Pu'er tea
Pu'er tea, also spelled pu-erh, comes raw or ripened from Yunnan, often pressed into cakes.
Brew it in three steps
Pry off a small piece
Work a tea pick along the cake's layers instead of snapping it. Aim for 5 to 7 grams in a small pot or gaiwan.
Rinse once
Pour on boiling water and tip it out right away. This loosens the pressed leaves and clears storage dust.
Steep short, many times
Start at 10 to 15 seconds and add a little each round. Good pu'er lasts eight steeps or more.
Shou is ready today. Sheng is still changing.
Before you buy a cake
Pu'er tea
Hand-picked pieces are on the way.
Good to know
What does pu-erh (pu'er) tea taste like?
Shou pu'er is earthy, smooth and dark, a bit like forest floor and cocoa. Young sheng is brisk and bitter with a sweet finish. Aged sheng turns deep and woody.
Does pu'er tea have caffeine?
Yes. Pu'er comes from the tea plant, so it has caffeine. Less leaf and shorter steeps give you less.
How do you store pu'er tea?
Keep it in its paper wrap, somewhere cool, dry and dark, away from kitchen smells. Humidity invites mold. Stored well, it keeps for years.
