Tea enthusiasts who enjoy tea are certainly familiar with Pu'er tea, but not all may know how to fully appreciate it. Today, let's discuss the seven steps to enjoying Pu'er tea together.
Step 1: Observe the Tea
Mature production processes ensure consistency in the shape of the compressed tea cakes, which are evenly formed and tightly compacted. Since the introduction of electrostatic dust removal machines, contemporary Pu'er teas from reputable manufacturers do not contain foreign objects. However, before 2004 when these machines were not widely used, older teas might have some impurities as they were manually screened. The color of Pu'er tea can help distinguish between raw and ripe varieties: ripe Pu'er is dark brown, while raw Pu'er ranges from dark green (young) to brownish-red (aged), with loose or compact leaves that become dry and lustrous over time.
Step 2: Feel the Tea
Feel the compactness of the tea; a loosely packed tea will age faster under the same storage conditions compared to one that is more tightly packed. When breaking off a piece of the tea, check for consistency throughout – some teas have higher-grade leaves sprinkled on the surface for better appearance, while others use a uniform grade of leaves throughout.
Step 3: Smell the Dry Tea
Smell the dry tea using your nose to discern its aroma. As Pu'er tea ages, it should develop a richer fragrance. However, if stored improperly, it can absorb unwanted odors such as wateriness, grassy scent, smoke, mold, or other pungent smells. Errors in processing can also result in various off-flavors. In short, Pu'er tea with off-flavors is not good for drinking and will produce an unpleasant experience.
Step 4: Infuse and Smell the Aroma
Infuse 6-8 grams of tea, Rinse it once or twice, then pour out the tea liquor and smell the aroma left in the Teapot. Some teas have no noticeable aroma, while others have a faint or strong and penetrating scent. For example, the ancient tree tea from Jingmai has a prominent and lingering aroma, whereas the ancient tree tea from Bingdao has a delicate and subtle fragrance. Certain aromas can be the result of processing errors, like grassy scent due to insufficient frying of fresh leaves, or a raw green scent from under-fried leaves. It's worth noting that some tea lovers might actually prefer these aromas, although finding such teas could be challenging.
Step 5: Infuse and Observe the Color
Ripe Pu'er tea produces a reddish-brown liquor, a product of full Fermentation. The color of raw Pu'er tea changes over time, providing visual pleasure. The color progresses from yellow-green (1-2 years old, reminiscent of youthful innocence) to golden-yellow (around 3 years old) to orange-yellow (3-5 years old) to orange-red (5-8 years old) to pomegranate red (8-15 years old) to garnet red (15-30 years old) and finally to wine red (over 30 years old). The clarity of the liquor ranges from murky (like muddy water, often found in plantation teas) to slightly cloudy (like the waters of the Yellow River) to clear (like the waters of the Yangtze River in June, where fish can be seen swimming up to a meter below the surface) to transparent (like the waters of Lake Dian, revealing aquatic life clearly) to luminously clear (like the water from the Twin Wells of Mojiang in Yunnan, crisp and sparkling) to crystal clear (like the waters of Jiuzhaigou streams, exquisitely clear).
The viscosity ranges from watery (like tap water) to oily (with a smooth feel) to viscous (dense and rich in texture).
Step 6: Infuse and Taste the Aroma
Taste for any off-flavors; if the mouth is filled with unusual scents, there is likely a problem. Common off-flavors include smoky taste (from using wood fires during processing), burnt taste (from over-processing), wok-roasted taste (from drying sun-dried tea by wok instead of air-drying), oven-roasted taste (from oven-drying sun-dried tea), black tea taste (from red stems and veins caused by delayed drying of freshly picked leaves), waterlogged taste (from being rained on during processing), and musty taste (from poor storage).
Taste the maturity of the tea, from unfermented (freshly made sun-dried tea) to floral (slightly oxidized) to fruity (well-oxidized) to honey-like (after a certain period of fermentation) to resinous (leaves from well-preserved trees with fewer harvests after a certain period of fermentation) to aged (aroma of aromatic alcohols after long-term fermentation) to camphor-like (a special aroma that only appears after natural fermentation over a long period; this is not always present and cannot be faked for profit) to medicinal (a unique aroma of aromatic alcohols after long-term fermentation, not present in all aged teas).
Taste the complexity of the aroma, from simple (a single thin aroma) to rich (multiple aromas) to layered (different aromas emerge as the tea cools) to evolving (different aromas appear with each Infusion).
Aroma intensity ranges from subtle (restrained and not showy) to restrained (rich and harmonious, lasting) to high (sharp and persistent).
Step 7: Infuse and Taste the Flavor
Bitterness and astringency are fundamental flavors of Pu'er tea, often summarized as “No bitterness, no astringency, not Pu'er.” Acidic taste (result of processing error) → bitter and astringent (the baseline flavor; taste whether the bitterness or astringency dissipates quickly) → fresh and sweet (varies by tea region and variety).
Liquor sensation refers to the feeling of the tea liquor in the mouth. It can range from insubstantial (like tasting nothing) to thin (some sensation) to thick (rich and heavy) to full-bodied (rich and full).
Swallowing sensation describes the feeling of the tea liquor from mouth to stomach. It can be rough (with a prickly sensation on the tongue) to smooth (smooth on the tongue) to silky smooth (slides down easily).
Throat sensation ranges from dryness (dry throat) to Sweetness (sweet aftertaste) to moisturizing (like rain nourishing the earth, with lingering sweetness). The aftertaste can be absent, short-lived, or persistent.