Brew Guides

Pu-erh Brew Guide

Aug 07, 2023
SHOP Pu-erh teas

Of all the types of tea you can find in the world, Pu-erh is among the most mysterious. While other types of tea are categorized by their level of oxidation, Pu-erh represents a category of fully-oxidized tea, fermented and ripened by time. Highly prized and produced in the region of Yunnan in southern China, Pu-erh offers a smooth and complex earthy flavor unlike any other tea, with an enticingly deep cup color.

Pu-erh offers a truly unique tea experience, available in both ripe and raw selections. The Pu-erh found more commonly are ripe Pu-erhs, also known as Shu Cha Pu-erh, aged and fermented over time. You will not find another tea that is as dark and full, complex and hearty with smooth elegance. In contrast to this intense flavor is the light and silky raw Pu-erh with a subtly sweet finish, only offered in cakes.

Hand breaking tea off a ripe pu-erh cake.

Ripe Pu-erh Cakes

Ripe Pu-erh cakes indicate that the leaves have been aged, just as our loose leaf pu-erh and sachet offerings. To brew the ripe Pu-erh cakes, dislodge about one teaspoon of tea leaves and follow the instructions below.

Brewing Ripe Pu-erh Cakes

  1. Bring fresh, filtered water to a boil (212℉).
  2. Optional: Preheat your cup with boiling water, then discard the water. You can do this by pouring water into a teapot, and then pouring water from the teapot into your cups.
  3. Dislodge 1 teaspoon of tea and place your leaves in the teapot and pour 8-10 ounces of water directly over the leaves.
  4. Allow the leaves to steep for 5 minutes. 
  5. After 5 minutes, place a basket strainer over your cup and pour the tea so that any leaves will be caught by the strainer.
  6. Serve the contents of the teapot and enjoy. Note: do not allow the tea leaves in your teapot continue to steep.*

*Note

If you’d like to sip and enjoy a leisurely pot, you will want to use a strainer inside of your teapot rather than strain the leaves while you are pouring. That way, the leaves will not be left in the pot to continue steeping. Simply find a strainer that can rest inside of your teapot, steep the leaves inside the strainer, then remove the strainer after 5 minute

Hand holding a gaiwan cup filled with tea with pu erh cake and gaiwan set in background.

Raw Pu-erh Cakes

Delicate and smooth, raw Pu-erh should be treated like a green or white tea when brewed, so use lower temperature water and a shorter steep time to prevent the tea from becoming coarse and sharp.

Brewing Raw Pu-erh Cakes

  1. Bring fresh, filtered water to about 190℉.
  2. Optional: Preheat your cup with boiling water, then discard the water. You can do this by pouring water into a teapot, and then pouring water from the teapot into your cups.
  3. Dislodge 1 teaspoon of tea and place your leaves in the teapot and pour 8-10 ounces of water directly over the leaves.
  4. Allow the leaves to steep for 3 minutes. 
  5. After 3 minutes, place a basket strainer over your cup and pour the tea so that any leaves will be caught by the strainer.
  6. Serve the contents of the teapot and enjoy. Note: do not allow the tea leaves in your teapot continue to steep.*

*Note

If you’d like to sip and enjoy a leisurely pot, you will want to use a strainer inside of your teapot rather than strain the leaves while you are pouring. That way, the leaves will not be left in the pot to continue steeping. Simply find a strainer that can rest inside of your teapot, steep the leaves inside the strainer, then remove the strainer after 5 minute

Gaiwan filled with loose tea and water.

Gaiwan Style Brewing

A Gaiwan or Gong Fu style steeping can be an excellent way to explore the flavor of this particular type of tea. Brewing loose leaf or pieces of a Pu-erh cake in a gaiwan over multiple steepings allows you to experience the flavor at different stages in the extraction process. Starting with a light flavor and cup color, then developing into a dark and rich experience, watch how the tea evolves and until it reaches its full extraction.

Brewing Pu-erh Gaiwan Style

  1. Bring fresh, filtered water to a boil about 212℉.
  2. Place 1 tablespoon of loose leaf Pu-erh or Pu-erh cake directly into your gaiwan.
  3. Fill the gaiwan with hot water, allowing the leaves to sit for no more than 5 seconds, then discard the water. We refer to this first steeping as the rinse. This removes unwanted smaller leaf particles and facilitates further extraction in later steeps. 
  4. Once again, fill the gaiwan with 212℉ water, pouring directly over the leaves. Wait approximately 10-20 seconds, then pour the tea through a strainer into the glass pot. Next, pour tea into the tea cups from the glass pot. This will ensure that each individual is experiencing the same flavor in each pour.
  5. Continue steeps as many times as you like, adding 5-10 seconds to each. As time passes, look to see the evolution of the leaf and the deepening of the liquor color.  Most importantly pay attention to the changing flavor with each steep.  Once the strength of the tea no longer comes through, the leaves have been fully extracted.
SHOP Pu-erh Teas