Pu-erh basic knowledge you must know

Posted by naturalpuerh on November 20th, 2019

We have our own pu-erh and black tea garden in the famous tea producing area in Puer City, Yunnan.Our tea garden associated with blue sky and white clouds, neighboring with forest and grass, thriving quietly in the mountains beside the Lancang river.No air pollution, no pollution of water source, no pollution of soil, no pollution of processing technology.

This is an article to help beginners and get to know Pu-erh tea quickly.
◎What is Pu-erh tea?
Pu-erh tea is native to the Lancangjiang River basin in western Yunnan. It is made from the fresh leaves of Yunnan big leaf tea tree. It is made by steaming and pressing all kinds of pressed tea, which is evolved after a certain period of time. Tea-dried green tea is used as raw material, and Pu-erh pressed tea and Pu-erh loose tea are produced after artificial fermentation.
◎What is raw tea?
The large-leaf tea leaves grown in Yunnan are directly pressed into cakes, tuocha and bricks after being sun-dried (sun-dried), which are called raw cakes, raw oysters and raw bricks. If it is not suppressed, it is called Maocha.
◎What is cooked tea?
The large-leaf tea leaves grown in Yunnan are finally pressed and formed by the hair-dried piles, which are called cooked cakes, cooked tuo and cooked bricks.
◎How to distinguish raw and cooked Pu-erh tea?
There are many ways to distinguish raw and cooked Pu-erh tea. Generally speaking, from the aspect of appearance, the color of the Pu-erh is less than 10 years, the color is dark green, the cooked Pu-erh is dark brown, the second is the smell, the raw Pu-erh smells a faint fragrance, and the cooked Pu-erh smells slight. There is a scent of Chen, the last is the soup color, the raw Pu-erh soup is orange, the mature Pu-erh is brown red, dark maroon.
◎What kind of tea does Pu-erh tea belong to?
Pu-erh tea is neither dark tea nor black tea. Because the production process and essential characteristics of Pu-erh tea are different from those of the six major teas, the Yunnan Tea Association appeals to the Chinese tea industry and will seriously discuss with experts and scholars across the country: Recalling Yunnan Pu-erh tea as reprocessing special tea, rearranged Its position in the Chinese tea spectrum.
◎What is spring tea, summer tea and valley tea? How to differentiate?
Spring tea is harvested in 2-4 months, and the spring tea harvested within 15 days after the Ching Ming Festival is top grade. One bud and one leaf are collected, and the buds are fine and white. Summer tea is harvested from May to July, and it is called rain tea. If made properly, the tea is similar to spring tea; autumn tea is harvested from August to October, called Guhua tea.
◎What is the production process of tea?
Pu-erh tea is divided into two production methods, that is, we say raw tea and cooked tea: a raw tea: the traditional production process: killing --- robbing --- drying. Second cooked tea: killing - robbing - drying - humidifying piling heap - drying.
◎What is the difference between drying and baking? What is the difference between them?
After the fresh tea leaves are picked home, they are fried in green, simmered, and spread on the bamboo mat. They are dried in the sun. It can be stored for a long time. After picking fresh tea leaves, the tea leaves with high aroma after dehydration and drying with a dryer are called bake, which has a shelf life and cannot be stored for a long time. Simply put, drying green is a Pu-erh tea process, and baking is a green tea process.
◎How is Pu-erh tea graded, what is the difference between grades?
Pu-erh tea is divided into high, medium and low grades. Advanced loose tea is divided into: court  tea, special grade, grade 1 to grade 5 is medium grade, and grade 6 to grade 10 is low grade loose tea. Pu-erh tea is divided into high-grade, mid-range and low-grade tea. When grading, there are many buds with higher levels and more stalks. Is the higher the level, the better the quality? No, the higher the level, the more the tea is very tender, and has little to do with quality.
◎What is the dry warehouse and the wet warehouse Pu-erh, what is the difference?
Store Pu-erh tea in a warehouse with a relative humidity of less than 80%, let it slowly and naturally age, and transform it into “Chenxiang” quality. This kind of tea is used to be called “dry warehouse Pu-erh tea”. The "wet warehouse Pu-erh tea" is a Pu-erh tea that puts Pu-erh tea into a wet warehouse with a relative humidity of 80% or more, so that it can be transformed rapidly, but it will be mildewed during the conversion process, which is called "wet warehouse Pu-erh". . Dry warehouse aging, in order to get more and more fragrant, there is a bad business home wet warehouse tea posing as an old dry tea.
◎What should I pay attention to when purchasing Pu-erh tea?
The four major decisions are clear: smell it; the taste is clear, there can be no smell. The second is pure: distinguish its color; brown as jujube, can not be black as lacquer. The third is positive: save its position; store dry goods, not wet. The fourth is gas: the soup is good; the taste is mild, not to be mixed. Six Don't: Don't use the wrong age as the label, don't use the fake packaging as the basis, don't use the dark color as an excuse, don't add the taste as the illusion, don't consider the age of the tree.
◎How to store Pu-erh tea?
If you store the pressed tea, do not unpack it. If it is a loose tea, it is best to store it in a purple sand pot. Secondly, the environment should be clean, no smell, stable temperature and humidity, and do not see light. Simply put, it is "dry and ventilated without odor".
◎Where is the tea area and tea mountain of Pu-erh tea?
The ancient six major tea mountains are Youle, Ge Deng, Yibang, Mangzhi, Manzhuan, and Mansa. In addition to “Youle” in Jinghong City, the other five major tea mountains are in Mengla County.
◎What is the crab foot?
The crab foot is a parasite that is parasitic on the taller arbor tree. Its color is green and it is shaped like two claws of a crab. There is a thick plum flavor, it contains a variety of organic matter, high nutritional value, can be used for medicinal treatment, treatment of stomach disease, diabetes, significant effect.
◎What are the main ingredients of Pu-erh tea?
Pu-erh tea mainly contains amino acids, alkaloids, tea polyphenols, tannins, caffeine, pigments, monosaccharides, proteins, organic acids, lipids, vitamins and other ingredients.
◎What are the effects and functions of Pu-erh tea?
Pu-erh tea has many functions, such as fat-reducing weight loss, beauty and beauty, hangover, anti-radiation and anti-aging, tooth care, eyesight, stomach raising and stomach protection.
◎What is the nickname of Pu-erh tea?
Example of 7531: 75 represents a 75-year formula. It must be stated here that the formula of 75 does not mean that it is 75 years of tea. 3 represents the average grade of the tea, and the division of the grade is based on the tenderness, and the higher the tenderness, the higher the grade. The last 1 represents the manufacturer of the tea. For example, Kunming Tea Factory 1, Menghai 2, Xiaguan 3, Pu-erh 4, etc. Now the manufacturer number has changed, and it has been out to 9.
◎How to brew Pu-erh tea?
Pu-erh tea brewing is very particular. In general, the purple sand pot is the top, and the purple sand pot can give extra points to Pu-erh tea. The bowl is more convenient for appreciating Pu-erh tea, and you can use the elegant cup for brewing anywhere.

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