Tea 101- Puerh Tea

This is first of a 3 part series on Pu-erh tea.

Pu-erh is fermented and aged tea that comes in a compacted form. Produced exclusively in Yunnan, the South-Western province of China, the tea is produced in two broad styles - raw (sheng), and ripe (shu). Sheng pu-erh is left to ferment naturally, while the fermentation in ripe or shu pu-erh is done in controlled factory settings.

In Yunnan, where the pu-erh exclusively comes from, there are a lot of very old tea trees. The tea plant, camellia sinensis, can grow to be tree if allowed. But it is a rare sight because in most parts of the world the tea plant is regularly pruned to keep it waist high for convenient picking of the leaves. Only in Yunnan, which also happens to be the birthplace of tea, old tea trees are a common occurrence.

In this third part of our series on Pu-erh tea we look into the fermentation in pu-erh tea a little closely and the changes it brings about in post-fermented teas.

Yunnan is the home of pu-erh tea, and more importantly it is the birthplace of tea itself. This south western province of China is nestled in the tropical lushness bordering Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos. According to Chinese documents, tea was discovered by the legendary Chinese Emperor, Shennong in 2737BC.