Pu'er, as a post-fermented Tea, undergoes subtle changes in its aroma and flavor over time. The unique taste formed bit by bit, day after day, may be the most charming aspect of Pu'er. It is this transformation that endows Pu'er tea with collection value. So, what kind of Pu'er tea is worth collecting? Why hasn't my tea appreciated in value?
What Kind of Pu'er Tea Is Suitable for Collection
The Infusion should be bright.
For Pu'er tea, the infusion color of a new tea is golden yellow, and the older the tea Cake, the more the infusion color will tend towards red.
Pu'er tea stored in a dry warehouse generally has a clear and bright infusion. If the infusion is murky, it could indicate wet storage or that it has been stored in a damp environment.
The aroma should be pure.
Good Pu'er tea should have a pure aroma without any strange or pungent odors. Purity refers to an aroma that, when smelled with the nose or tasted with the mouth, produces only a pure tea scent. For example: camphor aroma, plum aroma, orchid aroma, jujube aroma, Lotus aroma, etc.
The storage should be proper.
In general, the storage environment can affect the taste of Pu'er tea. If it's not stored in a dry warehouse or if there are odors in the warehouse, these can be absorbed by the tea and become evident during brewing, creating an unpleasant drinking experience.
The tea's character should be strong.
The stronger and more lingering the taste in the mouth, the fuller the tea's character. This is something easily felt but hard to grasp; one must try many good teas to truly understand it. A tea with a strong character has great potential for aging.
The aging process of Pu'er tea is slow and requires a long period of waiting. This directly explains why Yunnan has had the saying since ancient times that “grandfathers make tea and grandsons sell it.”
“Aged tea” is essentially a concept of time. As long as it's not fake aged tea, it will have some value for tasting and cultural appreciation, making it rare and precious.
Why Hasn't My Tea Appreciated in Value When We're Both Storing Tea?
Pu'er tea not only has high tasting value but also carries certain financial attributes. The future price trend of a particular Pu'er tea is determined by many factors.
Good raw materials, good craftsmanship, and proper storage are the three basic prerequisites for Pu'er tea to become “better with age.”
An improvement in the quality of the tea will indeed drive up prices to a certain extent. Additionally, scarcity, market enthusiasm, marketing, and other factors will also influence the final selling price of the tea.
If you store tea to enjoy better-aged tea, then when selecting tea, focus mainly on the raw materials and the production process. Whether the tea appreciates in value in a few years is secondary; the key is that it presents better aroma and taste than when it was new.
If storing tea is solely for the purpose of waiting for it to appreciate in value, in addition to considering the future transformation potential of the Pu'er tea, brand, origin, cultural heritage, and other additional attributes cannot be ignored.
Currently, some Pu'er aged teas on the market are priced at millions, while others are less than a hundred yuan.
A high price is based on the tea being of sufficient quality, but not all tasty aged teas can fetch a satisfactory price.
No one can accurately predict the future price trend of a particular Pu'er tea. If, after a few years, the tea is not only delicious but has also appreciated in value, that's a bonus; if the price doesn't change much, having good tea to drink is still nice. For professional investors, however, it's a different story.