What is Puerh Tea?
Hullo again, tea-loving commoners. Time to put down your tea bags, take a big sip of your loose leaf teas, and pay attention. For ‘tis I, the Earl of Grey. I am sure you’ve missed me at least ten times as I’ve missed you. Nevertheless, here I am to tell you a bit about Puerh Tea.
As the health benefits of tea become more and more clear, and an increasing number of delicious types of tea reach stores worldwide, tea is becoming incredibly popular. And as tea drinkers get to try all new kinds of tea to which they’d previously never been exposed, they discover new favorites. Puerh tea is a new favorite with many experienced tea drinkers.
So what is Puerh tea?
That’s an interesting question—since it can be sold raw but can also be “cooked,” it may be classified as a green tea, an oolong tea, or a black tea, depending on how long it was oxidized. Puerh has a unique, earthy taste and reddish color. Many people enjoy its deep tone, and its rich flavor makes it popular with coffee drinkers as well. It can be served as a loose leaf blend or compressed into tea bricks, to be crumbled apart each time one is ready for a nice cup of tea.
Unlike most teas, which go bad in just a few months, puerh can taste excellent even years later. There are puerhs out there ranging in age from 10 to 50 years old, and can be classified by when and where they were harvested, like wines.
Puerh is well-known for its health benefits, something the people of China have known about for generations. It reduces blood pressure, lowers cholesterol, and helps with management. And has even been known to help with the aftereffects of a hard night. It also helps digestion, so it’s terrific after a heavy meal.
So now you are prepared to go out and hang out with the grown up tea drinkers, the snotty royals that know about every kind of tea, without having to worry about looking silly if they mention this new-to-you kind of tea. And by “snotty royal,” I mean myself, of course. I am an Earl, for pity’s sake!
Tags: aged, black tea, cholesterol, diet, Green Tea, Health, oolong tea, Puerh, tea
