Tea is roughly categorised into six types. The most common types of tea are probably black tea, green tea and “Pu’er tea”. Pu’er tea belongs to dark tea. In addition, there are yellow tea, qing tea and white tea as well. Tea is not only a good choice of quenching but also an interesting leisure activity for us to enjoy life.
Many people like to drink tea. In Hong Kong, “drinking tea” has another meaning, which means “eating dim sum in a restaurant”. The elderly usually likes to have a cup of Pu’er and young people may like to order Oolong tea when they have “dim sum” in a restaurant. The former one is an example of dark tea and the latter one is actually a green tea.
Pu’er tea
When we are talking to varied tea types, dark tea is a type that is uniquely produced in China with a long history. It is a post-fermentation tea. The earliest dark tea was produced in Sichuan. Dark tea production areas are mainly in Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangxi and some other places. The main varieties are Hunan dark tea, Hubei Laobian tea, Sichuan bian tea, Guangxi Liubao loose tea leaves, Yunnan Pu’er tea and so on. Among them, Yunnan Pu’er tea is the most famous one. The fresh leaves of dark tea are relatively thick and old. When a farmer harvests the tea leaves, they prefer to select the thick leaves with long stems as raw materials. The leaves are mostly one bud with five to six leaves. The production process includes four stepsbasically. They are: heating, rubbing, pressing, and drying. The tea leaves are dark brown. The colour of a cup of dark tea is brownish red, with a unique and mellow flavour.
Pu’er tea is the most popular in the dark teas. Pu’er tea is produced via either the dark tea production method or the green tea production method. There are different Pu’er tea in the market, like brick tea, square tea, loose tea leaves and so on.
4 tips for choosing Pu’er tea
To enjoy life better, we may pick some teas in our daily drinking mix. Pu’er tea is very good for health and beauty. It can lower fat, keep fit, lower blood pressure, nourish the stomach, resist aging, and reduce inflammation. When we buy Pu’er tea, we firstly smell the its tea leaves or tea cakes. The smell should be fresh and must not be musty. Then, if the tea shop has a tea tasting service or the staff is willing to make a cup of tea for you to try, it is suggested to see the colour. Many people think that Pu’er tea is black. In fact, good Pu’er tea is brownish red. If the colour is black, it is not recommended to buy it personally. Pu’er tea is a post-fermented tea. The older the Pu’er tea leaves, the more fragrant the cup of Pu’ertea is. Some people may buy Pu’er tea as an investment tool. Therefore, it should be stored in a dry and cool place, where no smell is.
Dark Hair Tea
As far as I know, in the aspect of dark tea, apart from Pu’er tea, there is another tea in this category. It is “dark hair tea” (黑毛茶), which tea leaves are small. In fact, Pu’er tea leaves are large in size. “Dark hair tea” is mainly produced in Taojiang, Yuanjiang and other regions in Anhua, Hunan Province. Pu’er tea is mainly produced in Yunnan, and there are also some produced in Guangdong, China. From my point of view, they are two separate types of teas. Besides, some third party websites express that Pu’er is not a dark tea. I don’t have any input on this opinion. However, according to the “Tea Classic” written by Lu Yu, Pu’er tea is classified as a dark tea.
Pu’er tea has many varieties and names. One of the famous Pu’er tea is “Pu’er Tea Brick” from Yunnan. It has a fragrant aroma with a mellow flavour. Yunnan is a famous area that Pu’er tea is produced. In addition to tea bricks, there are more other Pu’er tea products, like Pu’er loose tea, Yunnan Pu’er Tuo tea, Qizi tea cake and so on. I like to buy Qizi tea cake as a gift, because this tea has a meaning of good luck.
Besides, Yunnan Pu’er Tuo tea has an interesting name, called “girl’s tea”. The colour of tea leaves is maroon. Someone describes this tea colour like the pink cheeks of a shy girl.
Generally, Pu’er tea seems a drink for the elderly. It has a good nutritional value, like quenching, clearing heat, helping digestion, keeping fit and more. It is a great match with vegetarian and vegan diet.
Note: Image by Huỳnh Đạt and Zhang XueLing.
