Pu-erh Tea
Pu-erh is unlike any other tea in the world. A fermented and aged tea from Yunnan, China, it comes in two main styles — raw (sheng) and ripe (shou) — and can be pressed into cakes or sold loose. Its flavour ranges from earthy and mushroom-like to rich, dark, and almost chocolatey. Brewing it properly is an act of respect for time itself.
Break apart your pu-erh carefully
If brewing from a compressed cake or tuo, use a pu-erh pick or butter knife to gently pry off a section — around 3–5 grams per 150 ml of water. Try to keep the leaves as whole as possible; broken leaves can make the brew muddy and overpowering.
Rinse once — or twice for aged teas
Pour fully boiling water over the leaves, let sit for 10–15 seconds, then discard completely. This is not waste — it rinses away any storage dust or mustiness acquired during ageing, and begins to "open" the compressed leaf. For an older or earthier shou pu-erh, a second rinse is entirely reasonable.
Use fully boiling water
Pu-erh is a bold, dense tea that demands heat. Always use water at a full rolling boil — 95–100°C. Lower temperatures will under-extract the complex flavours that make pu-erh so distinctive, leaving the cup flat and thin.
Start with very short steeps
For gongfu-style brewing (recommended), the first true infusion after rinsing needs only 20–30 seconds. This sounds counterintuitively short, but pu-erh extracts intensely. Western-style brewing in a larger pot can go 2–3 minutes. As with oolong, extend each subsequent steep by 10–30 seconds.
Decant fully and keep going
Pour out every drop between steeps to control strength. A quality pu-erh — especially aged sheng — is one of the most rewarding teas to re-steep, offering 8, 10, sometimes 15 or more infusions. The later steeps often become surprisingly sweet and clean, a complete contrast to the earthy opener.