Today, Pu-erh tea has captured people's attention, with the focus gradually shifting from its price and taste to its tea culture and tea knowledge. Here is a detailed explanation of the seven wonders of Pu-erh tea. Understanding Pu-erh Tea
According to historical records, the cultivation of Pu-erh tea in Yunnan from wild plants has a history of over 2,100 years. Pu-erh tea is a post-fermented tea, also known as a drinkable antique, which improves with age. It has a mild nature, is easy to brew and durable, with a reddish-brown, clear liquor that is mellow, sweet, smooth, and refreshing. Ripe Pu-erh has an aged aroma, while raw Pu-erh has a fresh fragrance, offering an endless aftertaste. It can nourish the spleen and stomach, aid digestion, refresh the mind, reduce lipids and weight, lower blood pressure, and more.
Pu-erh tea is divided into raw and ripe types, and appears in forms such as cake tea, brick tea, tuo tea, bagged tea, ancient tree tea, and loose leaf tea.
There are numerous brands of Pu-erh tea, including Xiaguan, Dayi, Guohao, Kangji, Laotongzhi, Chamoting, Colorful Yunnan, and so on.
Detailed Explanation of the Seven Wonders of Pu-erh Tea
Pu-erh tea has many effects and functions. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that Pu-erh tea can clear heat, relieve summer heat, detoxify, aid digestion, remove greasiness, promote diuresis, relieve constipation, dispel phlegm, release the exterior, relieve cough, promote salivation, boost energy, and prolong life. These claims should be taken with a grain of salt, as using tea as medicine requires some processing.
Modern medical research on the effects of Pu-erh tea has concluded that it has over 20 benefits, including warming the stomach, weight loss, lipid reduction, preventing arteriosclerosis, preventing coronary heart disease, lowering blood pressure, anti-aging, anti-cancer, lowering blood sugar, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, reducing tobacco and heavy metal toxicity, anti-radiation, preventing dental caries, improving eyesight, aiding digestion, detoxification, preventing constipation, and relieving hangovers. Among these, the effects of warming the stomach, weight loss, lipid reduction, preventing arteriosclerosis, preventing coronary heart disease, lowering blood pressure, anti-aging, anti-cancer, and lowering blood sugar are particularly prominent.
The Seven Wonders of Pu-erh Tea
1. Unique Origin: It evolved from being named after a place to becoming a specialized tea category. Pu-erh tea originally referred to tea produced in the Pu-erh prefecture of Yunnan and traded in Pu-erh.
2. Unique Variety: The fresh leaves come from a variety of tea plant, namely the Yunnan large-leaf species.
3. Unique Raw Material: It is made from sun-dried green tea leaves of the Yunnan large-leaf species, which undergo post-fermentation. There are two paths for post-fermentation: one is natural aging, a long, slow natural fermentation process, resulting in what is called traditional Pu-erh tea; the other involves using sun-dried green tea leaves processed through artificial accelerated post-fermentation methods to produce Pu-erh tea and its various compressed forms, known as modern Pu-erh or ripe Pu-erh.
4. Unique Shapes: Besides loose leaf tea, compressed Pu-erh comes in various shapes, such as cake tea, brick tea, tuo tea, bagged tea, and ancient tree tea.
5. Unique Quality: Pu-erh tea has the characteristic of improving with age, contrary to the notion that 'tea values freshness, wine values age.' If stored properly, it can be kept for about a hundred years.
6. Unique Brewing: For example, when brewing aged Pu-erh in a tea house using a gaiwan or purple clay teapot, it can be infused up to 20 times.
7. Unique Tea Liquor: Pu-erh tea liquor is relatively strong, mellow, sweet with a returning sweetness, and richly fragrant. The stronger the liquor, the better the tea!