Tea, Part 2


by Bro. Ooi Chooi Seng

Confusing types of tea

True tea comes from the plant "Camela sinensis", which is the native to China. Now this plant is introduced and cultivated all over the world. As Malaysia was an English colony before, we are exposed by both the English or Western tea as well as the Chinese tea introduced by the Chinese communities here. English tea is classified as "Black tea" in the Western sense. True Chinese tea comes from the same plant and can be classified according to their colours such as,

  • Red tea
  • Black tea (some Western "Black tea" is classified by the Chinese as Red tea)
  • Green tea
  • Yellow tea
  • White tea




Tea mix with rose petals
The author with a Disc of Pu Er tea

There are types of Chinese Tea which are not classified by their colours. This is because they are names for

  • a large group of tea which can be sub divided by their colours, example "Pǔ Er chá (普洱茶)", and "Wū Lóng chá (乌龙茶)".
  • the way they are processed and packed, example: Compressed tea, "Jǐn Yā chá (紧压茶)", Tea bricks, " Zhūan chá, (砖茶)", Tea discs, "Bǐng chá (饼茶)" and Pegged Top tea..
  • some beverages are not true tea, example Flower tea such as "Chrysanthemum tea, Jú Huā chá (菊花茶)"
  • or tea leaves mix with other possible beverages, example "Ginseng tea mix, Rén Shēn chá (人参茶)".




Dried Chrysanthemum for making tea
Dried Rose Buds for making tea


Chinese Tea, the "Pǔ Er chá (普洱茶)"

The Pǔ Er is one of the most common tea in Malaysia and is easily found in most Chinese Restaurant. The other reason to write about Pǔ Er first is that it is not a tea that can be easily classified by it's colour, taste or smell (aroma). This is because there are so many types and grades of Pǔ Er tea. If you can understand "Pu Er tea" it is easy for you to understand the other types of Chinese tea.

Firstly Pǔ Er tea can be broadly divided into two main types, the unfermented tea and the post fermented tea.

The unfermented Pǔ Er is a green tea, or more accuraely called the "Sheng Pǔ Er (生普洱)". Here the sheng means raw or green. Again there are many kinds of "Sheng Pǔ Er" depending on the oxidation, drying and aging processes.

The fermented Pǔ Er is a red tea, or more accuraely called the "Shu Pǔ Er (熟普洱)". Here the shu means cured, ripen or cooked process. Again there are many types of "Shu Pǔ Er" depending on the fermentation, curing. preparation and the age of the tea.

The great varieties of this tea make "Pu Er" a difficult tea to classify. Thus such teas as "Pu Er" and ""Wū Lóng (乌龙)" are usually place as their special types of Chinese tea altogether. "Pu Er" also stands out when compared with other Chinese tea because it is made from the Camellia sinensis tea plant variety that has very much larger leaves. Originally this variety of tea plants was from the Pu Er county of Yunnan province in China.

Not like most tea which does not keep long, and should be ideally consumed soon after production, both "Sheng Pǔ Er" and "Shu Pu Er" can be drunk soon after production or aged for several years. Thus today, "Pu Er" tea is valued by the area where the leaves are obtained and the years of vintaging."

A crude and not so accurate way to identify the differences between the "Sheng Pǔ Er" and "Shu Pu Er" is to look at the packaging. "Sheng Pǔ Er" is usually pack with green labels while "Shu Pu Er" is usually pack with red lables. The age of the tea is also usually printed on the label.




Quality Pu Er tea in carved box.
1947 Red and Green lables on Pu Er tea


Compacted Pu Er Tea need additional stages of preparation. It also had a slightly different colour, taste and aroma when compared to unpressed Pu Er. Thus there is a value difference between compacted Pu Er and uncompacted Pu Er. Much research is being carried out on Pu Er tea and it is believed to have unique benifits that the other teas do not. Since 1970 France, Japan and China have been conducting many scientific studies on Pu’Er tea Some of the benefits of drinking Pu Er are:

  • Pu Er is said to decrease blood cholesterol.
  • Pu Er is a sliming tea through the way it improves fat metabolism.
  • Pu Er help to reduce high blood pressure, heart & liver diseases related to high saturated fat diets
  • Pu Er detoxify the liver
  • Pu Er help prevent intestinal infection, digestive problems and constipation
  • Pu Er help to prevent the formation of cancer cells in the body due to its anti-oxidants
  • Pu Er have special enzymes and microbes that offer the body micronutrients essential for better health, which is atributed to its unique double fermentation process.
  • Pu Er balances the body's systems and stimulate a more functional metabolism.

The above list of benefits are for interest only and should not be taken as absolute fact. Tea has different effects on different people. Always check with your physician!

Next Issue; More about tea.



Acknowledgement

  1. Gratitude, appreciation is extended to Ms Mindy Chong for provisions of images for the article. Any commercial information can be obtained through her; Tel: 6012-2869 689, 603-7982 7623, 603-8982 8502.
  2. To Mr Tan Kong Sing for technical and cultural information..
  3. To Ms Bee Yong and Ms Serena Chin Li Qing for typing the articles.
  4. Yunnan University Press for the comprehensive research on Pu Er Tea