What is Pu-erh Tea?
Pu-erh tea is a variety of tea that come from the Camellia sinensis or a large-leaf variety of it that is. It gets its name and comes from the Pu'er County in the Yunnan province in China. This tea is unique for a variety of reasons. Most teas are drunk right after they are processed but this type of tea can also be aged. How To Purchase You can buy this tea in either the shu (ripened) or sheng (green) state. This depends on how it was processed or aged. Sheng pu-erh is basically thought of as a green. However, the shu variation of the pu-erh is considered a post-fermented tea. This tea is not always drunk in its green stage. Aged Tea? You bet. In fact most of the time, this tea is known more in its aged form. This tea is often drunk brewed for the shu (ripened) variety of it. Sometimes it can be aged for years before anyone drinks it. The pu-erhs are many times categorized now by the region they come from and the year similar to what wines are. You can find this tea aged up to even 50 years old even though it can be hard to find. Some people who are connoisseurs of tea will pay into the thousands of dollars for a cake of the pu-erh type of tea. Potential Health Benefits 1. Pu-erh tea consumption has been found to lower blood cholesterol according to some scientific studies. 2. It is also thought to have antimicrobial and antimutagenic qualities. How Packaged The tea normally come in blocks and is brewed using boiling water. Since some of the teas mellow with age not everyone appreciates the flavor it right away. After it ages it sometimes softens the flavor of the tea. When brewed up it makes for a rich, earthy cup of tea. It is actually dark red in color. How To Use You do not us a whole brick of it to make a cup of it. It only takes a bit shaved off to do so. Valued As Currency Back in history, the bricks of these teas were so valued that they were used as currency. You may think this makes it good for an investment over time. But not all varieties of this tea improve with aging. So it is not recommended solely for investment purposes, even though many still do invest. Prices have gone down some in recent years though. Today there is great emphasis of "natural" products in all areas of life including health. Perhaps you can give Pu-erh tea a try. Here Is Something You May Like:
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