The reason ripened tea is considered difficult is because it is hard to understand. Information asymmetry is currently the biggest problem facing ripened tea.

Objectively, it is difficult for merchants and enthusiasts outside the tea regions to completely observe an entire 'wo dui' fermentation process on-site. Barriers of time and space have led to a fragmented understanding of ripened tea, even among some opinion leaders on forums. Many discussions about ripened tea I've seen remain at the level of speculation, inference, and conjecture.

To have a deep and objective understanding of ripened tea requires extensive practical experience; 3-5 years of experience in the industry is not enough.

Most masters and workers actually involved in fermentation lack the ability to communicate online. Making ripened tea is very hard work; during pile-turning, the working environment temperature approaches 60 degrees Celsius. Those participating in this arduous work are often workers with relatively low education levels.

Subjectively, the opposition between producers and capital also creates information asymmetry regarding ripened tea. On the producer side, the fermentation workshops of the vast majority of factories are off-limits to visitors, and discussions about ripened tea mostly remain within small circles that master the 'wo dui' technique. On the side of capital, which holds discourse power, the lack of control over ripened tea production leads to intentional or unintentional disparagement of ripened tea, preventing correct guidance for understanding it.

The reason ripened tea is considered the focus is, firstly, its production volume is larger than that of raw tea, hence its weight; secondly, the actual consumption of ripened tea at the user end is also greater than that of raw tea. Most clinical trial results previously obtained regarding the health functions of Pu-erh tea specifically refer to ripened tea.

In terms of consumer demographics, the potential consumer base for ripened tea is larger than that for raw tea. From an individual consumption perspective, the suitable time slots for drinking ripened tea within a day are also longer than those for raw tea. In Professor Liu Qinjin's experiments, mice overdosed with raw tea died before those overdosed with ripened tea.

Based on the above points, I believe ripened tea is the true focus of Pu-erh tea.

Regarding the broad topic of ripened tea, I have selected several common questions I've encountered and will explain what I know and can share, one by one:

1. What does the "ripened" in ripened tea mean? Does it refer to tea that has been steamed?

No. Steaming is for compression; all compressed teas are steamed, which has nothing to do with being raw or ripened.

The term "ripened" comes from traditional Chinese medicine. Many Chinese medicinal names are prefixed with "ripened," such as ripened Rehmannia root. This "ripened" implies processing, modification, or fermentation.

2. How many days does ripened tea fermentation require? Is light fermentation shorter?

45 days. It won't be shorter. The degree of fermentation (light/heavy) is adjusted by the amount of water sprinkled. It's all 45 days, with possible variations of 1-2 days depending on the environment, but this is unrelated to the degree of fermentation.

3. Are tea buds less resistant to fermentation?

Quite the opposite. Buds ferment the slowest in the pile. To give an extreme example, if a pile of tea over-ferments (so-called "burning the pile"), the bud parts are almost unaffected, while other parts become unsellable.

4. Is there little point in aging ripened tea for a long time?

That's not true. The origin of the phrase "The older, the more fragrant" refers specifically to ripened tea.

The notion that aging ripened tea is meaningless stems from a problem of perception. It's like a frog at the bottom of a well thinking the sky is only as big as the well's opening—its perception is limited to that size, but that doesn't mean the sky is only that big!

This is not surprising. With my level of perception about cigarettes, Chunghwa and Daqianmen taste the same to me.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Pu-erh tea specifically referred to ripened tea. Those interested can refer to the 1992 publication "Chronicle of Yunnan Provincial Tea Company." This book had a small print run, but photocopied versions can be bought cheaply online. It's very valuable for reference. Every instance of the term "Pu-erh tea" in the book refers only to what we now call ripened tea; the concept of raw Pu-erh tea did not exist then.

The concept of "The older, the more fragrant" was introduced into Pu-erh tea around 1978. This saying did not exist before, including for the Pu-erh tea tributed to the Qing court (for this part, you can refer to my article "Analysis of Pu-erh Tribute Tea"). In 1978, a meeting of the provincial company included "The older, the more fragrant" as the quality characteristic of Pu-erh tea—specifically referring to ripened tea—in the product description.

Therefore, I believe the origin of "The older, the more fragrant" is ripened tea.

Why do some people think aging ripened tea is meaningless? My understanding is that it's because these people don't understand ripened tea, so they think it's meaningless.

5. Hasn't ripened tea already been fermented? Why does it still need aging and maturation?

This is like using coarse sandpaper first and then fine sandpaper for polishing. Of course, for people with low requirements, it might indeed be unnecessary.

'Wo dui' (wet piling) is a rough, drastic process, while aging for slow maturation is fine carving and meticulous polishing. Jade must be carved to become an artifact!

It's very difficult to ferment ripened tea to the so-called "fully ripe" (actually, achieving fully fermented tea is a very difficult task). That is to say, most ripened teas still retain room for transformation.