.

4. Bagging and kneading.

The softened tea is poured into a cloth bag, evenly kneaded, and shaped into a round cake. (This is the most challenging step in manual pressing. The bagging and kneading are crucial for determining whether the cake's surface will be even and aesthetically pleasing.)

5. Stone mold pressing for final shaping.

After manual kneading, the weight of a stone mold is applied to further fix the shape of the still-pliable tea.

6. Air-drying.

The pressed cake tea needs to be separated and laid out to air-dry. Once the moisture from the high-temperature steaming dissipates, the cake shape is firmly set, and the pressing process is complete.

Nowadays, many factories use integrated mechanical pressing, which involves fewer steps than the manual pressing process.

Many tea enthusiasts now seek out manually pressed cakes. But what is the difference between manual and machine pressing?

I believe many tea friends cannot specify the reasons clearly. I will share my findings after comparison.