Teas with Theine / Crus / Raw

Pu-erh tea has been packaged by multiple players into a fashionable beverage with multiple authenticities.” But to paint with the broadest possible brush, here is a very rough breakdown of the two main categories of raw pu-erh:

Young 'Raw': This is more like green tea than anything else, and it is either brand new or not old enough (less than, say, two to three years) to develop any of the aged characteristics of a more mature pu-erh. It can be floral and sweet or as bitter as amaro, but there is an undeniable youth and herbaceous freshness to the brew. Some pu-erh people hate the taste of bitter young sheng, but others seek it out specifically for these bitter qualities. And some of the best young sheng should be drunk quickly, like green tea; Not all pu-erh ages well, and time can simply flatten its bright, herbal flavor without adding anything new.

Aged “raw”: There are many schools of how to age pu-erh, but all involve controlled heat and humidity to smooth the rough edges of the tea and achieve a darker, deeper brew that tends to s 'register further down your throat and body. Aged raw pu-erh usually has woody, earthy qualities and notes of camphor or dark fruits, but rather than specific flavors, the important thing here is the depth and body that the tea develops. There is a huge range in how this character manifests; A seven-year-old pu-erh probably won't be as cloudy and moody as a 30-year-old. So the only way to get an idea of ​​how aging affects pu-erh is to drink a lot of it.