The question of whether Puerh tea is a black tea or a green tea may seem a bit boring to many Puerh tea enthusiasts, but for those who don’t know much about Puerh tea, it is indeed a question worth exploring. So, today we will explore together whether Puerh tea belongs to black tea or green tea?
What is green tea?
Green tea is very common in our life, and it ranks first among all teas and is produced in almost every province in the country. Therefore, for people who usually don’t drink tea, they must have heard of green tea, because it looks green, the soup color is also green, and the bottom of the leaf is also green. It tastes fresh and sweet and has a wonderful flavor. If you don’t know much about Puerh Raw Tea, when you drink it for the first time, you may mistake it for green tea.
The production process of green tea consists of three main steps: killing, kneading and drying. It is a non-fermented tea, thus retaining the natural substances of the fresh leaves, and is rich in nutrients such as tea polyphenols, catechins, chlorophyll, caffeine, amino acids, vitamins and other nutrients. These natural substances make the color and soup of green tea retain more of the green tone of fresh tea leaves, which is the key reason for its name.
What is black tea?
Although black tea is not as productive as green tea, it is the second most productive type of tea, which should not be ignored. Black tea is characterized by red leaves and red soup, which is very easy to distinguish. The reason why Puerh ripe tea is considered to be black tea is not surprisingly related to its similar soup color to black tea.
From a professional point of view, black tea belongs to fully fermented tea, which is one of its important characteristics. The processing of black tea includes a series of technological steps, such as withering, kneading (cutting), fermentation and drying. During processing, black tea undergoes a chemical reaction centered on enzymatic oxidation of tea polyphenols, and the composition of the fresh leaves undergoes great changes. This gives black tea unique characteristics, such as red soup, red leaves, sweet flavor and alcohol, as well as new components and aroma substances such as theaflavin and thearubigin.
What is Puerh Tea?
Pu-erh tea is a specialty tea of Yunnan, with one bud, two or three leaves of Yunnan large-leafed fresh leaves as the picking standard, and is the main raw material for making Pu-erh raw tea and Pu-erh ripe tea. It is also known as Maocha, which is called Puerh Raw Tea when it is made from sun-dried green Maocha and steamed and molded by traditional technology. Tea made from sun-dried green Maocha through fermentation is called Puerh Ripe Tea. With high quality raw materials and exquisite craftsmanship, and then stored under good warehousing conditions, Puerh tea has the characteristic of becoming more and more fragrant as it ages. This kind of tea not only has a mellow taste, but is also rich in nutrients and has a variety of health benefits.
The production process of Pu-erh raw tea is as follows: firstly, fresh leaves are picked, dried, killed and twisted to make sun-dried green gross tea. Next, the tea is steamed at high temperature and then put into fixed molds for shaping. Finally, the sun-dried tea is made into tightly pressed cakes, bricks or tuo teas. For many people who do not know Puerh tea, Puerh raw tea is often mistaken for green tea, due to the similarities between the soup color and taste of Puerh raw tea and green tea.
Pu-erh tea has attracted a lot of attention in the industry, and because it has the characteristics of both green and black tea, it has triggered a controversy about its attribution. Some people believe that it does not belong to black tea or green tea, but in fact this is still an issue to be explored.
There is a view that Pu-erh tea is significantly different from any of the six major tea categories in terms of production method and quality, and therefore cannot be simply categorized as such. In the industry, a consensus has been reached that Pu-erh tea is a specialty tea and does not belong to any of the tea categories.
The uniqueness of Puerh Raw Tea and Puerh Ripe Tea makes Puerh Tea unique in the world of tea, and its richness and unique qualities make it a highly sought-after specialty tea. Whether from the point of view of production method, taste or health benefits, Puerh tea has shown its unique charm and attracted the attention of many tea lovers.
