Puer Tea

Puer tea belongs to a category of teas called “heicha” or “dark tea.” These unusual teas continue to ferment and oxidize very slowly after they are made and develop deeper flavor and complexity over time. According to Chinese medicine, puer tea can be very soothing for digestion.

There are two types of puer: sheng, loosely translated as “raw,” and shu, loosely translated as “cooked.”

Sheng Puer has the longest history of the two styles. It is made simply from sun dried tea leaves with processing that resembles a rustic style of making green tea. Sheng Puer often has bright and fruity aromas that come with complex herbal flavors of both bitterness and sweetness.

Shu Puer was invented in the 1970s when tea makers discovered a way “ripen” the tea by piling up large quantities of leaves and carefully mixing them as they naturally ferment and oxidize. Shu puer brews with a dark red color. The brew is exceptionally smooth with earthy and sweet flavors.

We offer a variety of both sheng and shu puer cakes, as well as some loose leaf puers.