Yunnan Pu Erh

Pu erh cakes werden eerst geproduceerd om thee makkelijker te kunnen vervoeren maar na een stijging in populariteit werden ze gebruikt als betaalmiddel of koninklijke geschenken. De thee werd eerst samengedrukt vlak na de oogst en werd dan in zijn cake vorm verder bewerkt

Whether as a means of payment, a noble present or to simplify trans- portation, pressed tea has been used for a variety of different reasons ever since the Han Dynasty. Originally, the tea was pressed directly after harvesting and matured in its pressed form, but another processing method quickly established itself. While at the time it was designated as “artificially matured”, today the expression “post-fermented” is quite familiar. The completely fermented tea, called “Shou” (mature), is humidified, pressed into a round form and matures a second time in this pressed form. This tea has a classically sweet, earthy flavour and can be steeped up to five times.