How to Brew Pu Er Tea
Over recent years, Pu Er has become an increasingly popular style of tea. It’s a pretty common complaint for people who are new to the style to find it :
too light
too bitter
or not balanced…
A lot of these issues can come down to brewing techniques. Once you get it down right you’ll open up a new world of flavors and aroma that Pu Er tea can offer. There’s so much aroma, flavor and texture locked away in the little understated Pu Er tea cakes.
Also, we wrote an article that covers what is Pu Er tea here if you’d like to learn more about Pu Er before brewing. For now, let’s go through and break them open, so you can get the best tea experience from your Pu Er.
What is Pu Er?
Before we get started, let’s first give a very brief overview of what Pu Er Tea actually is. Pu Er (Pu-Erh, Puer) is a super unique tea that must come from China’s Yunnan province. Just like Champagne must come from Champagne, France - Pu Er must come from Yunnan, China.
While not technically its own category of tea, it’s a style either deeply loved or hated by tea connoisseurs. There are 2 things that make Pu Er unique:
It is often compressed.
It can sometimes be aged.
Within Pu Er, there are two sub-categories:
Raw Pu Er (Sheng Pu) - technically considered a Chinese green tea.
And Ripe Pu Er (Shou Pu) - technically considered a Chinese black tea (not to be confused with what we call “Black Tea” in the West - in China that is actually known as “Red Tea” and “Black Tea” refers to post-fermented tea such as Shou Pu.)
What’s the Difference between Raw Pu Er and Ripe Pu Er?
Both Sheng Pu (Raw Pu Er) and Shou Pu (Ripe Pu Er) are considered to be Pu Er. But they are quite different in taste, processing, and historical significance.
Raw Pu Er
We’ll start with Sheng Pu, or “Raw” Pu Er. Put very simpley, Sheng Pu is green tea from Yunnan that is processed in large batches. Some of the enzymes “survive” the processing step of Sheng Pu allowing the tea to subtly ferment over time. This means that Sheng Pu has the ability to age, like wine, over time. Most green teas, on the other hand, completely denature the enzymes in the leaf that fully halt any femernation (and thus can not be aged.)
Processed as a green tea.
Usually more bitter than Ripe Pu Er.
Has the ability to age and its flavor will change as it ages.
Ripe Pu Er
Shou Pu is made from the fried Sheng Pu Er leaves - but with an additional processing step called “wet piling.” The tea leaves are literally composed in big moist and hot piles. Fungus and bacteria break down the tea and bring out a mellow, earthy flavor. The microbially fermented tea is known as “Black Tea” (not to be confused with what we call “Black tea” in the West, which is actually Red Tea.)
Processed as a black tea, with a post-fermentation step.
Generally more creamy and earthy in taste.
It does not age in the same way as Raw Pu Er.
You can learn more about the story behind Shou Pu fermentation here.
How to Brew Pu Er Tea in a Gaiwan (The Traditional Method)
Alright so let’s get into how we actually brew Pu Er tea. Both Sheng Pu and Shou Pu use similar brewing methods - done with a lidded bowl known as a Gai Wan. If you’ve never used (or heard of!) a Gaiwan before, don’t worry as wee have a full guide here on How to Brew Tea in a Gaiwan.
This method of brewing is also referred to as Gong Fu Cha, which translates as: “Brewing Tea with Skill.” Check out the following illustrated steps to know exactly how to prepare Pu Er teas.
Recommended gram weights for a standard Gaiwan (110ml):
Around 7g for Sheng Pu
Around 5g for Shou Pu
What you will need:
Sharing pitcher (known as Gong Dao Bei)
5-7g of Loose Leaf Pu Er Tea
A cup to drink the tea
Optional, but good to have:
Tea scale (these teas are measured by weight)
Pu Er tea pick or knife to break apart the tea cake
Tea Strainer
Steps:
1. Break off and weigh out 5-7g of tea leaves, and place in Gaiwan.
(Check out how to break apart a Pu Er tea cake here)
2. Rinse the tea by filling the Gaiwan with boiling water, place the lid on, and wait a few seconds. Then, tilt the lid slightly to allow a gap between the lid and the bowl. Pick up on the sides, and strain into your sharing pitcher, discard this brew. This rinse helps decompress the tea and “wakes up” the dried tea leaves.
3. Fill the Gaiwan with boiling water again (about 50ml for a standard Gaiwan).
4. Place the lid on, and wait 3 seconds. (Yes, that short!) Quick steeps, also known as flash brews, are essential to this method of brewing.
5. Repeat for a second brew. You can rebrew the same leaves many times by adding boiling water and quickly steeping. If your tea is too strong, decrease the steeping time. If you want the tea stronger, steep it slightly longer.
Extra info: Generally speaking, longer steeping times will result in a stronger flavor. This is because the longer the steeping time, the more polyphenols (main agents responsible for the taste and aroma of tea) are extracted. If you're looking for a lighter-tasting tea, a shorter steeping time is usually best. If you want a bolder flavor, then you'll need to steep for longer.
How to Brew Pu Er Tea in a Western Tea Pot
Ooika doesn’t recommend Western-style brewing for high-end Chinese or Japanese teas. The benefit of the quick flash brewing Eastern method is you can experience the subtle changes from one flash brew to the next. The Western brew generalizes all of the brewing into one large pot. This method is fine for bulk or low-grade tea, but not suitable for connoisseurship. Still, we’ve included the Western-style steps below to be thorough!
What you will need:
Teapot with strainer
5-7g of Loose Leaf Pu Er Tea
A cup to drink the tea
Optional, but good to have:
A tea timer
Pu Er tea pick or knife to break apart the tea cake
Tea scale (these teas are measured by weight)
Steps:
Weigh out 5-7g of tea leaf.
Place tea leaf in a teapot.
Fill with boiling water, about 350-700 ml depending on the size of your teapot.
Set the tea timer for 3-5 minutes. Pour into your cup.
Rebrew with boiling water. Start by brewing for another 3 minutes, taste the tea, and adjust for preference.
Why Should you Weigh Pu Er Tea Before you Brew it?
Pu Er is often tightly compressed into a cake, brick, or other shapes. This is known as “Pu Er Cake.” But not always as it’s sometimes left in a “loose leaf” tea format.
There isn’t much difference in taste between compressed teas and loose teas. But they will age differently because compressed teas will have less direct contact with the air and this will eventually impact the overall taste of the tea.
Because compression varies, it is hard to visually know if you’re holding 5 grams or 10 grams of tea. A small, dry chunk of Pu Er tea may expand into a significantly larger amount when brewing. The pressed tea leaf will decompress while you brew.
Using a scale to weigh the leaf before brewing ensures that you know exactly how much leaf you are starting with. This will make your brewing of Pu Er much more consistent, resulting in a better cup of tea. Otherwise, you might brew the tea too strong with too much tea and it will taste bitter or unbalanced.
When you’re new to brewing it’s best to measure water and tea by weight, at least until you get the hang of it.
How to Brew Pu Er Tea Fast
Don’t have a Gaiwan?
Low on Time?
Short on space?
No worries.
Follow these steps below to brew Pu Er at home the super-easy way. This method is sometimes referred to as “grandpa style” or “farmer’s style”. This is a great way to drink tea that doesn’t demand a lot of focus or skill. While a good option for most Pu Er teas this is generally not recommended for higher quality, more expensive teas.
Although there are a few highly esteemed terroirs in China where the locals drink “grandpa-style” high-end teas!
What you will need:
A coffee mug, Bizenware cup, or tall glass.
Optional (but good to have):
Tea scale
Pu Er tea pick or knife to break apart the tea cake
Steps:
Find your favorite mug.
Place about 2-5 grams of Pu Er (Raw or Ripe) into your mug.
3. Add Boiling water.
4. Wait a few minutes, then sip.
5. Start drinking immediately, or let it brew longer. Remember, the tea will become stronger as you drink so feel free to dilute with more hot water. This will also “re-brew” the leaves.
What temperature do you brew Pu Er?
Pu Er tea should always be brewed with boiling water:
212F or
100°C
This allows more to be extracted from the tea leaves which results in flavors intended by the teamaker.
How Many Times Can You Brew Pu Er?
Pu Er can be brewed many times.
The total amount of times you can rebrew the same leaves depends on a few things:
The style of brewing you use.
The amount of leaf used.
The compression of the leaf.
The subcategory of Pu Er.
And the quality of the tea leaf.
But generally speaking, Pu Er can be brewed between 10 to 20 times for 1 serving of loose leaf tea in the Chinese Gaiwan style of brewing.
Do you Put Milk in Pu Er Tea?
In general, high-quality Chinese tea brewed in traditional ways will never have milk or sugar added. The English do add milk and sugar to their tea, though this is largerly because the red teas from India (known as “Black Tea” in English") can lack the natural sweetness and complexity of Chinese teas.
Anyhow, Pu Er tea has a wide flavor spectrum and focuses on more intense, bitter, earthy flavors that would not pair well with milk.
