Pu'er tea must be made from Yunnan big-leaf sun-dried green tea within the protection scope of China's national geographical indications, and it must be made with specific processing technology within the protection scope, and has unique quality characteristics. According to its processing technology and quality characteristics, Pu'er tea is divided into two types: Pu'er tea (raw tea) and Pu'er tea (cooked tea).
What is raw and cooked Pu-erh tea?
Pu'er tea is divided into Pu'er (raw) tea and Pu'er (cooked) tea according to the different manufacturing processes.
Raw Pu-erh tea is made from the fresh leaves of Yunnan big-leaf tea trees grown under the environmental conditions of the Pu-erh tea production area, and the teas are made by killing green, rolling, drying in the sun, autoclaving and other processes include loose tea and pressed tea. Its appearance is dark green in color, pure and long-lasting aroma, strong and sweet aftertaste, green-yellow clear soup, thick yellow-green leaf bottom.
Ripe Pu'er tea is made of Yunnan large-leaf sun-dried green tea that meets the environmental conditions of the Pu'er tea production area. The unique characteristics of mellow, red soup color) processed loose tea and pressed tea. Its soup is red, thick and bright, with a unique aroma, mellow and sweet aftertaste, and the bottom of the leaves is evenly reddish-brown.
Raw tea will become "Aged tea" or "Cooked tea" after being left for a long time, and it will never become mature tea.
At present, the definitions of "raw tea" and "cooked tea" in the Pu'er tea industry are very detailed. The production processes of the two are different. The finished tea has obvious differences in soup color, taste and leaf bottom. There is also a big difference, so raw tea will not become mature tea because it has been stored for a long time.
The fundamental difference is that cooked tea is fermented from sun-dried green tea, which is artificial fermentation; while raw tea is post-fermented during storage, which is natural fermentation. Therefore, raw tea is raw tea, and ripe tea is ripe tea. Although raw tea will be transformed into old tea or old tea after being left for a long time, it will never become mature tea. Even if the raw tea is artificially put into the warehouse during the later storage process, a method similar to the fermentation of cooked tea, the tea produced is still significantly different from cooked tea.
As the ancestor of tea, Pu'er tea has experienced a long history of baptism. It is not only a famous tea in China, but also has won the praise of tea drinkers all over the world because of its unique growing environment, unique production technology and rich health benefits. , so Pu'er tea is still a world famous tea.
Is Pu-erh tea black tea?
Pu-erh tea is neither green nor black. Although the soup color of "raw Pu'er" is similar to that of green tea, and that of "cooked Pu'er" is similar to that of black tea, due to the essential characteristics of Pu'er tea (natural transformation, getting more fragrant with aging, long-term storage, and high collection value and practical effect) and a unique production process, which are different from the six major teas, Pu'er tea is designated as special tea.