Thread: Samples: Pu-erh and White tea

I have borrowed this from Pu-erh, A Westerner's Quest

"Puerh History and Culture

Puerh History

Preface

As with most things Chinese that have been translated for the Western World many things get lost in the translation, many concepts are incomprehensible to the Western mind, and many misunderstandings are perpetuated. In addition to those difficulties Puerh History is often debated, argued over, and mis-communicated even in Chinese circles. There are many books on Puerh History written in Chinese and very few of them agree with one another. So please keep all of this in mind as you read the following accounts, or any others for that matter! I have collected this data from many sources over many years. Portions of the Historical facts on this particular page came from a friend of mine who paid to have the original Chinese text from various Puerh Bingchas translated.

The Tea Horse Caravans

One of the more colorful aspects of Puerh history is the Tea Horse Roads and the Caravans that traversed them. Tea products made in Yunnan were transported by mules and horses in long Caravans along established routes that became known as the Tea Horse Roads. Traders from Tibet, Laos, Burma, etc would trade for tea in the tea markets of Pu-erh County and then hire the Caravans to carry the tea back to their respective homes.

It was the logistics of transporting tea via these Caravans that inspired merchants to start compressing the tea in the first place, it was easier to handle and they were able to get more tea on each horse that way. This form of transportation was relatively cheap, but the transportation lead time was quite long since the Caravans traveled very long distances at a very slow speed. It was quite by accident that they discovered that Pu-erh actually tasted better at the end of the journey than at the beginning. Recently experiments have taken place that retraced the old routes via horseback. They loaded up the horses with tea and modern instruments to measure the temperature, humidity, etc that the tea was exposed to in hopes of understanding the aging process better.

During Ming and Qing Dynasty there were five main "Tea-Horse Roads". The first and most traveled one is from Pu Erh (the place) to Kunming and then to other inland provinces in China, all the way through Beijing. This route was later extended to reach Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. The second Tea Horse Road is from Pu Erh to Xia-Guan and eventually to Tibet. This route later connected to Nepal. The third one reached Vietnam. The fourth one reached Burma. The fifth one reached Laos. This was a major form of trade in those days and Pu-erh was literally traded as a form of currency.

Though the Caravans no longer exist, the rich culture and history prevails to this day. The old tea Horse Roads are quite the tourist attraction in China and you can still find remnants of three well-maintained routes today in Pu-Erh County. Many footprints of mules and horses can be found on those roads, as well as sign posts, and other famous landmarks. These are the roads that made Pu-erh famous.

Noteworthy Facts


* The most classical Puerh Tea is the Bingcha, recorded in Yong-Zheng 13th year in Qing Dynasty (1735). Each tea cake weighs 7 Liang (357 grams). Seven cakes make 1 Tong (wrapped in leaves), weighing 49 Liang. It was sold in nice places and also was exported abroad. It was re-named as "Yunnan Qizi bingcha - Yunnan seven cake tea" during the Cutural revolution.
* Head Tea (aka Golden Melon) is shaped like a ball, weighing between 2 Liangs and 10 Jins ( 1 Jin = 500 grams). They were mainly for domestic trade or serving as tributes to emperors. Stacks of Golden Melons progressing in size from gigantic to small are considered to be a status symbol.
* Mushroom shaped tea appeared in 1912. It was invented at that time in order to prevent the tea from going mouldy during the transportation. It was produced in Xia-Guan and Fo-Hai (two cities in south China) with the trademark "Bao-Yan". The production was then stopped in 1966. In 1986, the production was resumed due to the request of Buddhists in Tibet.
* In 1940, the Chinese State owned company CNNP started to manufacture Pu Erh Tea with a trademark "Zhong-Cha" at the Fo-Hai Tea Factory (now called "Meng-Hai Tea Factory"). Later, Yun-Nan Tea Company and Guang-Dong Tea Company also produced the same brand and started to export abroad. There were varieties such as red-label, green-label, yellow-label, small-letter and big-letter etc.
* Brick Tea was mainly produced in the Si-Chuang province prior to 1949. It is now also available in other provinces as well.
* Standard Tuocha tea were defined to weigh 100 gram each. Five make 1 Tong.
* Black Puerh Tea was invented by Kunming Tea Factory in 1972/73 and was manufactured in Xia-Guan Tea Factory ever since 1976. It is now manufactured in many different factories and is by far the most popular type of puerh sold.
* Yunnan Tea Company standardized the trade number for Pu Erh Tea in 1976 for the purpose of export. Each bingcha has 4 digits: the first 2 digits indicate the manufacturing year, the third digit indicates the leaf grade, the last digit indicates the tea factory (e.g. Kun-Ming 1, Meng-Hai 2, Xia-Guan 3, Pu Erh 4). The loose-leaf tea has 5 digits with the third and fourth indicating the class level of raw materials. Examples of early trade numbers for Puerh Tea are 7452, 7562, 7572, 75671, 76563.
* Meng-Hai Tea Factory started to use the trademark "Da-Yi" around 1978. Xia-Guan Tea Factory started to register the trademarks "Song-He" and "Nan-Zhao" in 1992.
* At the beginning of 1990s, many small tea factories were born. Some of them started to use class level 3 (or even higher) raw tea (which was only available for emperors in the past) instead of level 6 (or even lower) raw tea (which was the traditional material for producing Pu Erh Tea).



Puerh in the future

Today the emphasis is twofold. On one hand a significant amount of scientific research is being done on the effects of puerh on the human body, the microbial activity involved, and the science of developing mature puerh faster. On the other hand recent economic affluence has created a new middle class in China. Consuming Pu Erh Tea has become a symbol of achievement. This new middle class has created an unprecedented demand for quality Puerh, which in turn has put pressure on the factories to produce more tea even faster. New research facilities have been commissioned to further the processing techniques with an emphasis on scientific theory, manufacturing technology, quality and economics."

Enjoy!
Steve

Great news!!!

My first order just came in. Here are the teas that I still have available for samples from that order:

1998 Lincang "CNNP Green Wrapper" Raw Pu-erh tea - $3.20/25g

2000 Long Yuan Hao Yi Wu Mountain Raw - $4.10/25g

1999 Gu Pu-er Simao Raw Pu-erh "Fang Cha" - $4.75/25g (SOLD OUT)

2002 Bu Lang Mountain Raw Pu-erh tea brick - $2.40/25g

2002 Hai Lang Hao * Mengku Wild Arbor cake - $2.20/25g (SOLD OUT)

2003 Jing Mai Round Cake * Tai Lian Tea Factory - $2.95/25g

2002 Jingmai Mountain Wild Arbor Raw Pu-erh Bricks -$2.50/25g

Early Spring Yunnan Silver Needles White Tea (will sell in quantity desired) - $1.50/25g

Let me know if you are interested in any of the limited remaining quantities.

Best regards,

For all those that have preordered teas, I have packaged the orders and shipped them today. Let me know how you enjoy them.

For anyone that has not ordered, the quantities are dwindling fast.

I have sampled a couple so far and enjoyed them very much. I am sure that you all will enjoy them too.

Best regards,

Limited supplies still available from the first order!

Supplies are dwindling!

The name Pu-erh recounts to this teas place of origin – Pu-erh village, Yun Nan province of south-west China. Traditional Pu-erh teas were pressed into cakes, bricks or balls. This compression facilitates the post-fermenting process – which is as noted the distinguishing feature of this tea. Fermentation in tea production is comparable to the process that happens naturally when fruits discolor. This process is identified as enzymatic oxidation. In tea production the process is controlled via suitable application of temperature and light at the correct processing stage.

There are numerous health benefits Pu-erh can give you. According to studies, Puerh Tea’s health benefits include the lowering of blood lipids that assist with the prevention of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels and slimming.