Pu' er cooked tea tastes best when stored for several years？

YuanJia131

Both ripe and raw Pu'er teas are made from sun-dried tea leaves of the Yunnan large-leaf variety, processed through specialized techniques into loose-leaf and compressed teas. In terms of production methods, ripe tea involves an additional crucial step—"pile fermentation," which represents a significant breakthrough in Pu'er tea's traditional craftsmanship. This innovation marked the birth of modern Pu'er tea, and the industry now uses the emergence of ripe Pu'er tea as a key criterion to distinguish between traditional and modern Pu'er tea.

This primarily stems from the successful development of ripe tea, which overcame the limitations of traditional techniques. By shortening the fermentation cycle through artificial rapid fermentation instead of natural fermentation, the tea's properties underwent significant changes. Under the complementary conditions of "one raw, one ripe," Pu'er tea has adapted to the diversified and personalized development demands of the tea market.

Ripened tea is a type of tea with strong "physical effects," referring to the impact and reactions of the tea leaves on the body after consumption. For instance, its effect on the stomach: if comfortable, the stomach feels warm; if not, it may quickly lead to dry heaving or stomachache. Additionally, ripened tea carries a certain warmth, unlike raw tea, which tends to be cooling. It not only warms the stomach but also induces sweating throughout the body. This is why more people drink raw tea in summer and ripened tea in winter, primarily for this reason.

Like raw tea, ripe tea can be enjoyed immediately after production (ripe Pu'er tea develops a unique aroma through artificial fermentation). However, it is rarely consumed as soon as it is made, unlike raw tea. Most ripe teas are aged for a period before drinking, with the optimal storage period being 3 to 5 years for better quality.