Ripened Cooked Pu-Erh Cake

What are the health benefits of Pu-erh tea?

While less studied than green and black teas, Pu-erh – which, in the first stage of production, is processed in the same way as green teas – has been linked to several health benefits. These include lowered blood pressure and cholesterol, and in particular 'bad' LDL cholesterol – possibly due to the presence of lovastatin, produced by the fungi that occur in Pu-erh teas during the fermentation process. As a fermented product, Pu-erh tea may also contribute to gut health by introducing beneficial bacteria into the microbiome.

What is Ripened Pu-erh?

Shu Pu-erh Cha, or 'Ripened Pu-erh Tea', is made in Yunnan using the wet piling ('Wo Dui') processing method. Invented in the early 1970s, the technique was developed to imitate the long ageing process of the original Sheng, or Raw, Pu-erh teas, which can take years to develop flavour complexity.

Sometimes described as 'cooking', wet piling works by approximating the ageing process via prolonged bacterial and fungal fermentation of the tea leaves in a warm, humid environment under carefully controlled conditions.

Producers start with Pu-erh Mao Cha, made from leaves of the assamica variety of Camellia sinensis that have been withered, pan-fired, then rolled and dried in the sun. To achieve fast 'ripening', the leaves are then given the wet piling treatment, which involves piling them up, dampening and covering them with wet cloths, then leaving them for upwards of 45 days. Occasional turning of the tea leaves and mixing them around ensures an even fermentation.

How to store Pu-erh cake

Pu-erh teas are best stored in a cool, dry place, away from temperature fluctuations and odours. If you intend to drink this tea within five years, we recommend gently breaking up the cake into small pieces, ideally using a Pu-erh prying pick (you could use a small blunt knife, in a pinch). This will leave more surface of the tea exposed to air, allowing for further oxidation and flavour complexity to develop.

Alternatives to Ripened Pu-Erh Cake

Now you've tried this Shu Pu-erh, you'll want to experience that other Pu-erh 'personality' – the Sheng style – and there's no better tea to try for comparison than our smooth and clean-tasting Raw Pu-erh Cake, also delivered in a solid form. Alternatively, you might like to try our loose-leaf varieties of this Yunnan speciality tea: perhaps our Yunnan Pu-erh, with its exceptional earthy notes; or our Lincang Ripe Pu-Erh, aged for nine years and from a premium Pu-erh-producing district of this historic tea-producing region.

Crafted from rosewood and brass, our Pu-erh prying pick is an essential tool to break apart your Pu-erh Cake. 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.