Our answer
Yunnan’s aged dark tea 云南普洱茶
A protected Yunnan product, sold raw (生) or ripe (熟), mostly pressed into cakes
The short answer
Pu-erh (普洱茶, pǔ’ěr chá) is a tea from Yunnan made from sun-dried leaves of the large-leaf tea plant, usually pressed into cakes. Raw (sheng) pu-erh changes slowly with age; ripe (shou) pu-erh is pile-fermented, a method developed in 1973. China classes it as a dark tea (黑茶), 12.26% of national tea output in 2025.
| Chinese name | 普洱茶 pǔ’ěr chá, after the old tea-trading town of Pu’er in Yunnan |
|---|---|
| Where from | Only Yunnan: a geographical indication covering 639 towns in 11 prefectures and cities |
| Category | Dark tea, 黑茶 hēichá (not the same as Western ‘black tea’, which Chinese call red tea) |
| Two styles | Raw, 生茶 shēngchá (ages naturally); ripe, 熟茶 shúchá (pile-fermented, 渥堆 wòduī) |
| Typical cake | 357 g round 饼 bǐng; seven are sold together as a 七子饼茶 qīzǐ bǐngchá |
| Caffeine | Similar to black tea in one lab study: about 13–19 mg per 200 ml after a 2-minute brew |
| Dark tea’s share | 12.26% of China’s tea output and 8.75% of its value in 2025 |
What is pu-erh tea?
Pu-erh (普洱茶, pǔ’ěr chá; Bo-lei in Cantonese) is a tea from Yunnan, in China’s south-west, made from the large-leaf variety of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis var. assamica. It takes its name from the old tea-trading town of Pu’er; the surrounding area was renamed Simao in 1950 and became Pu’er city again in 2007. In China it is classed as a dark tea (黑茶, hēichá), one of the six tea categories alongside green, yellow, white, oolong and black. Dark tea is easy to confuse with what English speakers call black tea: the Chinese call that red tea (红茶, hóngchá).
Every pu-erh starts the same way. Fresh leaves are heated to stop them oxidising, rolled and dried in the sun, making a rough tea called 晒青毛茶 (shàiqīng máochá). What happens next decides whether it becomes raw or ripe pu-erh. Making pu-erh is old: the Bulang and Dai peoples have grown tea at Jingmai Mountain since at least the 10th century, the tea was a Qing-dynasty tribute to the court, and pu-erh making has been on China’s national intangible heritage list since 2008.
Yunnan is now China’s biggest tea-growing province, having narrowly overtaken Fujian, and the city of Pu’er alone has 2.09 million mu (about 139,000 hectares) of tea gardens, 190,000 mu of them cultivated ancient tea gardens.[6][7][8][10][16][17]
Raw (sheng) vs ripe (shou) pu-erh
The two are made from the same sun-dried leaf but taste and age very differently.[6][7]
| Raw pu-erh, 生茶 shēngchá | Ripe pu-erh, 熟茶 shúchá | |
|---|---|---|
| How it is made | Sun-dried leaf is steamed and pressed, then left to age | Sun-dried leaf is piled, kept moist and fermented (渥堆 wòduī) for about 45–60 days before pressing or selling loose |
| When it began | The traditional style | Developed by the Kunming Tea Factory in 1973; mass production from 1975, taken up and developed by Menghai |
| Young | Sharper and more bitter | Already dark and mellow |
| With age | Bitterness fades and the aroma becomes purer over years | Develops a deeper ‘aged’ fragrance and smoother taste, but changes less than raw |
| Storage | Usually kept dry | Often aired out |
Only Yunnan can call it pu-erh
Pu-erh is a protected geographical indication. The national standard GB/T 22111-2008 (地理标志产品 普洱茶) and China’s geographical-indication rules restrict the name: only tea made from Yunnan’s large-leaf variety, grown and processed within the designated areas of Yunnan, may be called pu-erh. The area covers 639 towns in 11 Yunnan prefectures and cities, including Pu’er and Dali. The standard took effect on 1 December 2008, and pu-erh without the geographical indication was barred from sale after 30 June 2009. Producers in Guangdong, which also made pu-erh, disputed it.
The same standard describes pu-erh as suitable for long-term storage (适宜长期保存) and sets no shelf life in years, which is why older cakes are sold at all. Beijing News reported in 2026 that this will need to change: from 16 March 2027 China’s food-labelling standard GB 7718-2025 requires prepackaged food to show an expiry date, and pu-erh sellers, used to writing ‘suitable for long-term storage’, will have to set one.[3][4][5][6]
Pu-erh tea cakes, bricks and tuocha
Most pu-erh is compressed. The tighter the pressing, the slower it ages; small, loose shapes age faster. Common shapes and sizes:
- Cake, 饼 bǐng: flat and round, usually 357 g, also 400 g and 500 g. Seven cakes wrapped together make a 七子饼茶 (qīzǐ bǐngchá, ‘seven-sons cake tea’).
- Tuocha, 沱茶 tuóchá: a small bowl or nest shape, commonly 100 g, 250 g or 500 g.
- Brick, 砖茶 zhuānchá: rectangular, commonly 100 g to 1,000 g. Bricks were the shape carried by horse caravans on the old tea routes.
- Loose, 散茶 sǎnchá: unpressed leaf, common for ripe pu-erh.
- Others: square tablets, ‘mushroom’ shapes, small ‘dragon pearl’ balls and the round ‘gold melon’.
How to brew pu-erh, and what it does to you
Break a few grams off the cake, rinse the leaves with hot water for a few seconds and pour that away, then brew with water at about 85–99°C. Early infusions are short, around 12–30 seconds, in a small pot or gaiwan as in gongfu tea, and the same leaves can be brewed many times.
Caffeine. Pu-erh is not low in caffeine. A 2025 study in Foods that brewed 2 g of tea in 200 ml found about 13 mg of caffeine at 80°C and 19 mg at 100°C after two minutes, rising to 38–40 mg after ten, comparable to black tea and higher than green, white or oolong in the same test. Experts say up to 400 mg of caffeine a day appears safe for most adults; people who are pregnant or breastfeeding should ask a doctor.
Health. Researchers mainly study its possible effect on cholesterol and blood fats. A 2022 review in the Journal of Traditional Chinese Medical Sciences summarises human and animal studies and suggests gut bacteria play a part, but much of the work is in animals and it does not prove pu-erh treats any condition. Treat claims that it melts fat or causes weight loss with caution.[6][13][14][15]
China’s other dark teas (黑茶): Anhua, Liu Bao and more
Pu-erh is the best-known dark tea, but not the only one. Several were inscribed with China’s traditional tea-making on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list in 2022.[9][10][11][12]
| Tea | Where | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Anhua dark tea, 安化黑茶 | Anhua county, Hunan | Over 360,000 mu of tea gardens; 86,000 tonnes processed in 2022. Loose grades are the ‘three tips’ (天尖, 贡尖, 生尖); pressed forms include the huge Qianliang (千两) roll and three bricks |
| Fu brick, 茯砖茶 fúzhuān | Anhua, Hunan; also Xianyang, Shaanxi | A pressed brick that grows ‘golden flowers’ (金花), the yellow mould Eurotium cristatum, during making |
| Liu Bao tea, 六堡茶 | Liubao town, Cangwu county, Wuzhou, Guangxi | Over 1,500 years of cultivation; long sold to overseas Chinese in South-east Asia. Wuzhou makes about 30,000 tonnes a year |
| Xiaguan tuocha, 下关沱茶 | Yunnan | A bowl-shaped compressed tea listed alongside pu-erh in the UNESCO element |
| Sichuan border tea, 南路边茶 | Sichuan | Over 1,300 years old; more than 30 steps including pile fermentation |
Dark tea keeps slowly changing after it is made, through storage and transport.
Questions readers ask
What is pu-erh tea?
A tea from Yunnan province made from sun-dried leaves of the large-leaf tea plant and usually pressed into cakes or bricks. In China it is a dark tea (黑茶). Only tea from the protected area in Yunnan may legally be called pu-erh (普洱茶) under the national standard GB/T 22111-2008.
What is the difference between raw (sheng) and ripe (shou) pu-erh?
Raw pu-erh (生茶) is pressed straight from the sun-dried leaf and changes slowly over years, losing bitterness as it ages. Ripe pu-erh (熟茶) is first pile-fermented (渥堆) for about 45–60 days, a method developed by the Kunming Tea Factory in 1973, so it is dark and mellow straight away.
Why is pu-erh tea sold as a cake?
Pressing made tea easy to carry and store, and compressed pu-erh ages slowly. The standard round cake (饼) weighs 357 g; seven are wrapped together as a 七子饼茶. Pu-erh also comes as bowl-shaped tuocha, bricks and loose leaf.
How much caffeine does pu-erh tea have?
Roughly as much as black tea. In a 2025 lab study, 2 g brewed in 200 ml contained about 13–19 mg of caffeine after two minutes and 38–40 mg after ten. Ripe pu-erh is reported to contain more than traditionally aged raw pu-erh. It is not a caffeine-free tea.
What are the benefits of pu-erh tea?
It is most studied for possible effects on cholesterol and blood fats, and a 2022 scientific review summarises human and animal studies on this. Much of the evidence comes from animals, and pu-erh is not a proven treatment or a weight-loss aid. Enjoy it as a tea, not a medicine.
How do you brew pu-erh?
Break off a few grams, rinse the leaves briefly with hot water and discard it, then brew at about 85–99°C. Start with short infusions of around 12–30 seconds and lengthen them; the leaves will give many brews.
Is pu-erh the same as black tea?
No. Pu-erh is a dark tea (黑茶, hēichá). What English speakers call black tea, Chinese call red tea (红茶, hóngchá); see our [Chinese black tea](/culture/chinese-tea/black-tea) guide.
What other dark teas are there besides pu-erh?
The best known are Anhua dark tea and Fu brick tea from Hunan, Fu tea from Xianyang in Shaanxi, Liu Bao tea from Wuzhou in Guangxi, and Sichuan border tea. Fu brick is known for its ‘golden flowers’, a yellow mould that grows inside the brick.
Sources
- Beijing News, China Tea Marketing Association 2025 production and sales figures (in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Sohu, China Tea Marketing Association 2025 report: output and value shares of the six tea categories (in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- China National Intellectual Property Administration, Puer tea geographical indication standard (June 2009) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Beijing News, New food standards and pu-erh shelf-life labelling; GB/T 22111-2008 (2026, in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia, Pu’er tea (geographical-indication rule: only Yunnan large-leaf tea from designated areas) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Wikipedia, Pu’er tea (name, wòduī, shapes, storage, brewing) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- China News Service, Pu-erh: raw and ripe tea and ‘the taste of time’ (25 October 2022, in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network, Pu’er tea making craft (national list, 2008; in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network, Traditional Chinese tea processing techniques and associated social practices, part 2 (in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- UNESCO, Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China (inscribed 2022) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- People’s Daily, Anhua dark tea (9 September 2023, in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- China News Service, Guangxi’s Liu Bao tea goes overseas again (8 August 2023, in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Ayakdaş G, Ağagündüz D, L-theanine and caffeine in tea infusions with different fermentation degrees, Foods 2025;14(13):2313 · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Jia W et al., Pu-erh tea: a review of a healthful brew, Journal of Traditional Chinese Medical Sciences 2022;9(2):95–99 · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Mayo Clinic, Caffeine content for coffee, tea, soda and more · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- People’s Daily (China City News), Pu’er city tea gardens (4 August 2025, in Chinese) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
- Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, China’s tea industry growth is seemingly unstoppable (13 June 2025) · accessed 1 Nov 2026
Update log. 1 November 2026 — reviewed. Next review due 1 February 2027. Suggest a correction