Unlike Longjing, Maojian, Biluochun and other new teas that are more popular, Pu'er tea has a tradition of "making new tea and drinking old tea", and is believed to be more fragrant as it ages. But from the perspective of food safety, Pu'er tea is not better as it ages.
Pu'er tea is divided into raw tea and cooked tea. Raw tea is made from fresh leaves of Yunnan large-leaf tea trees, which are made through processes such as withering, rolling, drying, steaming and pressing. The tea is strong, the soup is green and yellow, and has a strong bitter taste. If the raw tea is aged for three to five years in a suitable storage environment, a series of complex reactions such as oxidation, polymerization, decomposition, and degradation will occur, producing a large number of beneficial bacteria, polyphenols will slowly oxidize, and the content of theaflavins, thearubigins, and theabrownins will increase, and it will begin to become aged and mellow. Compared with raw tea, cooked Pu'er tea has an additional fermentation process, which uses artificial rapid fermentation to make the tea milder, with a bright red soup color and a mellow and sweet taste.
Because raw tea has not undergone artificial rapid fermentation, it has better storage resistance and has the flavor characteristics of aging and fragrance. As the storage time increases, the color, fragrance, taste and quality of the tea can be significantly improved. "But the best shelf life of Pu'er tea is only about 10 years, and the concept of 'the older the better' is only applicable within the shelf life. If it is not stored properly, the best shelf life will be shortened accordingly." Lin Zhi, director of the Science and Technology Department of the Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, told the Life Times reporter that only qualified products under appropriate storage conditions will have better quality. If the quality does not meet the standards at the beginning or is not stored properly in the later stage, the quality will not be good no matter how long it is stored. The storage of Pu'er tea is very particular. High temperature and humid environment can easily cause mildew. Therefore, if you want to enjoy the aged fragrance of Pu'er tea, it should be stored in a ventilated and cool environment at 20℃~30℃, humidity less than 75%, and should be isolated from odorous foods to prevent Pu'er tea from absorbing odors. If there are water stains on the paper package of Pu'er tea, the tea cake has white frost, mold spots or moldy smell, and the tea soup is not clear after brewing, it may have deteriorated. It is recommended not to drink it.
Lin Zhi reminded that most Pu'er tea is consumed after one or even several years, and it is easy to deposit tea powder and dust. Wash the tea before brewing, that is, put the tea leaves in a small tea bowl or purple clay pot, pour in 100℃ boiling water, and pour out the water after 10~20 seconds. This not only filters out the impurities in the tea leaves, but also makes the subsequent brewed tea soup more fragrant. When brewing, you should also use boiling water, with the ratio of tea leaves to water being 1:30. Pu'er raw tea is durable and can be brewed continuously for about 10 times, while cooked tea can be brewed less frequently. The specific situation is related to the amount of tea brewed and the time it takes to brew the tea. Pu'er tea is mostly compressed, and the tea leaves are often not fully expanded during the second brew, so the essence should be brewed from the third brew. Generally, the third to fifth brew is when Pu'er tea tastes the best. If it is an aged tea brick or tea cake, you should first remove some of the tea leaves with a tea knife and ventilate it for two weeks before brewing it for a better taste. ▲