Sheng Pu'er
Pu'er tea is strong and intense. It often tastes earthy and tart. Pu’er are the best-known of the dark teas.
How Pu'er is made
Processing begins like green tea: the leaves are heated, shaped and dried. Pu'er is subdivided in Sheng and Shu:
- Sheng Cha (raw tea), once dried, is softened by steam and pressed into cakes. Over years it develops its typical earthy flavour.
- Shu Cha (ripe tea) is fermented over several months in order to somewhat resemble in a relatively short time the taste that Sheng Cha develops over decades of aging.