What is Puer Or Pu-erh? A Brief Overview

Puer or Puerh (both pronounced as poo-err) or Poh Lay is officially defined in GB/T 22111-2008 as tea that fulfills the following conditions:

i)   Grown in Yunnan- between 21°10´ to 26°22´ north latitude and between 97°31´ to 105°38´ west latitude to be more precise

ii)   Made of tea leaves from Camellia sinensis var assamica, known locally as Yunnan Dayezhong

iii)   Made by sun-drying

iv)   Under-goes ‘post-fermentation’

Puer can be further divided into 2 sub-categories, namely ‘Sheng’ or raw Puer and ‘Shu’ or ripe Puer which we would look at in a little more detail later.

Origins of Puer

It got its name from the township of Puer which is made up of 2 Hani words (a minority tribe native to Yunnan) for ‘stockade’ and ‘water bend’ respectively. Then Puer was a meeting point and base for the horse gangs who would transport goods to Tibet, modern-day Burma, modern-day Vietnam as well as Sichuan and Beijing.

Among the commodities transported by the horse gangs were teas, compressed into cakes and bricks for easy transportation that were especially favored by nomad tribes in the borders such as Tibet and Mongolia who otherwise have little sources of fiber and vegetables.

By the time the sun-dried tea ‘cakes’ arrived at their destination, they had underwent fermentation and the taste characteristics of the tea had altered considerably, from a more bitter and astringent taste to a smoother, sweeter taste.

Shengcha versus Shucha

For centuries, Pu-ed has always referred to ‘Sheng’ Puer while properly aged ‘Sheng’ Puer would be referred to as ‘Shu’ Puer. In order for Sheng Puer to be ready for consumption, it would require a minimum of 5-10 years storage with sufficient humidity.

In the 1970s however, in order to cope with the rising demand for Puer in Hong Kong, producers in Yunnan had to experiment with other avenues. Then, export demand for Puer outstripped internal consumption- what with the nation recovering from the crippling effects of the Cultural Revolution- and the allure of Hong Kong dollar was very attractive indeed.

It was then that producers started using ‘wodui’ or using microbes to speed up the fermentation process. Within 3 years, Puer produced with this method can be consumed and 5 years would pretty much suffice to render the tea smooth and pleasant.

Teas produced in this manner then came to be known as ‘Shu’ Puer. Consequentially the ‘original’ ‘Shu’ Puer then became known as Aged Sheng Puer or Aged Raw Puer which of course is an oxy-moron.

The liquor of the Shu Puer is darker, a maroon-black shade while the liquor of the Sheng Puer is a orange-yellow hue.

The wet leaves also show the marked difference between the 2. The leaf of the Sheng Puer is yellowish green, showing a light oxidation level, more akin to that of a White Peony for example. The Shu Puer is dark and shriveled up.

In terms of the taste, Sheng Puer is rather complex and is difficult to attribute a singular taste descriptor to it as it depends on the mountain and the age of the puer. Shu Puers generally have an earthy, musty smell, some describe it as a wodui smell but it is sweeter than a Sheng. Younger Sheng Puers especially can start off rather bitter and astringent with time mellowing the taste.

A Cautionary Tale

A note of caution for Puer is that there was a price bubble in 2006 where the prices which has essentially gone up nearly tenfold over the preceding decade came crashing down. That left many ‘investors’ burned, with a warehouse full of Puer worth maybe a third of the ludicrous prices they paid for.

Between the option of absorbing the losses or reselling the Puer to unwitting purchasers, I reckon it wouldn’t be hard to predict where a lot of merchants leaned, especially if they were in it for speculative purposes.

Before you purchase a Puer, especially one that cost more than $100, do your due diligence, as you would any investment. See whether it is worth that much- look at the label and the factory, vintage and other pertinent information. If you’re buying a young Sheng Puer to age though, tasting it isn’t going to help much.

To end off, in investment there is a ‘bigger fool theory’, don’t fall into this trap, especially if you are new to Puer. Perhaps the best advice would be Warren Buffett’s motto: Invest in what you know.