Best Puerh Grade

The ancient kingdom is considered the birthplace of Chinese Pu-erh tea. Shu, which later became a major center for the production of tea. Great Chinese Pu-erh tea is tea leaves that undergo fragmentation, artificial and natural aging. The Chinese still believe that the best Pu'er is grown in the area. "Six Great Mountains" in the province Yunnan in the county Puer.

There is a legend that one great emperor once tasted his divine taste, asked: "What is the name of this great drink?"... He was told that this is ordinary tea from Puer, then the emperor said: "Give me some more of this Puer!" The name stuck to the drink and now we can enjoy the magnificent tea that the emperor himself liked.

Best Pu'er - Aged

The excellent creamy taste and warm aftertaste of the tea conquer from the first sip. The modern domestic consumer will be interested to know that pressed and loose Pu'er tea not only does not deteriorate over time, but becomes even tastier and more aromatic.

Aged Puerh identical to good cognac - the older the better... The ideal storage time for Chinese tea is 3-5 years, it is this period that he needs in order to maximally convey his unusual taste to the consumer and reveal the unique properties of tea.

But there are also masterpieces of aged pu'er, which are more than 10 years old. They are very expensive, usually sold in specialty tea shops or tea auctions.

This excellent tea perfectly quenches not only thirst, but also creates a feeling of fullness. Today there is a huge variety of Chinese tea in different regions of Russia, it can be black, white and green varieties, as well as excellent Milk Pu-erh and elite aged Pu-erh.

The price for this drink is very reasonable, and therefore it has many of its admirers in all countries of the world.

The best pu-erh can only be bought from top manufacturers

Tea companies already today we have made sure that connoisseurs of excellent Chinese tea receive a real high-quality product, and not a cheap counterfeit with flavors. Today, many large tea companies, including ours, work directly with the manufacturer, and therefore supply only high quality tea to the market. All tea products from the manufacturer undergo the strictest quality control, and therefore go on sale the best pu-erh.

The most famous, proven tea factories for the production of pu-erh tea are factories: Menghai, Xia Guan and Jinglong... The Chinese themselves prefer pu-erh varieties from these factories, which have already become world famous.

Without exaggeration, one of the best shu (black) varieties of pu-erh can be called such Menghai masterpieces as V93, 8592, 7576 and 7592. It is numbered pu-erhs that are the quality standards that other manufacturers are guided by.

One of the best (shen) green Puerh is definitely the legendary Xiaguan Ji factory Xia Guan.

And for pueromaniacs all over the world, the reason for conversation is the best puer in stones, which is made from puer crusts during fermentation. This tea looks rather unsightly, but you start brewing and it happens ...

Only the best varieties of puerh delight the soul and soothe the heart. Having once tasted elite Chinese pu-erh, you will no longer be able to refuse it and will become its loyal fan for many years!

Enjoy your tea!

Next article - Harm of green tea

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Aged tea that gives youth, energy and strength is Chinese Puerh. It is considered the true wealth of this country and is carefully kept in the state granaries.The unique properties of this drink are legendary, but not everyone can understand its taste and properties.

Description, production

In China, there is a tradition at the birth of a child to press fermented black tea of ​​the highest quality into a cake and store it until the child grows up and enters an independent life. In 20-25 years, this cake, called Pu-erh tea, will cost a lot of money, which will be enough for many of the young man's endeavors.

This tradition is still observed among those people who are engaged in tea production. Pu-erh is really an expensive product, and the longer it matures, the higher the price. What is Pu-erh tea and how is it made?

Puer is understood as tea that has undergone a long-term 100% fermentation for at least 3 months. In general, this type of tea has no expiration date. The longer it is stored, the richer its composition, aroma and taste becomes.

Its production process includes the following stages:

• collection;
• sorting;
• withering;
• warming up;
• steaming;
• fermentation;
• drying;
• pressing;
• re-fermentation.

For pu-erh, juicy large leaves are harvested on a young shoot. Usually these are 2-4 leaves, and the larger and fleshy they are, the better. The main region where this tea is produced is Yunnan province in China. A special kind of tea bushes grows here, the leaves of which have fewer amino acids and more catechins. This property allows the fermentation process to almost never stop during the entire storage period. Under the influence of bacteria, temperature and other organic substances, catechins are converted into aromatic compounds, which give pu-erh tea such a multifaceted taste and aroma.

Long fermentation tea cakes

After harvesting, the leaves are sorted, torn and damaged leaves are removed, laid out on a flat surface for several hours so that the leaf loses some of its moisture and becomes softer. Then it is warmed up in the sun and kept over steam. After this preparation, the raw materials are placed for fermentation in a warm, dark room. Fermentation takes about a month.

The next step is drying followed by pressing and storage for the final fermentation. Such pu-erh, produced naturally, is called shen pu-erh, or raw. Its fermentation period, like the storage period, is unlimited.

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There is another variety - shu puer, or ripe. Here, the oxidation process takes place with the direct participation of a person in a short period of time. In terms of properties, this species is similar to the sheng pu-erh, aged for years, but with a less multifaceted taste and aroma.

History indicates that this type of tea was known in China as early as the 3rd century BC. It can be said that pressing the tea was a random way to preserve the quality of the product. To prevent tea leaves from absorbing moisture and rotting during long-term transportation, they began to steam and press them in bags. In this form, tea was delivered safe and sound to the palace of the emperor and his nobles.

Today pu-erh looks like a flat cake, mushroom, ball, brick. The shape can be almost any, as well as the weight. There are also friable types, which in their properties are no different from pressed ones and even in sachets.

Varieties

Yunnan is one of the largest provinces in China. There are many tea plantations and industries, each of which is famous for a particular tea. In general, about 120 varieties of pu-erh are known. They differ in harvest season, leaf size, fermentation period, and so on. There can be a lot of nuances in production technology. It is difficult to say which is the best of the varieties of pu-erh. Each of them has subtle differences that are not always clear and perceptible to the layman.

There are several factories in China that produce the best pu-erh - Menghai, Jinglong and Xia Guan.Of the teas produced here, the highest quality teas are Xia Guan Ji, Chatou and Menghai V93.

When brewing, the tangerine crust also enters the teapot.

Not so long ago, a new product appeared on the market - pu-erh in tangerine. This is loose tea (shu pu-erh), which is put into tangerine peeled from pulp and sent to a special oven for drying. During drying, the tea leaves are impregnated with the aroma of tangerine and take on new notes in the taste. The tangerine packaging itself also looks original.

The description of the product also indicates the brewing method. Together with the tea leaves, a piece of tangerine is also put into the teapot to get a really rich drink.

Properties

Pu-erh contains a huge amount of organic and mineral compounds. The most valuable of them are vitamins E, A, group B, bioflavonoids, tannins, alkaloids, essential oils, amino acids, enzymes, catechins, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, fluorine, iron, iodine, etc.

Useful properties of pu-erh tea:

• lowers blood glucose levels;
• thins the blood, lowers cholesterol;
• lowers blood pressure, cleanses blood vessels;
• improves digestion, promotes normal intestinal motility;
• participates in lipid metabolism, promotes weight loss;
• tones up, increases mental performance;
• removes toxins and toxins.

A properly prepared drink will help to cope with headaches, bad mood, weakness. It helps to concentrate attention, gives clarity of mind, calms down. The effect of pu-erh tea is a charge of vivacity and strength for the whole day, it is not in vain that it is recommended to drink it before lunch in the first half of the day.

The properties of pu-erh tea make it possible to use it as a means of fighting fatigue, which does not burden the nervous system. The drink is low in caffeine, so it works mildly. You can use it for the prevention of cancer. This is the only tea drink that can be consumed in the presence of stomach ulcers.

Puerh is not drunk often and in large quantities. You can not cook too strong infusion. All this is fraught with an overdose, as a result of which tremors, headaches, and nausea appear. The effect of such a drink can be described as intoxicating.

Pu-erh is stronger than coffee in terms of its tonic properties.

Can Pregnant Women Drink Fermented Black Tea? Its use is undesirable due to its strong tonic and stimulating effect. During pregnancy, this is a threat to increase the tone of the uterus. It is contraindicated on an empty stomach and before bedtime. The product can be harmful at high temperatures, in case of eye diseases, in the presence of kidney and gall bladder stones. Hypertension with frequent pressure surges is also a reason to refuse the drink.

Contraindications also apply to people with frequent stool disorders and those who suffer from enterovirus infections. In this situation, the drink can provoke severe dehydration. For the rest, the properties of Chinese pu-erh tea will only benefit health.

How to brew

Most often, pu-erh can be bought in tablets of 15 grams or more. A very small piece of tablet is enough for one serving of the drink. For tea lovers, for its preparation, they purchase sets, in which there is necessarily a special knife for breaking off a portion of the tea leaves from the pressed form.

To brew pu-erh correctly, it is better to use the spill method. It involves the following steps:

• warming up the gaiwan and setting the tea leaves;
• rinsing the tea leaves with boiling water for 2-5 seconds;
• re-pouring boiling water, infusion for 5-7 seconds.

After that, the drink is poured into cups or bowls and drunk. You can repeat brewing up to 10 times, increasing the infusion time to 1-2 minutes. You can watch the video on how to cook pu-erh.

Invigorating fermented pressed tea is a product whose taste, aroma and benefits are difficult to understand and appreciate the first time. In China, it is considered a drink for 100 diseases, which is why it is so highly valued.

Tea varieties. Pu-erh. Part 1 - history and production

Tea varieties. Pu-erh. Part 2. Sheng pu-erh - varieties and brewing methods Tea varieties. Pu-erh. Part 3. Shu pu-erh - history and varieties Tea varieties. Pu-erh. Part 4. Brewing and storage

There are two main varieties of pu-erh - Shen and Shu... It is quite easy to distinguish them, especially if the tea was produced recently.

Sheng pu-erh leaves

Sheng pu-erh has rather large leaves, greenish, sometimes with a brown tint. The tea infusion is light - golden, sometimes with a reddish tint. The smell is light, with the aroma of haze, dried fruit or apples. The dormant tea leaf is green or yellowish green.

Shu pu-erh has smaller leaves, they are strongly twisted, their color ranges from brownish-gold to velvety-black. The smell of the leaf itself is strong, slightly earthy. The tea infusion is aromatic, the color can be either amber brown or reddish with a ruby ​​tint. In some varieties, the color is even darker, up to the color of coffee and black oil, through which even the bottom of the cup is not visible. The dormant tea leaf is almost black.

Each type of tea has its own connoisseurs. Someone likes the lightness of shen, while others cannot imagine a day without a cup of strong shu, which helps to cheer up. Each person chooses tea for himself. Especially sensitive people do not tolerate strong tea, so you should listen to your feelings when you try a new strain. Pu-erh also has an interesting property that manifests itself if you drink it in a small company. It relaxes and makes people laugh. Quite serious personalities, 10 minutes ago, who were sitting calmly and a little anxiously, begin to smile under their breath and laugh at the jokes of their neighbor.

If we talk about the effect on the body, it is believed that pu-erh helps to lose weight, removes toxins and helps with digestion. Chinese doctors wrote that this tea is useful for people who often eat meat in order to make it easier to digest. In addition, pu-erh invigorates and warms, which is especially important in winter, when there is cold and wind all around.
There are quite a few factories that produce pu-erh, I will only mention the main areas.

So let's start with shenov.
Sheng pu-erh. They are also "qing" pu-erh, that is, "fresh". They are "green pu-erhs".

Sheng pu-erh cup

As I said before, the main tea picking area in Yunnan is Xishuangbanna District in the south of the province. Tea is also collected in other places, in the Dali district, Nanjiang, Simao and others. The largest factories are located in Kunming, the provincial capital, in Menghai, in Dali. At the same time, there are many small factories and factories that also produce their own brands of tea under their own brand, and sometimes under the brand of the selling company, as, for example, happens with the brand "Zhong Cha" or "Middle (or Chinese) tea" ...
But when you buy tea, first of all you need to pay attention to the tea itself, and not just to the name.

Pressed pancake sheng pu-erh

So, in front of you is a tea pancake or a brick. The color of the leaves should be fairly light, maybe greenish-brown, slightly gray. Sheng pu-erh, which has been lying for some time, for example, five years or more, usually darkens, approaching shu pu-erh. It is even difficult to distinguish old shens from shu, but then the price of this tea jumps up many times. Such tea has a special taste, bright, seasoned, but without dustiness and roughness, if, of course, the raw materials were good initially.

As a rule, large leaves are taken for shen, as the fermentation processes in them can take a long time, giving the tea a special charm. The cake may be written: "Bai nyen gu shu cha", which means, "Tea from the leaves of centuries-old trees." Or even "Qian nyen gu shu cha", that is, "Tea from the leaves of millennial trees." And these are indeed the leaves of old trees growing in the Yunnan Mountains. Such leaves can be stored for a long time, giving the tea infusion the aroma of dry apples with a special oily tea infusion. They also write: "Lao shu cha" - "Tea from an old tree" or "Gu shu cha" - "Tea from an ancient tree."

You can often read the name of the mountain from which the tea was collected. For example, tea from the Bu Lan mountain has a tart, fruity-woody taste, it is strong and bright. Ban Zhang tea is more delicate, enveloping, soft, but strong, rich. From Mount Nan Nuo - warm, sweet and slightly smoky, with a hint of prunes.

Puerh "Silver Buds"

If it says "Yin ya", that is, "Silver buds", then the leaves of this tea are covered with a silvery fluff, their taste is delicate and pleasant, the color of the infusion is light honey or amber.

Puerh "Bai Hao"

If "Bai hao", that is, "White villi", then the sheet is covered with white fluff. Sometimes it is also called "White Pu-erh", but this name is not entirely correct. This tea gives a fairly light infusion, but its effect may be stronger than that of other varieties. He clears his head, helps to tune in the right way, sometimes changing the frozen picture of the world.

Buds of wild growing tea trees

Loose buds or "Ya bao"

There is another type of pu-erh, kidney pu-erh, such as in the "Buds of Pine Blades" or "Buds of Wild Old Trees" cake. For this variety, dense buds are collected, processed and loosely pressed. Sometimes there is also a loose option. Such tea is much lighter than pu-erh tea made from leaves, its taste is almost "compote", sweet, with a slight sourness, in the aftertaste comes some astringency. The aroma is fruity, light. Since the buds ferment differently than the leaves, it is better to drink this tea fresh, do not store it for too long.

When brewing, the main thing is not to put too much of the leaf. Otherwise, the tea will turn out to be bitter and uninteresting. Our friend pu-erh seller, who knows a lot about tea, puts 5 grams on a small (about 100 ml) gaiwan. Brew with hot water - just boiled. And do not insist for a long time. It is sweetness, freshness that is valued in shen. The taste of this tea plays in different shades - from light fruity notes that make you remember apples and prunes, to rich woody and herbal ones. The aroma may contain light smoke, forest or dry grass, raisins or dates. Sheng pu-erh can give vigor and soothes, warming, gives warmth and sweetness to the whole body.

In general, pu-erh is subdivided in this way, but shu and sheng, in turn, have a huge number of varieties, and they are becoming more and more in connection with the increased demand in recent years.

Sheng pu-erh

Sheng pu-erh after initial processing and pressing naturally ages. Its quality improves over time. But here you need to understand that in order to get a really old valuable grade of pu-erh, you need to keep it under certain conditions. Just because the tea will just lie somewhere, it is not a fact that it will get better. This condition helps to understand the common analogy with aged wine. There, too, special conditions are being created.
I would also like to say that properly aged pu-erh cannot be very cheap, and the pursuit of old pu-erh is hardly justified. We all know how to count, and we understand that for ten years tea should be stored in a special room, it needs supervision. So count it.

Therefore, most likely we can taste green (sheng) pu-erh when young. I'm talking about ordinary consumers who are unable to pay huge sums of money for collectible varieties. However, young pu-erh varieties are also tasty and healthy.

Shu puer

Much easier with shu pu-erh. This is an artificially aged tea. Here age over a couple of years does not play practically any role, except for advertising. It's just a ready-made black pu-erh.

Both the one and the other pu-erh are made from leaves of different trees, different ages, with different climatic conditions, they are processed by different manufacturers. Hence the huge variety of Pu-erhs.

There are attempts to classify, you can try to read what is written on the package.For example, the numbers, if, of course, they are present, mean the following: the first is the year when the given variety began to be produced, do not confuse it with the year of manufacture, then the number of the variety itself, the last digit is the manufacturer. 1 is Kunming, 2 is Menghai, 3 is Xiaguan, 4 is Puer Factory.

But such numbers are not always present on the packaging. Perhaps the seller can tell you which variety you are holding in your hands. Unfortunately, this also does not happen very often. Usually you have to rely on your taste. Well, experience is gained over time.

I would like to say that at first I tried different varieties, pure, with aloe, with lavender, with coffee beans and so on. The list is very long. And as a result, I came to the usual pu-erh, without any additions. I like both sheng and shu, it is better in large pancakes. There is a whole leaf, just nice to look at.

And the taste of pu-erh in large pancakes is usually better. But this is so for me.

We must try and look for the one that suits you best. Someone else's experience will tell you little here. Well, maybe for a start.

But what I can share quite seriously is that you don't need to look for ways to brew pu-erh to insert. Or pearl, as they say there. This is all nonsense. Pu-erh is tasty and healthy without these sophistication.