What is Raw Pu-erh?

Sheng Pu-erh Cha, or 'Raw Pu-erh Tea', is made from the Assamica variety of Camellia sinensis known in China as Da Ye Zhong (meaning 'large leaf type'). Sheng's flavour changes over time, as the compressed tea leaves are stored and left to age naturally, sometimes for decades, with the process of oxidation and microbial fermentation triggered by external bacteria and fungus as opposed to enzyme changes in the leaves. When aged and stored correctly, the tea yields a strong yet clean and smooth flavour, sometimes with toasty or sweet undertones. Hence these teas are among the most prized in China.

What is a Pu-erh tea cake?

While Pu-erh is sometimes produced as a loose-leaf tea, more often it comes in a 'cake' form that harks back to the days when the teas were compressed and carried on the backs of horses, mules and camels across the Chinese empire. It first became popular in the Tang dynasty (618-907), with the teas sorted into bamboo baskets of various shapes for easy transport. Today, the shapes remain, used mostly for presentation and for ageing. While the disc-shaped Bing Cha ('Cake Tea') is the most common, others include: Jin Cha ('Tight Tea'), for leaves pressed into a mushroom form; Fang Cha ('Square Tea') for brick-shaped tea; and of course Tuo Cha ('Bowl Shape Tea'), in which the leaves resemble a bird's nest. You'll also find Pu-erh teas pressed into anything from bamboo tubes ('Zhu Tong Cha') to oranges ('Ju Pu Cha').

Alternatives to Tuocha Pu-erh Mini Cakes

For a next-level loose-leaf aged tea, consider our speciality loose-leaf Aged Pu-erh – matured to perfection over a period of 30 years – or our Lincang Ripe Pu-Erh, aged for nine years and from a premium producing district of Yunnan. If you love the mellow, earthy notes that premium Pu-erh is famed for, our Yunnan Pu-erh provides an exceptional example of the style. Alternatively, try our Tangerine Pu-erh, aged in a hollowed-out tangerine and with citrus notes adding an element of brightness to all that earthy complexity.

Crafted from rosewood and brass, our Pu-erh prying pick is an essential tool to break apart your Mini Cakes. Also, to get the most authentic brewing result for your Pu-erh tea, we recommend that you use a Gaiwan from our Teaware store. For more speciality Chinese brews, from Jasmine Dragon Pearls to Lapsang Souchong, browse our Tea Shop.

The climate is similarly contrasting: the highest peaks experience a Tundra climate (ET), with freezing temperatures for most of the year and a least one month above 0°C – but below 10°C – leading to snow melting. Below is a Temperate Oceanic (Cfb) climate, with mild winters and summers with highs of 26°C, and precipitation across all seasons but particularly during the summer months, which are also cloudy.

The valleys at the southernmost part of the province experience a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), with high precipitation from May to October, and temperature ranging from 11°C to 35°C. With such varied climates and relief, it is no surprise that the region is famous for its biodiversity. Of the 30,000 species of plants found in China, more than half are in Yunnan! Over half of the province is covered in forest, with pines and conifers on the lower plateau, bursts of colourful azalea and rhododendron on the higher hills and fir, bamboo and juniper on the higher peaks. Similarly, the province is home to a dizzying array of animals, with hundreds of species of mammals, fish, reptiles and birds.

The tropical forests of the South harbour monkeys, bears, elephants and porcupines. Only a small portion of the land is arable, but the variety of climate means many crops can be cultivated. Rice is the main summer crop, along with corn, sweet potato, sugarcane and, of course, tea, which is mostly grown on the southern, tropical part of the province, all the way to the Myanmar and Laos borders.