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Tea (Camellia sinensis): Pu-erh Tea

Last Updated: Aug. 19, 2010

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Compressed Pu-erh Tea
a Pu-erh Tuo Cha
from Upton Tea
Pu-erh tea (普洱茶), called bo nay tea in Cantonese, is a type of tea that is difficult to classify and is usually considered as a category of its own. Although it can be consumed immediately after production, pu-erh is often aged, in a process called post-fermentation. This process involves active bacteria and fungal cultures. In China, post-fermented tea is also called hei cha(黑茶), meaning black tea; what westerners call "black tea" the Chinese call "red tea".

Pu-erh comes in fully oxidized/fermented varieties (like black teas), called ripe or cooked pu-erh, and green varieties, called raw or sheng pu-erh. Both ripe and raw versions are often aged.

Compressed Pu-erh
Ripe Pu-erh Tea from
Menghai Tea Factory
Pu-erh tea originated in the Yunnan province of China, and most Pu-erh is still produced there; a few other regions have produced small quantities of tea in a similar style. Disputes have arisen over whether such teas produced outside of Yunnan province should be allowed to carry the title "pu-erh". Originally, Pu-erh was produced only in raw form, and was then aged. Ripe Pu-erh was developed as a less expensive way of imitating aged raw Pu-erh.

Unlike most teas which are usually sold loose, Pu-erh is commonly sold both in loose and compressed forms. Pu-erh is compressed into different shapes, including bricks and a common form called tuo cha, which means bowl-shaped.

Health Benefits of Pu-erh Tea:

Pu-erh tea is often touted for its cholesterol-lowering properties. Experimental studies on rats have verified that it does lower cholesterol, by inhibiting the synthesis of cholesterol.[1][2] However, the chemicals, polyphenols, that inhibit cholesterol synthesis, GCG, EGCG, and other catechins[1], are not limited to Pu-erh tea, but also occur in most types of tea, and are not necessarily highest in pu-erh. Similar results have been found for green tea.[3] Pu-erh also has also been found to have antimutagenic and antimicrobial activity.[4]

References:

1. Chi-Hua Lua, Lucy Sun Hwang, Polyphenol contents of Pu-Erh teas ... inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis ..., Food Chemistry, Vol. 111, No. 1, (Nov. 1, 2008), pp. 67-71.


2. Chiang, Chun-Te et al., Pu-erh Tea Supplementation Suppresses..., Oncology Research Featuring Preclinical and Clinical Cancer Therapeutics'', Vol. 16, No. 3, (2006), pp. 119-128(10).


3. C.A. Bursill, M. Abbey, P.D. Roach, A green tea extract lowers plasma cholesterol ..., Atherosclerosis. 2007 Jul;193(1):86-93.


4. She-Ching Wu et al., Antimutagenic and antimicrobial activities of pu-erh tea, LWT - Food Science and Technology, Vol. 40, No. 3, (Apr. 2007), pp. 506-512.





Listings of this style of tea: (77 including sub-styles - hide sub-styles)

Page 1 2 3 4 of 4 pages with 77 results:

F : Fair Trade | O : Organic | CF : Caffeine Free | D : Decaffeinated

Leaf: L Loose | T Teabag | S Sachet | B Bloom | C Compressed
Tea:Brand:Region:# Ratings:
LZH26: Organic Pu-Erh OUpton Tea ImportsChina1
CZH30: China Pu-Erh Tuo Cha, Size 1Upton Tea ImportsChina0
LZH45: Wang Pu-ErhUpton Tea ImportsChina0
CZH50: Organic Pu-Erh Mini Tuo Cha F OUpton Tea ImportsChina0
LZH65: Pu-erh Loose Jia JiUpton Tea ImportsChina1
LPuer TeaLupiciaChina0
LPuerh #2TeaScapesChina0
C2006 Nan Qiao Factory Raw Puerh Cake | Sheng Jia Ji Beeng ChaCanton Tea CoChina0
C2005 Lao Tong Zhi Raw Puerh Brick | Sheng Pu ErhCanton Tea CoChina0
C1999 Yi Wu Cooked Puerh Brick | Shou Pu Erh BrickCanton Tea CoChina0
TPuErh TeaTen Ren Tea?????1
TPu-Erh Whole LeafTen Ren Tea?????1
C#167 - Pu-erh Tuo Cha F OTealuxe?????0
TYunnan Bo Nay TeaFoojoyYunnan, China0
TEmperor's Puerh - Black Tea ONumi Organic TeaYunnan, China2
CAncient Sheng Pu-erh Saiqing Ya Tuo Cha (2005) F ORishi TeaYunnan, China0
LPu Erh DanteAdagio TeasYunnan, China0
LPu Erh PoeAdagio TeasYunnan, China0
LZH20: China Pu-Erh LeafUpton Tea ImportsYunnan, China1
LZH60: China Aged Pu-Erh Celestial TributeUpton Tea ImportsYunnan, China0

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