Pu-erh tea is a type of post-fermented tea that is produced in the Yunnan province of China. The leaves are dried and rolled, and then are engaged in fermentation process. There are several different provinces that produce pu-erh tea, which leads to a variety of flavors of dark teas. Pu-erh tea is available in both loose leaf and compressed forms. These selections can also be stored until full maturity, which is why some come labeled with a date and location of where they were produced.

There are two main types of pu-erh teas: Green Pu-erh and Black Pu-erh. The green variety can be described as a light green tea, while the black variety rivals a dark green tea. Both are made from Yunnan’s arbor tea tree leaves, with the highest quality teas coming from leaves that are hand-harvested from wild and semi-wild tea trees. What makes this type of beverage most unique is that it undergoes a secondary oxidation and fermentation process.

China has always relied on darkening tealeaves that are traded with ethnic groups at the borders. Teas such as pu-erh were meant to be low cost, but easily tradable, and today still remain a popular beverage for ethnic groups living in the southwestern borders. Pu-erh is often sold in its raw tea form, which means it’s unfinished and then undergoes the darkening process. This darkening occurs from exposure to natural sunlight and results in an improved taste with maturity. 

To make pu-erh tea, the leaves are picked when they are most tender, spread out in the sun to wilt and then pan-fried to stop the oxidation process. The leaves can then be rolled and molded into strands. The good leaves are picked through as they dry in the sun and are then sent to raw pu-erh factories to be made into ripened pu-erh. Ripened pu-erh undergoes the fermentation process for one year, while aged pu-erh undergoes a secondary oxidation process. Maocha on the other hand, are pu-erh leaves that are marketed to consumers in their natural loose leaf form.

Pu-erh tea has many health benefits and is often referred to as Wonder Tonic. It prevents heart disease, certain cancers, controls diabetes, aids digestion and has anti-aging and anti-inflammatory properties.