Pu-erh tea leaves and Plants

Pu-erh tea  is  named after its place of origan, the Pu-erh village in China's Yun Nan province.

It is made using local tea trees which have the following differences in characteristics from traditional tea plants, despite all belong to the same plant family (Camellia Sinesis) as other tea plants: 

•  Pu-erh tea trees are significantly larger than normal tea plants, these being more like tea shrubs.
• The tea leaves are larger  :  they measure upwards of 20cm, with the normal leaves measure at typically around 5 cm.
• The traditional Pu-erh trees were  wild, found in local forests. There are certain trees in the area the locals believe may be many hundred years old.

The tea leaves used for Pu-erh tea is somehow different from the others:

1. good quality green tea and white are made of very young top tip leaves (not more than top three leaves). The quality decreases with including leaves further down the branches. These teas are light, refreshing with (using one of our customers' words) exquisite complex aftertaste.
2. Oolong teas (semi-fermented) on the other hand, are made of more mature tea leaves. They are richer in color and brew and tend to be more aromatic.
3. Pu-erh tea is different again. The tea leaves harvested from tea trees, other than thrubs (even through they are from the same group of plants, Camellia sinensis) and the tea leaves are much bigger, up to 25 cm (compared to 2-3 cm for other tea leaves). The Pu-erh teas that are made of young tea leaves and mature tea leaves often head to different directions:

• Very young tip leaves are often made into lose leaf tea. The appearance will be: very fine tip tea leaves covered by glossily gold color fur. The description used for the taste of these teas is 'mellow with depth', it is even likely for these teas to be slightly bitter. These teas are often excessively expensive, it is scarce in China, and very rare overseas. (Be careful, not all loose leaf pu-erh tea is of good quality. It is far more likely to find loose leaf Pu-erh of very poor quality from a no-professional tea supplier that in my opinion these teas should be pressed into tea cakes. This way, they will at least get some value out from post-fermenting.)
• The Pu-erh tea cakes (or balls & bricks) are often made of mature leaves. The description used for these teas are 'mellowing and smooth'. The mature tea leaves, event twigs (of course not excessive amount) contain certain fragrant substances that play an important part during the post-fermenting process to produce the aged Pu-erh tea’s richly aromatic and mellowing taste. (There are ways to distinguish good quality and poor quality Pu-erh cakes too!)

In summary, Pu-erh tea made of mature leaves is not necessary of low quality like the other teas. It is one of the teas that it takes time and patience to experience the different varieties and choice that one you prefer.

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