The Wonders of Pu'er

There are not many teas out there with such a love-hate dichotomy. Very few people can find green tea offensive, even if they don't prefer it. Pu'er is an exception to the rule. Pu'er is a unique kind of tea that actually improves over a long period of time sitting in a closet. (Or a pu'er cellar for afficionados.)

The story of pu'er began with the opening of tea trade between China and its western neighbors like Tibet, Xinjiang and Mongolia. Tea was picked in Southern Yunnan province and transported along the tea-horse trail. As the name implies, tea was used to purchase high quality horses for the Chinese cavalry. At first, merchants found that loose tea would be destroyed after such a long journey through the Himalayas. As a result, tea was pressed into bricks to preserve it for the long road. The Tibetans found this brick tea necessary to supplement their winter diet of yak meat and tsanpa (roasted barley kneaded with yak butter). The tea provided vitamins and nutrients that meat products lacked, and aided in digestion. If you ever go to Tibet today, you will still be greeted with a cup of butter tea, powdered pu'er-like brick tea mixed with boiling water and cut with sour yak butter.

This continued for some time until the trade caught the attention of the imperial house. A tribute of tea was demanded to "show loyalty" to the emperor. The journey to the capital from Southern Yunnan was a long and treacherous one, especially in the southern heat. By the time the tea arrived at court, the envoy was afraid that the tea was ruined. To their surprise, the

imperial officials said it was the best tea that they had tried, exhibiting much more complexity and richness than the fresh green tea that they received. This is how the Yunnanese tea merchants stumbled upon a great secret, that tea's flavor could be improved through fermentation.

From this story is born Pu'er tea, which is a broad category of fermented teas named after the most famous source of leaves for the bricks, Pu'er county. Within this category, there are two main types of Pu'er, sheng (raw, or literally, live), and shou (cooked, or literally, ripe). Sheng tea is the older of the two types. Sheng is made from many different kinds of leaves, ranging from hair-covered buds to giant leaves from ancient wild tea trees. It is pressed into bricks or balls and allowed to age naturally for years. It is generally quite dry and bitter for the first five years of its maturation. Afer 10 years it becomes pleasantly drinkable. After 20 years it is priceless. Of course, there are exceptions. I tried some 2008 pu'er during my last field research journey to Yunnan and found it to be quite smooth, sweet and slightly spicy already, with none of the dryness that characterized other Shengs of its age. I bought up as much as my luggage could hold, knowing that if it was so good after one year, it would be heavenly after 20 years. This is an important point; just like with wine, you have to start with great materials to yield great tea. A mediocre brick does not grow into something wonderful given even 50 years. When you consider investing in Sheng bricks, remember to start with something excellent.

It is best to try a pot of the tea in a store before buying a whole brick to judge its flavor. A brand-new sheng should exhibit three main characteristics if it is to become a great tea. It should be sweet, smooth, and have a flavor or interest that you could see developing into something amazing. I have tried too many shengs that had nothing but sweetness. Though the leaves were of high quality, I knew that they would never be intriguing drinking experiences. Unique flavors that a young tea can exhibit are a slight fruitiness (like raisins), a peppery flavor, or a flavor like a flower's fragrance. The highest quality sheng bricks exhibit a camphor-like flavor with an aftertaste of licorice root. These are extremely uncommon, especially in a young tea. An acceptable young sheng can have a little dryness and bitterness, but not too much, especially if you are paying more than 10-15 dollars.

If you cannot taste the tea, then at least inspect the brick. It should be wrapped in a paper cover with its date of manufacture stamped. The tea should come with a loose explanatory note inside the brick, and have a certificate of authenticty pressed into the tea itself on the front side. The leaves should not be broken, and the brick should generally be free of twigs and leaf scraps. A young sheng should be silvery green in color, as the higher-quality leaves still have the silver-sheen of their hair on them. A sheng made from very large leaves that are a darker green will have a stronger flavor, and perhaps more bitterness, though they often grow into very interesting teas. A sheng made from small leaves is more likely to be immediately palatable, with the trademark sweetness. Anything under 3 years old costs less than 15 dollars to buy in China, unless there is something very unusual about it. Consider this when you go shopping. Shipping and duties will cost a store another 5-6 dollars on top of the purchase cost, plus the cost of stocking the tea and paying employees, but generally, one should not pay more than 40 dollars for a 357g brick.

If you get your hands on a brick of sheng, put a piece of paper into the wrapping as your own record of the tea. Write down where you bought it and how old it is. Try the tea once a year and write down your observations of its flavor. After a number of years, when your tea has reached a peak in its flavor, then you can drink it more often. Until that point it is best to let it sit and age. If you are impatient, then buy some Shou tea to tide you over as it can been consumed immediately with pleasant results. (Shou will be discussed in the next entry.) Pu'er bricks are traditionally stored in stacks of seven wrapped in large dried leaves and tied together. Since most of us are not buying lots of seven bricks, you can just put your pu'er together in a cardboard box and keep it in a room far away from any smells. Smells from food, incense, Febreeze, or whatever else is in the air will be absorbed into the brick like baking soda absorbs the smell of last year's egg salad in the back of a refrigerator. Unless you want the delicate aroma of dirty laundry to waft from your cup, don't keep pu'er in a clothes closet. Find a cool, dry place that is ventilated to let your investment grow. I say dry, because an overly humid environment can cause a pu'er to mold. Don't buy a pu'er that has a white film on it, as this means that it was poorly kept by the tea store.

So much trouble for a brick of undrinkable tea! But just wait and see the results. No other tea has the potential for flavor complexity that Sheng pu'er does. I recently got to try some thirty year old sheng that won an award for leaf quality back in the 70's. It was an incredible experience. It began in the first steeping like a creamy sweet dessert, reminiscent of vanilla pastry in some way. It then developed a floral taste which opened into a glorious camphor and licorice root with a lingering sweetness that went all the way down the throat. It continued in its 20th steeping to develop a taste of stone that you get in Dragonwell green tea, and began to fade on the perfumed notes of Tieguanyin around the 30th steeping. Pu'er can be a special thing. If you are getting married, buy a brick to drink on your 10th anniversary. If you are having a child, buy a brick to present them when they graduate.

I hope this is helpful in pointing you towards enjoying Sheng pu'er. Don't be put off by one bad experience. There are so many pu'ers out there that you can never say you don't like the taste. They vary too dramatically. Make a resolution to try again armed with new knowledge. If you have any questions, leave a comment and they will be answered. The second installment on Shou pu'er coming to you tomorrow.