Searching for “Puer Tea” on e-commerce platforms, you'll find prices ranging from a few dozen yuan to tens of thousands of yuan per pound. Despite being the same type of Puer tea, the price differences are vast. What accounts for these disparities?
Origin – Just as wine is distinguished by vineyard, Puer tea is characterized by its mountain origin. There are three major tea regions for Puer tea: Xishuangbanna, Pu'er, and Lincang.
The most well-known mountains include twelve ancient tea mountains. Divided by the Lancang River, the six tea mountains north of the river are Youle, Yibang, Gedeng, Manzhuang, Mangzhi, and Yiwu, known as the “six tea mountains within the river.” South of the river, the six tea mountains are Nannuo Mountain, Mengsong, Bada, Bulang Mountain, Jinghong Mengsong, and Menghai, referred to as the “six tea mountains outside the river.” In addition to these twelve ancient tea mountains, in recent years, popular origins have emerged such as Ban Zhang, Mansong, and Bingdao. The hydrological conditions, Soil, temperature, altitude, and sunlight intensity vary significantly across different regions, often possessing uniqueness. This uniqueness gives rise to Puer tea's “distinct flavor of each mountain.” The powerful character of Old Ban Zhang and the sweet taste of Bingdao tea are both products of their unique local environments.
Tree Age – If you've paid attention to Puer tea materials, you may have noticed the terms “ancient tree tea” and “terrace tea.” Ancient tree tea typically refers to Puer tea made from fresh leaves of tea trees over 100 years old, with some even considering trees over 300 years old to be ancient.
Terrace tea refers to tea cultivated by humans, generally with younger trees.
We won't comment on the superiority or inferiority of either. However, ancient tree tea is much rarer than terrace tea, being an irreplaceable resource in the short term. Everyone understands the principle that “rarity breeds value.” The larger the tree age, the fewer resources available, and the higher the price is a natural market trend. Processing – The production process of Puer tea is crucial, as it significantly influences the tea's aging potential and taste. The tea master's selection and sorting of tea leaves, control over the Wok temperature and time, and mastery of the kneading force are all accumulated through long-term practice.
For handcrafted teas, the tea master must invest more time and effort, making the production costs naturally higher. Blending is also a technical skill in Puer tea, requiring deep knowledge of tea varieties, origins, and processing methods. Only experienced blenders can create high-quality teas, especially for premium teas.
Many large tea factories keep their blending formulas confidential, as they represent years of tea-making experience and expertise.
Vintage
Puer tea has the characteristic of becoming more fragrant and valuable with age. The price difference between a cake of tea when it's first produced and after three, five, or ten years of storage can be enormous, sometimes increasing exponentially.
Of course, this is all predicated on proper storage. Puer tea can be stored in dry or humid warehouses, with dry-warehouse Puer tea generally commanding a higher price.
Dry-warehouse Puer refers to tea stored in a dry, ventilated environment with moderate temperature and Humidity, free from extraneous odors, allowing for a natural aging process. Humid-warehouse storage is the opposite, referring to storing compressed finished tea in a humid environment (with humidity generally exceeding 80%).
The origin, tree age, processing method, and vintage collectively determine the quality differences among different Puer teas.
Quality dictates value. Those famous mountain teas that can cost tens of thousands, while they may have some premium pricing, indeed exhibit exceptional quality. For our daily consumption, there's no need to pursue exorbitantly priced teas; what suits your palate is best. However, one should exercise caution with teas like “Old Ban Zhang for 9.9 yuan with free shipping.”
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