What Is Pu-erh Tea? Raw vs. Ripe Explained

Pu-erh comes from Yunnan in south-west China and is made from the leaves of large-leaf tea trees, some of them hundreds of years old. It is often pressed into cakes, bricks or small nuggets and can be stored for decades.

Sheng (raw) pu-erh

The leaves are pan-fired, rolled, sun-dried and pressed. Young sheng is bright, floral and sometimes bitter; over years of storage it mellows into something deep and sweet.

Shou (ripe) pu-erh

Shou goes through an accelerated fermentation called wo dui. The result is smooth, earthy and dark from the very first cup — a great place for beginners to start.

How to brew

1. Break off about 6–7 g with a pu-erh knife, following the layers of the cake.
2. Rinse once or twice with boiling water.
3. Brew for 10 seconds, adding a few seconds each time. Good pu-erh gives 8–15 infusions.

Storing your cake

Keep it away from light, strong smells and humidity, ideally in its paper wrapper inside a cardboard box or clay jar.