Puer tea does indeed improve with age, primarily because the chemical components within the leaves undergo carbonization over time, significantly altering the taste. Once it has been aged for 15 to 20 years or more, the brewed tea becomes even more enjoyable. However, it is not recommended to store the tea indefinitely, as this can cause the loss of its nutritional components.
Is Puer Tea Better with Age?
The saying that Puer tea improves with age comes with conditions. Not all Puer teas benefit from extended storage. The longer aging process enhances the aroma and flavor, making the tea more complex and desirable. As a result, older Puer teas are often more expensive. However, there is an optimal period for aging, during which the unique qualities and aged aroma develop. This transformation is due to post-Fermentation processes that occur in storage, where compounds like polyphenols, amino acids, and sugars change, leading to an ideal color and aroma. If stored improperly or for too long, the quality can deteriorate, and beneficial components may degrade or oxidize, losing the tea's characteristic flavors.
Conditions for Puer Tea to Improve with Age
1. Good Raw Material
Sunlight, Soil, climate, and temperature fundamentally determine the composition of organic matter in the leaves. For example, Lao Banzhang, known as a “famous mountain and village,” is located at an average altitude of 1700 meters, with an annual average temperature of 18.7°C, 2088 hours of sunshine per year, and 1341–1540 millimeters of rainfall annually. The ecosystem here is well-preserved, with rich soil organic matter, abundant sunlight, dense fog, and high Humidity, creating an ideal environment for ancient tea trees to thrive.
2. High-Quality Leaves
A good environment produces high-quality leaves. Ancient tea trees have extensive root systems that absorb large amounts of tea amino acids, caffeine, polyphenols, polysaccharides, pectin, and other substances, providing a solid foundation for subsequent transformations.
3. Skilled Processing
Each step in processing, from plucking to Drying, pan-frying, rolling, and more, requires meticulous attention. It is crucial to retain enough active substances and microorganisms while also reducing bitterness and astringency in the fresh tea, a task that tests the skill of the tea maker.
4. Proper Storage Conditions
“Storage is the critical factor in ensuring that Puer tea improves with age.” Suitable environmental conditions improve both the quality and safety of Puer tea. Factors like temperature and humidity influence how quickly sensory and chemical qualities change. Different storage conditions lead to significant variations in the aroma profile and type of Puer tea.
Dry storage involves keeping the tea in a moderately warm, well-ventilated environment for post-fermentation. Wet storage refers to practices by some merchants who store the tea in poorly ventilated, humid conditions to accelerate aging. Dry-stored Puer tea has tightly bound leaves, uniform fermentation, a lustrous appearance, and a crisp sound when lightly tapped. In contrast, wet-stored tea appears dull without a shine and may be covered in white mold or have signs of mold growth.
The age of Puer tea is a complex aspect, and the idea that older is always better applies only to raw Puer tea. For ripe Puer tea, the fermentation process is already complete during production, so there is no further aging potential. Aging can only diminish the alkaline and cooked flavors but does not necessarily improve the overall quality of the tea.