Пуэр: ферментированный чай из провинции Юньнань

Variety of fermented tea produced in the Yunnan province of China
the Chinese tea

Pu'er or pu erh is a variety of fermented tea traditionally produced in Yunnan Province, China. In the context of traditional Chinese tea production terminology, fermentation refers to microbial fermentation (called 'wet piling'), and is typically applied after the tea leaves have been sufficiently dried and rolled. As the tea undergoes controlled microbial fermentation, it also continues to oxidize, which is also controlled, until the desired flavors are reached. This process produces tea known as hēichá (黑茶), literally "black tea", though the term is commonly translated to English as "dark tea" to distinguish it from the English language black tea (红茶 hóngchá, lit. "red tea" in Chinese). Two main styles of pu'er production exist: a traditional, longer production process known as shēng (raw) pu'er; and a modern, accelerated production process known as shóu (ripe) pu'er. Pu'er traditionally begins with a raw product called "rough" (máo) chá (毛茶, lit. fuzzy/furry tea) and can be sold in this form or pressed into a number of shapes and sold as "shēng chá (生茶, lit. raw tea). Both of these forms then undergo the complex process of gradual fermentation and maturation with time. The wòduī (渥堆) fermentation process developed in 1973 by the Kunming Tea Factory created a new type of pu'er tea. This process involves an accelerated fermentation into shóu (or shú) chá (熟茶, lit. ripe tea) that is then stored loose or pressed into various shapes. The fermentation process was adopted at the Menghai Tea Factory shortly after and technically developed there. The legitimacy of shóu chá is disputed by some traditionalists when compared to the traditionally longer aged teas, such as shēng chá. Pu’er can be stored and permitted to age and to mature, like wine, in non airtight containers before consumption. This is why it has long been standard practice to label all types of pu’er with the year and region of production.

Pu'er is the pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese Pu erh is a variant of the Wade Giles romanization (properly p‘u êrh) of the same name. In Hong Kong, the same Chinese characters are read as Bo lei, and this is therefore a common alternative English term for this tea. The tea got its name from the ancient tea trading town of Pu'er (普洱), which is today's Ning'er Town (宁洱镇) in Ning'er County, Pu'er prefecture level city of Yunnan. Pu'er County had its name changed to Simao, after Simao Town, the new county seat in 1950 following the Communist victory. The County of Simao became a prefecture level City and had its name changed to Pu'er in 2007. Although the urban center of the modern Pu'er City remained in Simao, the whole Pu'er region is now sometimes considered the appellation for pu'er proper. Pu'er (and all tea) terminology varies from language to language. For example, pu er is known in Chinese as a type of 'dark tea' (heicha) while in Spanish it is considered ‘té rojo’ (red tea) and, conversely, what in Chinese is called 'red tea' (hongcha) is known in Spanish as 'té negro' (black tea).

Fermented tea leaves have had a long history among ethnic groups in southwest China. These crude teas were of various origins and were meant to be low cost. The Bulang and Dai people of Yunnan Province have produced pu'er tea at Jingmai Mountain since at least the 10th century. Traditionally, the tea trees would be planted in the forest understory after some larger trees were removed. On the border of these old tea forests, a partition forest would be planted to protect against the spread of pests and diseases, with cultivated land for crops and vegetables at lower altitudes. This new process produced a finished product in a matter of months that many thought tasted similar to teas aged naturally for 10–15 years and so this period saw a demand driven boom in the production of hēichá by the artificial ripening method. In recent decades, demand has come full circle and it has become more common again for hēichá, including pu'er, to be sold as the raw product without the artificial accelerated fermentation process.

Aside from vintage year, pu'er tea can be classified in a variety of ways: by shape, processing method, region, cultivation, grade, and season.

Pu'er is compressed into a variety of shapes. Other lesser seen forms include: stacked "melon pagodas", pillars, calabashes, yuanbao, and small tea bricks (2–5 cm in width). Pu'er is also compressed into the hollow centers of bamboo stems or packed and bound into a ball inside the peel of various citrus fruits (Xiaoqinggan) or sold as nuggets (Suiyinzi 碎银子 or fossilized tea 茶化石) or bundles made from tea at the center of wet piles (Laotoucha 老头茶). Image Common name Chinese characters Pinyin DescriptionST Bing, Beeng, Cake, or Disc 饼 茶 餅 茶 Bǐngchá A round, flat, disc or puck shaped tea, the size ranges from as small as 100 g to as large as 5 kg or more, with 357 g, 400 g, and 500 g being the most common. Depending on the pressing method, the edge of the disk can be rounded or perpendicular. It is also commonly known as Qīzí bǐngchá (七子餅茶, Chi Tsu Ping Cha, Chi Tse Beeng Cha, literally "seven units cake tea") because seven of the bing are packaged together at a time for sale or transport. Tuocha, Bowl, or Nest 沱 茶 沱 茶 Tuóchá A convex knob shaped tea, its size ranges from 3 g to 3 kg or more, with 100 g, 250 g and 500 g being the most common. The name for tuocha is believed to have originated from the round, top like shape of the pressed tea or from the old tea shipping and trading route of the Tuo River. In ancient times, tuocha cakes may have had holes punched through the center so they could be tied together on a rope for easy transport. Brick 砖 茶 磚 茶 Zhuānchá A thick rectangular block of tea, usually in 100 g, 250 g, 500 g and 1000 g sizes; Zhuancha bricks are the traditional shape used for ease of transport along the ancient tea route by horse caravans. Square 方 茶 方 茶 Fāngchá A flat square of tea, usually in 100 g or 200 g sizes. Characters are often pressed into the square, as in the example illustrated. Mushroom 紧 茶 緊 茶 Jǐnchá Literally meaning "tight tea," the tea is shaped much like a 250 g to 300 g túocha, but with a stem rather than a convex hollow. This makes them quite similar in form to a mushroom. Pu'er tea of this shape is generally produced for Tibetan consumption. Dragon Pearl 龙 珠 龍 珠 Lóngzhū A small ball shaped or rolled tea, convenient for a single serving. Generally balls contain between 5 and 10 grams of compressed material. The practice is also common among Yunnan black tea and scented green teas. Gold Melon 金 瓜 金 瓜 Jīnguā Its shape is similar to tuóchá, but larger in size, with a much thicker body decorated with pumpkin like ribbing. This shape was created for the "Tribute tea"(貢 茶) made expressly for the Qing dynasty emperors from the best tea leaves of Yiwu Mountain. Larger specimens of this shape are sometimes called "human head tea" (人 頭 茶), due in part to its size and shape, and because in the past it was often presented in court in a similar manner to severed heads of enemies or criminals.

Ripe pu'er is often described by its multiple layers of aroma: duiwei (堆味) or fermented flavour, cangwei (仓味) or storage flavour, xingwei (腥味) or fish flavour and meiwei (霉味) moldy flavour. The storage locations (Yunnan, Canton or Hong Kong) and storing conditions (wet versus dry storage) will result in distinct flavours. The aromas can be annotated as camphora (樟香), ginseng (参香), jujube (枣香), costus (木香), minty (荷香) or very aged (陈香). Raw pu'er is often distinguished by its floral (花香), grassy (草香), fresh (清香), herbal (药香), fruity (水果) or honey (蜜香)aroma. Some pu'er are flavour infused. Sticky rice pu'er (nuomixiang, 糯米香) is infused with leaves of Semnostachya menglaensis, native to Mengla, which gives it a young rice flavour. Bamboo roasted pu'er is encased in bamboo tubes and undergoes a smoking process. Tangerine pu'er (xiaoqinggan, 小青柑) is made with small green tangerines stuffed with tea. Flower infused pu'er is made in the form of tea balls (龙珠) or tea cakes.

Pu'er is produced in almost every county and prefecture in the province. Proper pu'er is sometimes considered to be limited to that produced in Pu'er City.

In addition to China, border regions touching Yunnan in Vietnam, Laos, and Burma are also known to produce pu'er tea, though little of this makes its way to the Chinese or international markets.

The method of cultivation can have as much of an effect on the final product as region or grade. There are three widely used methods of cultivation for pu'er:
Plantation bushes (guànmù, 灌 木; taídì, 台 地): Cultivated tea bushes, from the seeds or cuttings of wild tea trees and planted in relatively low altitudes and flatter terrain. The tea produced from these plants are often considered inferior due to the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizer in cultivation, the lack of pleasant flavors, and the presence of bitterness or astringency. "Wild arbor" trees (yěfàng, 野 放): Though often conflated with wild tree especially by producers, this method involves trees from older plantations that were cultivated in previous generations that have gone feral due to the lack of care. These trees are said to produce teas of better flavor due to the higher levels of secondary metabolites produced in the tea tree. Additionally, the trees are typically cared for using organic practices, which includes the scheduled pruning of the trees in a manner similar to pollarding. Despite the good quality of their produced teas, "wild arbor" trees are often not as prized as truly wild trees. Wild trees (gŭshù, 古 树; literally "old tree"): Teas from old wild trees, grown without human intervention, are typically the highest valued pu'er teas. Such teas are valued for having deeper and more complex flavors, often with camphor or "mint" notes, said to be imparted by the many camphor trees that grow in the same environment as the wild tea trees. Young raw pu'er teas produced from the leaf tips of these trees also lack overwhelming astringency and bitterness often attributed to young pu'er. Pu'er made from the distinct but closely related so called wild species Camellia taliensis can command a much higher price than pu'er made from the more common Camellia sinensis. Determining whether or not a tea is wild is a challenging task, made more difficult through the inconsistent and unclear terminology and labeling in Chinese. Terms like yěshēng (野 生; literally "wild" or "uncultivated"), qiáomù (乔 木; literally "tall tree"), yěshēng qiáomù (野 生 乔 木; literally "uncultivated trees"), and gǔshù are found on the labels of cakes of both wild and "wild arbor" variety, and on blended cakes, which contain leaves from tea plants of various cultivations. These inconsistent and often misleading labels can easily confuse uninitiated tea buyers regardless of their grasp of the Chinese language. As well, the lack of specific information about tea leaf sources in the printed wrappers and identifiers that come with the pu'er cake makes identification of the tea a difficult task. Pu'er journals and similar annual guides such as The Profound World of Chi Tse, Pu erh Yearbook, and Pu erh Teapot Magazine contain credible sources for leaf information. Tea factories are generally honest about their leaf sources, but someone without access to tea factory or other information is often at the mercy of the middlemen or vendor. Many pu'er aficionados seek out and maintain relationships with vendors who they feel they can trust to help mitigate the issue of finding the "truth" of the leaves. Even in the best of circumstances, when a journal, factory information, and trustworthy vendor all align to assure a tea's genuinely wild leaf, fakes teas are common and make the issue even more complicated. Because collectors often doubt the reliability of written information, some believe certain physical aspects of the leaf can point to its cultivation. For example, drinkers cite the evidence of a truly wild old tree in a menthol effect ("camphor" in tea specialist terminology) supposedly caused by the Camphor laurel trees that grow amongst wild tea trees in Yunnan's tea forests. As well, the presence of thick veins and sawtooth edged on the leaves along with camphor flavor elements are taken as signifiers of wild tea.

Pu'er can be sorted into ten or more grades. Generally, grades are determined by leaf size and quality, with higher numbered grades meaning older/larger, broken, or less tender leaves. Grading is rarely consistent between factories, and first grade tea leaves may not necessarily produce first grade cakes. Different grades have different flavors; many bricks blend several grades chosen to balance flavors and strength.

Harvest season also plays an important role in the flavor of pu'er. Spring tea is the most highly valued, followed by fall tea, and finally summer tea. Only rarely is pu'er produced in winter months, and often this is what is called "early spring" tea, as harvest and production follows the weather pattern rather than strict monthly guidelines.

Factories are generally responsible for the production of pu'er teas. While some individuals oversee small scale production of high quality tea, the majority of tea on the market is compressed by factories or tea groups. Until recently factories were all state owned and under the supervision of the China National Native Produce & Animal Byproducts Import & Export Corporation (CNNP), Yunnan Tea Branch. Kunming Tea Factory, Menghai Tea Factory, Pu'er Tea Factory and Xiaguan Tea Factory are the most notable of these state owned factories. While CNNP still operates today, few factories are state owned, and CNNP contracts out much production to privately owned factories. Different tea factories have earned good reputations. Menghai Tea Factory and Xiaguan Tea Factory, which date from the 1940s, have enjoyed good reputations, but in the twenty first century face competition from many of the newly emerging private factories. For example, Haiwan Tea Factory, founded by former Menghai Factory owner Zhou Bing Liang in 1999, has a good reputation, as do Changtai Tea Group, Mengku Tea Company, and other new tea makers formed in the 1990s. However, due to production inconsistencies and variations in manufacturing techniques, the reputation of a tea company or factory can vary depending on the year or the specific cakes produced during a year. The producing factory is often the first or second item listed when referencing a pu'er cake, the other being the year of production.

Pu'er tea is specially packaged for trade, identification, and storage. These attributes are used by tea drinkers and collectors to determine the authenticity of the pu'er tea.

When bought in large quantities, pu'er tea is generally sold in stacks, referred to as a tǒng (筒), which are wrapped in bamboo shoot husks, bamboo stem husks, or coarse paper. Some tongs of vintage pu'er will contain a tǒng piào (筒 票), or tong ticket, but it is less common to find them in productions past the year 2000. There is an ongoing argument as to whether high fluctuations in humidity negatively impact tea quality. Sunlight: Tea that is exposed to sunlight dries out prematurely, and often becomes bitter. Temperature: Teas should not be subjected to high heat since undesirable flavors will develop. However at low temperatures, the aging of pu'er tea will slow down drastically. It is argued whether tea quality is adversely affected if it is subjected to highly fluctuating temperature. When preserved as part of a tong, the material of the tong wrapper, whether it is made of bamboo shoot husks, bamboo leaves, or thick paper, can also affect the quality of the aging process. The packaging methods change the environmental factors and may even contribute to the taste of the tea itself. Age is not the sole factor in determining pu'er quality. Similar to aging wine, the tea reaches a peak with age and can degrade in quality afterwards. Due to the many recipes and different processing methods used in the production of different batches of pu'er, the optimal age for each tea will vary. Some may take 10 years while others 20 or 30+ years. It is important to check the status of ageing for your teacakes to know when they have peaked so that proper care can be given to halt the ageing process.

Over time, raw pu'er acquires an earthy flavor due to slow oxidation and other, possibly microbial processes. However, this oxidation is not analogous to the oxidation that results in green, oolong, or black tea, because the process is not catalyzed by the plant's own enzymes but rather by fungal, bacterial, or autooxidation influences. Pu'er flavors can change dramatically over the course of the aging process, resulting in a brew tasting strongly earthy but clean and smooth, reminiscent of the smell of rich garden soil or an autumn leaf pile, sometimes with roasted or sweet undertones. Because of its ability to age without losing "quality", well aged good pu'er gains value over time in the same way that aged roasted oolong does. Raw pu'er can undergo "wet storage" (shīcāng, 湿仓) and "dry storage" (gāncāng 干仓), with teas that have undergone the latter ageing more slowly, but thought to show more complexity. Dry storage involves keeping the tea in "comfortable" temperature and humidity, thus allowing the tea to age slowly. Wet or "humid" storage refers to the storage of pu'er tea in humid environments, such as those found naturally in Hong Kong, Guangzhou and, to a lesser extent, Taiwan. The practice of "Pen Shui" 喷 水 involves spraying the tea with water and allowing it dry off in a humid environment. This process speeds up oxidation and microbial conversion, which only loosely mimics the quality of natural dry storage aged pu'er. "Pen Shui" 喷 水 pu'er not only does not acquire the nuances of slow aging, it can also be hazardous to drink because of mold, yeast, and bacteria cultures. Pu'er properly stored in different environments can develop different tastes at different rates due to environmental differences in ambient humidity, temperature, and odors.

Preparation of pu'er involves first separating a portion of the compressed tea for brewing. This can be done by flaking off pieces of the cake or by steaming the entire cake until it is soft from heat and hydration.

In the Japanese manga Dragon Ball, the name of the character Pu'ar is a pun on pu'er tea.