What is Ripe PuErh Tea?
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
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What is ripe or post-fermented Puerh tea? Some people call these cooked Pu Erh others call these dark teas or Shou Puer. They are based on a traditional Chinese Tea called Hei Cha which are produced all over China.
PuErh tea can be split between Raw Sheng tea and Ripe Shou tea. In this video Don explains the processing to make this type of tea and then we do a tea tasting on three ripe PuErh samples which have come from Yunnan.
To taste one of our favourite cooked PuErh, try our Black Yunnan Tuo Aged tea made in 1998.
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The chillest duo on UA-cam. If I'm having a solo session, I always watch Mei Leaf
This has been my routine for the last few weeks as well. Especially these session when I'm interested in diving into a new variety of tea.
You two as a team are really doing it for me. Keep it up. Even though her descriptions are more generic, her expressions are MUCH more helpful and useful. Great team!
What a throwback! Here 7 years later, refreshing my knowledge for my first job in tea. ❤ u guys
I love the angle of the camera. I feel like I am with them, sitting in front them listening to them.
Ripe is the only tea I have to drink every day without exception.
Totally addicted. I call it the black tar heroin of the tea world. My average intake is about 12 g per day but sometimes I do 2 sessions, which gets me up in the 25 g zone.
I'm going to China next month and will be bringing back a suitcase.
Callum Makkai 12g a day woah!
Callum Makkai Take care of fluoride intake as Puer is known to have lots of fluoride.
Callum Makkai why so addictive?
Callum Makkai wow is it really proved that this might be addictive?
i'm addicted to tea in general lol
What a delightful treat to join you as you experience a new sample. Very captivating and welcoming. Thank you for sharing this experience. Cheers🍵
just tried my first cup of your Black Tuo Cha.......WOW! it was much sweeter than I expected ("slightest hint" is a big understatement. it was like tasting the Pu Erh answer to White Peony). there was a strong taste of licorice root which lingered for quite some time, so much so that I had to double check that tea was the only ingredient. the other half was about what I expected: fresh greenhouse soil and wet cave. reminds me a bit of the basement of my old house where I used to hang out a lot because of the smell. followed the instructions this time, but next time, I intend to brew it more intensely and get a real kick from it.
all in all, will DEFINITELY be buying this tea again.
Great tasting notes thanks for this - I do love this tea and is a great example of a really well made Tuo tea.
I just started out learning gong fu tea, and I am in the process of learning how to compare tea varieties, choosing tea gear, and so on. I am delighted to watch your instruction videos: they are fun to watch and listen to, full of usefull tips and tricks, a must - go for any (would - be or growing) tea lover. Thank you Don and Celine for your contribution in tea education!
There are a few local shops that sell puerh tea and the vast majority of it is shu, and by that I mean it's my lucky day if I can find any sheng in stock. I've tried a bunch of them and I've never come across one that has fishy taste to it, all of them taste like damp soil and hot attic to me. Not my absolute favorite, tho my coworker's eyes start sparkling whenever I bring shu puerh to work, while I'm hooked on sheng, still have about half left of the first Cone Bandit I ordered from you guys and I love it so much. Keep up the good work. Take care.
Yay! An new Video! Always very happy when a new video from you guys arrives :)
I love your videos - informative, understandable and charming.
Don,
I absolutely agree with you about the digestive health, and I thank you for pointing that out! I love that the first fermented food you mentioned was kombucha, then kefir. Ha!
I only use higher quality leaf for my kombucha recipes. Just like tea, the kombucha flavor profile is created simply by the tea and the culture. Which is why I love your channel so much; so pure and so direct. Keep it going strong!
So much love,
Paul
Paul Pavlenko thanks, we love kombucha and kefir too. Maybe we can taste yours one if these days - which teas are your favourites for kombucha?
If you're ever in the Pacific Northwest in the States, I'd love to show you guys around!
Right now, I'm loving how bright and juicy the kombucha gets from senchas in Shizuoka. That's one of my favorite teas for kombucha. I also like to use a highly oxidized Japanese black tea with a little bit of dried yuzu rind that's grown on the tea farmer's property that the farmer blends himself. It creates this very aromatic, almost sour summer ale effervescence.
I also like to use green oolongs from Taiwan for Jun culturing. The bright grassy/floral notes pair extremely well with the honey in Jun making. You can nearly taste the honey/flower notes when you breathe out from your nose after you sip on it.
I can go on and on. :)
I'm looking to experiment with some ripe puerhs very soon. I'd love any recommendations/direction!
Cheers!
i looked at the 3 samples and a thumbs-up already! Thanks guys.
can you please tell Celine she got a very nice sweater and matching necklace haha
There's a BIG difference between fermented foods (bacteria breaking down starches) and mould spores! But I get your point (and agree). There are also foods that are intentionally made with moulds (blue cheeses etc), as long as they're known to not be harmful and are created in a very controlled environment.
Hello friends! Thanks for the review and description. You are fantastically exciting!
You need to control your caffeine intake.
Another wonderful video Don and Celine! Great work. I have been enjoying some fantastic ripe pu-erhs in recent months. There are a number of exciting new pressings that seem to be available recently.
pu erh got me into tea and proper tea brewig so I was excited about this video. I enjoyed it very much ^_^ thank you.
I just dropped in a Tuo Cha and settled into an autumn day and listened...good moments
good call on the tobacco flavor. I'm tasting a raw puerh right now (my first) and I could not place the aroma.....but after a good 30 minutes I recall this smells exactly like a tobacco I purchased over 15 years ago. The tobacco was shredded very fine and almost black but it is nearly the same scent. this same aroma is very heavy in a sample of lapsang souchong I have.
I also just tasted my first ripe puerh and WOW, who knew that dank basement tastes so good!
When she brewed the second infusion of the last tea she let it brew so long i was getting nervous up in here, then they liked it anyway, i like that type of tea you can really experiment with different brewing time, and often depending of the brewing time different notes can come forward yum
Ooemph! These cha masters are always Sooo amazing with their knowledge n enthusiasm. Very inspiring... Lovely upload. Thnx! ******
Great video. Love learning the intricacies behind the production of these teas. Just started getting interested in ripe puerhs.
I was waiting for this video. I like ripe Puehr the most! Funny is I could choose best one, on first look when the video start. :D, but I dont like skiping. (big like for this video)
Got my first puerh ordered today, can't wait to experience it mate
This was a very informational and interesting tasting video.Thanks!
The second tea definitely sounds the most interesting to me, medicinal flavors are always fun to ponder on in a late night session. If you do decide to buy even a small amount of it, I'd definitely be compelled :) I was drinking a raw Puerh (Gua Hua, Qianjiazhai) while watching this, had a nice tobacco aroma and a bit of pineapple. Definitely that "zingy" bitterness of a Sheng. Thanks for another fun video!
The first tea, first rinse has a beautiful color already. I like bitter and tea, I can already tell that I would love that first one.
I cant focus on your words, your girlfriend is soo funny!! 😅 i cant imagine whats going through her head that moment “ not tea probably “
You look great, haha will start this video again!
26:10... I loved that interaction. Definitely being spoiled!
Really apreciate this! Would love to have this with my girl!! Just lovely
I can't wait to see which (if any) of these may replace (not truly replace but...) Sacred Owl! They all look interesting in their own right. Thanks Don for your careful sourcing of tea and tea wares. Still waiting though for some separate tea towels available on your internet site! :)
I totally understand, we've had a funeral about every day this week at church just before Easter. Still love the "Boss" and looking forward to the new website!
leave the lid on after the rinse...good advice, never thought of that!
Ian Buchanan A little tip for those hard to break cakes.
Definitely an acquired taste. Any thought about about Pu’erh resins?
Hey! just encountered your channel - thank you so much for creating these content. the information and the video is SO informative yet so approachable and so unpretentious. I love it! It's such a fine balance that most tea educator or seller fail to have. thank you for sharing! do you ship internationally to the US btw?
Nice video :) I watched while brewing some ripe Pu Erh as well. Can't wait for another video. Maybe a geeky one with some research based tea knowledge?
My first puerh happen to have been a fermented puerh and it was good but it had a strong musky flavor.
I have the same teapot, one of my favorites. Interesting dynamic between the 2 of you
She has a cute smile :3
you are such a simple man (in the best way)
I had my first pu'erh cup of tea now. My impression: needed to be lighter for me. It tasted good. I'll try other kinds of it...
An interesting part of the history of fermented teas or hei cha's is that historically the locals of the area wouldnt drink it, it was not made to be drunk by the locals, it was made pretty much as the commodity tea of its time, to sell them for horses or other goods in tibet and central asia, as these areas eat very little of vegetables or fruits as they dont grow there, and therefor drinking tea was a good solution as it is easy to take with you, now 3kg tongs are not light by modern standards but for an ancient nomad it was great, especially compared to loose leaves. Drinking hei chas in china is a newer not modern but newer phenomenon, especially hei cha from your own local area.
To my tastes, a good ripe pu erh tastes like a jungle after a storm or a jungle themed greenhouse.
The mid-quality ones have more of a "salty sea mist" flavor unless rinsed for about 15 seconds before the first proper infusion.
I just got a ripe Pu erh that I woukd describe as "earthy". Unfortunately it does smell mostly like dirt. I did purchase it on a budget however so I'm not too disappointed
that sounds like a tea I might like
This guys the Jolie Olie of tea! That intro though!
Really excellent video. I learned so much so quickly!
Y'all are so beautiful. Thanks for the info!
This has Nothing to Do with this specifik video but could you Do a video about about Umami?
Please between pu-erh black tea and pu-erh red tea which is more effective on weight?
Hi Mei Leaf - I recently bought some loose leaf Yunnan PuErh (i.e., not a pressed cake) in Hong Kong. I was wondering if you could expand on differences for Cantonese/Hong Kong style PuErh's as you mentioned in the video at ~23.20? Is it usual to have twigs mixed in?
P.S. I'm thoroughly enjoying the tea education that your channel offers.
yes that "my grandmother's musty cement basement" taste lol
WeAreBullets is it weird that’s the taste I like?
There is a tea shop in NYC called Tea Drunk. Sells and offers primarily high end chinese tea. I had a Pu'er that tasted like chocolate chip cookie. But then again that may be what I was craving.
Also -what size teapot are you guys using in this one? Seems like a perfect one for me!
I like how you two match clothes. I don't know if you think about it or no but it happens a lot.
London is very humid, do you think is a good place for aging puer? I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina and is very humid here but I don't think is like London, since we can have a full week without rain.
Great video guys. Informative!
Hey - when does the new Mei-leaf site launch? I'm looking forward to it!
f0g eta 2 weeks
Very new to tea drinking, how do you test tea when the volume of tea looks different. Great video
Jerry Mc Guire do you mean how do we measure out tea? If so then use a digital scale.
Yes Thanks
Jerry
love from Denmar fantastik info
May I ask how safe it is to eat the fermented puerhs? Is ripe tea tested? Thank you so much for the information! Have a great day,
Jake.
Pls do a video in wich you try Amazon cheap pu erh!!!
I was looking into different sorts of tea, and I came across a mention of something called 'nugget' or 'golden flower?' Pu-erh? Is this the same essential thing as raw Pu'erh? Is it the same microbe in fermenting?
Also -- I think a Tea Advent Calendar would be *awesome*. Also, have you considered a tea club, where for a monthly charge, you get a surprise sample of tea..a different tea each time?
Chrisiant hi. Yes the golden flower tea is a fermented tea from Hunan so not technically a PuErh. We are definitely thinking of starting a tea club so stay tuned for more information if/when we decide to launch.
Wow this is so interesting. I personally been drinking ripe pu erh for few years and sometimes i come across few that brew an extremely dark colour tea liquor. I heard rumors saying that there are producers that add colouring into the tea to darken the colour. How do I know if the colour natural or not?
Super helpful. Thank you!
Where would Puehr resins fit ripe or raw?
what is the oldest pu-erh tea that you have tried? i have had some niece older tea 30 years or more and loved them
You guys are so cute together. A relationship goal for a teahead!
I actually have a question for you Don: What do you think about sparkling water for brewing tea? Water in my area is very bad and the only brand that bottles good water always have stock issues however they bottle sparkling water too. I'm afraid to test that water with my better teas so a second opinion will be very useful. Alternatively, do you know any way of purifying water without destroying it's chemical composition?
Hmm, that was not the best of ideas. Apparently, if you boil carbonated water you will end up with... carbon molecules floating around in your boiling water... who would have thought!
_ Tara I would have never thought about boiling sparkling water but after this little revelation I think we can forget that idea completely.
Just saw this comment in 2022...you can boil sparkling water safely, it just removes the carbonation. It is not dangerous and doesn't leave carbon molecules floating in water. It's an option if you don't have any other water around!
Funnily, you guys keep up with my personal tea drinking calendar - I've just received some tea I ordered with two samples of ripened pu erh. So far I have not explored this kind of tea besides a pretty cheap one, so I associated ripe pu erh with the fishy smell. However, I believe that there's much more to explore, so I ordered some samples to do some tasting :)
the fishy taste means the makers did a bad job.
One of the things you want to do with off smelling ripe, is get it as dry as possible. What I more often get with cheaper ripe is simple tasting, it smells good, it tastes good, but there isnt a whole lot of wow to it.
What happened to the one you liked the most? Was it too expensive to stock?
Hello Don did you change the design of the Gong Fu Guru slightly? There are now these two holes on both sides of the stainless steel water catcher for picking it up. The one I have doesn't have them :)
Gicko Jerke no this is a prototype but we changed the design to take away these finger holes.
I like the colour of sample 1 and if it tastes similar to a strong builders tea is like it.
Have you guys ever considered doing a video about medicinal teas. In other words, different types of teas that you drink purely for the health benefits? I'm sitting here watching your latest video, while sampling your Amachazuru & River High together.They both had that licorice taste with a heavy/medium mouth feel. That comparison lead me to Chinalife.com, where I found your article "6 Brews To Beat The Common Cold". I would love to see a video furthering on that information. Don & Celine's tea sessions & descriptions are so warm and soothing, just the thing someone could use when they are feeling under the weather. Just a thought, peace & love.
torikjohnson1 thanks and I totally agree with your flavour descriptions. We will do a medicinal tea video I am sure, I have added to my lists.
I've only ever tried three ripe puerh's, and they all tasted like a handful of dirt and woodchips to me. It just seemed gross. Sometimes I think about trying another one, but I've had three strikes so far, and I don't know if I want to try again.
Sometimes you are using a thermos bottle and sometimes water kettles. How important is the correct temperature?
I have measured an isolated cup and in 10 min the temperature dropped 10°. I was even more surprised that it dropped in a Gaiwan 20°-30° in seconds!
Pouring water from the kettle already cools the water down around 5°. The 99° from the brewing table is not possible.
p.s. I have tested the Morphy Richards hot water dispenser. Very interesting but the water is cooling down too quickly. It is coming out with 95° but in the cup it is already 80°. I think that it is not good for black tea. Great for green tea, coffee or soup.
yes exactly I'm struggling too!!
I've come to believe it is not that important. I use a plain old whistling water kettle for all of my tea, and when it whistles, I turn off the burner and go to the table with it. I might drink tea for 30-60 minutes, and that kettle has cooled off a lot by the time I get to the end of the session. I've never used a thermometer, and in my experience, the amount of leaf and brew time will effect the strength of the tea far more than the temperature.
Have you tried using a microwave oven? Microwave ovens are (in)famous for superheating water beyond its boiling point:
_«On several occasions, the water has started to bubble violently after he has added a tea bag. On one occasion, the boiling started when he was removing the mug. It was so violent that it blew 90 per cent of the water from the mug_
[…]
_A portion of the water in the cup is becoming superheated-the liquid temperature is actually slightly above the boiling point, where it would normally form a gas. In this case, the boiling is hindered by a lack of nucleation sites needed to form the bubbles._
_This never occurs when boiling a kettle, for example, because the presence of the rough surface of the element, as well as the convective stirring from rising hot water, are sufficient to produce proper boiling. Turbulence in liquids is known to provide enhanced nucleation in other cases: when you pour a cola drink, for example._
_In your colleague’s case, the addition of a tea bag (and, in the other case, simple movement) sufficed to allow bubble formation. Even with a large proportion of the water superheated, only a little will convert to steam, as the amount of latent heat required for this phase change is very large. I imagine that by keeping the cup still and microwaving for a long time, one could blow the entire contents of the cup into the interior of the microwave as soon as you introduced any nucleation sites. It is this sometimes explosive rate of steam production that means you should take great care when using a microwave oven.»_
- Murray Chapman (question), Richard Barton (answer). *"The Last Word: 'Micro madness'."* _New Scientist (10 January 1998) no. 2126_ ; _New Scientist (14 February 1998) no. 2121_
Q: newscientist. com/lastword/mg15721168-500-the-last-word
Q&A: newscientist. com/lastword/mg15721219-400-the-last-word
• David Mikkelson. *"Superheated Microwaved Water: Can water boiled in a microwave oven suddenly 'explode'?"* _Snopes. com (March 12, 2010)_
snopes. com/science/microwave.asp
The only pu erh I have is a "V93", which is interesting But I don't really know What I should about it...
I'd feel a little wary of drinking that tea in the middle. I don't like the cut of its jib. On a side note I wonder if ripe Puerh is rich in vitamin K2 like other fermented foods.
So I was wondering if you could maybe do a comparison between post-fermented teas from Yunnan and other regions? As you said fermenting teas is not only typical for Yunnan but other regions in China (or even Japan?). Also, is there a reason you only stock hei cha from Yunnan?
My Yunnan Pu-Erh tea tastes earthy as well and nutty has a nut-earth flavor in my opinion.
enjoying this video during a session with sacred owl. i really wouldn't mind if you found a replacement for that one ;)
Jonas1988 that is a really hard one to replace!
you had me at guiness, ordering now lolol
How do people in Yunnan brew their Puer? I heard they put it in copper or steel pots and cook it.
Great video thank you
I know the tea needs to be rinsed but....Why on the first tea you throw the first brew but on the second one not?
Nice video. How do you feel about mixing teas like adding some silver needle white tea with your PuErh for the same drink? Is it bad to mix them? They all have health benefits so I wonder if mixing is better?
Yes you can, but it taste like you drink vodka+beer in same time
So ripe puerh is shou puerh? What’s difference between sheng and shou puerh
Thanks so much for this video. I just tried a ripe Puerh my daughter brought back from a tea shop in Toronto. I would describe it as almost identical to the number 11 (the first tea you tried). It starts out smooth, but it kinda grabs the back of my mouth/throat at the end. It lacks any smoky/fruity notes I usually get with ripe puerhs. It probably needs to age a few years more.
My account was just heavily hit by a large order in your shop! It now needs some chinese medication and time to recover.
mrcvry 😀 hahahaha thanks for the order though!
May I know whether raw puerh tea and ripe puerh tea high with oxalate ?
It’s hard to focus on what he’s saying because Celine is so beautiful, and amusing. :-)
Hmm. So on the brewing guide, if the recommended time to brew a tea is 10s, ought I to account for the 'pouring time'? Should I start pouring at, say, 6s instead?
Yes!
Ah, no wonder my black teas were turning out slightly bitter, and brewing out by the 5th infusion. I've been using the Connoisseur brewer - takes a while to pour out those last few drops with the 'twist and turn'.
This is quite crucial, I suggest that this be mentioned in the guide!
My Puerh is a bit like Co-op tea - branches everywhere
Ok how much Tea did Celine have before making this video- I'm calling tea drunk!
Wasp number 03059381380
So based on your comments -- "fishy" is poor quality? I just tried PuErh for the first time after reading about and became curious, and it does have a bit of a fishy taste. So should I just start again and throw it away?
I just had a ripe puer, smooth, malty and as far as medicinal, ling chi mushroom was the aroma and overtone.
I'm confused, which is healthier ripe or raw?
do you all find these teas to be probiotic also do you all plan on selling fu zhuan cha along with other hei cha?
Hey Don! How high on average is the alcoholic content in Pu erh (particularly shu), if there is any at all, due to the fermentation process?
As far as I am aware there is no alcoholic content in ripe PuErh and any potential trace amounts would be likely evaporated by boiling water.
@@MeiLeaf Thanks for the response! :) I had some nug berry recently. I assume the "heat" reaction I get might be more related to the quantity and caffeine? Or is that more of a "tea drunk" reaction?
@@WAXULIMATE a lot of teas have a heating energy. I have never seen any research to conclude that this is solely a caffeine response and I assume that it is more complex than that since some higher caffeine teas feel actually quite cooling. The mystery of the personal physiological reactions to tea and their causation requires much more experiments. The Tea Drunk feeling can include feelings of heat or coolness but usually involves an altered mental state too.
@@MeiLeaf Ahh, is this "heat" related to chinese medicine? E.g. Chenpi or ginger is warm and mint cool.
Why dry raw pu-erh leaves only to then steam them before compression?
When loading any type of puerh tea are you supposed to leave the compressed tea intact or break it apart with a knife?
I break it apart to the point where I feel like further breaking is going to destroy a ton of leaves, it depends a lot on how compressed the cake is starting out.
Thanks you
As a child, I used to hate Pu'erh tea, because I would think it taste like dirt. But as I got older I started to appreciate and enjoy the flavours of Pu'erh. My mom and sister till this day still hates Pu'erh, also because they are not a general tea drinker. We are Chinese born Canadian but we aren't whitewashed, since we appreciate our culture and tradition and also because I still have grandparents who are very traditional so we learn from them.
She is unbearably cute. Also, great stuff with the tea review.
Hello Don I have a question,the video you made with your sister I believe it was pairing tea with chocolate can you send me the recipe for the chocolate cake?
Check the description of that video.
Thx
I don't see it there
TheImperial Majesty i
It is in the description but here you go: www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/dark-chocolate-cake
Great video.
But wait, you drank a song dynasty tea?? As in an 800 year old tea? Or song dynasty style?
Sweetest Dew just the tea tree is 800 years old :) the tea itself is only about 10 years old
This tea is with mould like blue or white cheese, right?
lennutrajektoor yes it is fermented so it has a variety of cultures.
Good to know. It never crossed my mind that fermentation per se might mean mould. Just I have penicillin intolerance that I have to refrain from consuming blue or white cheese but never had issues with properly fermented teas. So I just checked to know. Have to have a go to make sure how I fare with it.