--- title: Pu-erh url: 'https://howtotea.me/teas/dark/puer' markdown: 'https://howtotea.me/teas/dark/puer.md' lang: en date: '2026-10-23' description: 'Pu-erh, the pressed tea of Yunnan: sheng and shu, wo dui, the 357 g cake, aging and the myths about age, home storage, brewing in a gaiwan or Yixing pot.' --- # Pu-erh 普洱茶 Editors · October 23, 2026 · 5 min read A Yunnan tea pressed into cakes and aged. It comes in two kinds: sheng changes over the years, while shu goes through accelerated fermentation and comes out dark and sweet straight away. ![A pressed pu-erh cake with single leaves visible in the compressed mass](https://howtotea.me/images/c/o/v/e/r/cover-9a237022.webp) Photo: [Francesc Fort](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pu%27er_-_pastilla_de_t%C3%A9.jpg), [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0), cropped 普洱茶 Pu-erh pǔ ěr chá [Dark tea](https://howtotea.me/teas/dark) Province: Yunnan: Xishuangbanna, Pu'er, Lincang Raw material: large-leaf variety, sun-dried mao cha Kinds: sheng (raw) and shu (ripe) Shu processing: wo dui, since the early 1970s Form: 357 g cake, tuocha, brick, loose Liquor: sheng astringent and fruity, shu earthy and sweet **95–100°**, water **7 g**, per 110 ml **8–12**, infusions Pu-erh is a tea from Yunnan, most often pressed and aged for years. It is named after the trading town of Pu'er in the south of the province, from whose markets caravans carried tea to Tibet and neighboring countries for centuries. The Chinese classification counts pu-erh among the [dark teas](https://howtotea.me/teas/dark), although young sheng tastes closer to green tea, and people still argue over where it belongs. ## Where the leaf comes from Pu-erh is made from the Yunnan large-leaf variety, the same one that goes into [Dian Hong](https://howtotea.me/teas/black/dian-hong). The main growing areas are Xishuangbanna, including Menghai County, and the prefectures of Pu'er and Lincang. Under the Chinese national standard, only tea made from sun-dried large-leaf material grown and processed in designated areas of Yunnan may be called pu-erh[1](#fn:1). The fresh leaf gets a gentler fixation than [green tea](https://howtotea.me/teas/green), then rolling and drying in the sun. The result is mao cha, "rough tea", the half-finished base for both kinds of pu-erh. Gentle fixation and sun drying leave the leaf "alive", so it keeps changing in storage. ## Sheng and shu Sheng ("raw") is pressed from mao cha with no further processing. Young sheng is astringent and slightly bitter, with notes of herbs and fruit. As it ages it darkens, the bitterness fades, and dried fruit, wood and camphor come through. Shu ("ripe") was developed in the early 1970s at the tea factories of Kunming and Menghai as a faster route to the taste of aged tea. Workers heap mao cha into large piles, moisten it and cover it with cloth. Microbes start fermenting the leaf, the pile heats up inside, and it has to be turned regularly. The process is called wo dui, "wet piling", and takes about 40–60 days. Other dark teas spend less time in the pile. Guangxi's [Liu Bao](https://howtotea.me/teas/dark/liu-bao) is also piled cooler, and in [Anhua](https://howtotea.me/teas/dark/anhua) the leaf stays in the pile for a few hours. Shu comes out dark, earthy and sweet, with no astringency. That does not make it aged sheng, though. It has its own flavor and its own history. ## Cakes, tuocha and bricks To press pu-erh, makers weigh out the mao cha, steam it, put it in a cloth bag and press it under a stone or a machine press. The classic 357 g cake is called qi zi bing, and seven of them wrapped in bamboo leaf make a tong of about 2.5 kg. Pu-erh is also pressed into nest-shaped tuocha, usually 100 g, and into 250 g bricks, and some is sold loose. In the early 2000s producers in Fuding adopted pu-erh presses as well and press white [Shou Mei](https://howtotea.me/teas/white/shou-mei) into cakes there. To break off a piece, use a special knife or pick and work along the layers so the leaf crumbles less. ## Aging and storage Sheng changes over the years, faster in a humid climate and slower in a dry one. In its first year or two, shu loses the smell of the pile and turns softer. At home, keep pu-erh in a cupboard or box away from the kitchen and spices, since the leaf readily picks up other odors. The spot should be dark, moderately humid but never damp (up to 70 % humidity), at ordinary room temperature. Leave the cakes in their original paper wrappers. [Storing tea](https://howtotea.me/brewing/basics/storage) gives the numbers and explains the difference between dry and wet storage. Age and promises There is almost no way to verify the age of a pu-erh. Whoever prints the wrapper sets the date, there is nothing to check it against, and tasting gives only a rough idea of the year. Cakes older than 30–40 years are rare and priced accordingly. A "hundred-year-old pu-erh" on an ordinary market almost always turns out to be a legend. Promises like "burns fat" and "cleans blood vessels" are advertising copy. ## How to brew Brew pu-erh strong and short, [gongfu cha](https://howtotea.me/brewing/methods/gongfu-cha) style. Shu takes water at a full boil, and a [Yixing teapot](https://howtotea.me/teaware/brewing-vessels/yixing) suits it well, since thick walls keep the water hot longer. Young sheng is easier in a [gaiwan](https://howtotea.me/teaware/brewing-vessels/gaiwan), whose thin porcelain loses heat quickly and does not stew the leaf. Pour each infusion off completely, straight into a [fair cup](https://howtotea.me/teaware/brewing-vessels/chahai). Use soft [water](https://howtotea.me/brewing/basics/water); [hard water](https://howtotea.me/science/water-and-extraction/water-chemistry) dulls the sweetness. ![Pu-erh: dry leaf, the brewed tea and a Yixing teapot to brew it in](https://howtotea.me/images/l/i/s/t/-/list-i-nastoj-6a673cf8.webp)Illustration How to brew 7 g per 110 ml. [Rinse the leaf](https://howtotea.me/brewing/basics/preheating-and-rinsing) first: pour water over it and pour it off at once, which opens up the layers of pressed tea. Brew shu with water at a full boil, young sheng at 90–95 °C (194–203 °F). Keep the first infusions to 5–10 seconds, then go longer. Good leaf holds up for 8–12 infusions. Shu is forgiving: oversteep it and it just gets thicker. A few extra seconds make young sheng sharply bitter, so pour it off quickly. ## Common questions How is sheng different from shu? Sheng is pressed from mao cha with no further processing and changes over the years in storage. Shu goes through wo dui, accelerated fermentation in piles, before pressing and comes out dark and sweet straight away. Young sheng is astringent, shu soft and earthy. Is old pu-erh always better than young? Aging improves sheng made from good leaf and stored properly, while poor storage ruins any cake. Shu changes more slowly: the smell of the pile fades in the first year or two, and after that the flavor gradually mellows. A seller's stated age can hardly ever be checked. How do you break a piece off a pu-erh cake? With a special knife or pick. Push it in from the side between the layers and lever a layer off. That way the leaf crumbles less and the liquor comes out cleaner. Notes 1. GB/T 22111-2008 "Product of geographical indication: Puer tea", national standard of the People's Republic of China. [↩](#fnref1:1) --- ## Navigation - Parent: [Dark tea](https://howtotea.me/teas/dark.md) - Next: [Liu Bao](https://howtotea.me/teas/dark/liu-bao.md)