Imagine drinking fresh tea – the beautiful tea aroma slowly releasing its steamy power… it’s almost mesmerizing…

BUT, in the case of Pu-erh cake, I beg to differ.

Yes, I exclaim, I LOVE IT OLD!

A good aged Pu-erh cake is an addiction – it takes you to an elevated state of calm and happiness, yet, buzzes you like a tune that just wouldn’t get out of your head…

The learning of Pu-erh cake is an art. Studying Pu-erh cake (or beng) of different tasting profiles is sometimes compared to studying wine – where it is grown, whether the tea tree (Camellia Sinensis) is grown as “managed” hedges like most standard tea, or left to grow into trees and eventually into thousands of years old wild tree, the craftmanship of the maker, and last but not least the age and storage of the Pu-erh cake.

In the video below, we discussed the two ways of categorising Puerh cake by their production method – Raw or Sheng and Ripe or Shou.

Find out more about Pu-erh in our Australian Tea Guide 6th edition, including pictorial guide and comparison of Pu-erh cakes, including Source of Material, Method of Fermentation and Craftmanship. You can find our selected range of Pu-erh, mini toucha in our Pu-erh tea section.