Pu'er tea originates from regions like Xishuangbanna in Yunnan Province, named after the ancient trading hub of Pu'er where it was distributed. It refers to various compressed teas from Yunnan made by steaming and pressing green or black tea leaves, including tuocha, bingcha, fangcha, and jincha.In recent years, Pu'er tea has become highly popular in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, with 50 grams of aged Pu'er tea fetching prices exceeding one million yuan at auctions.
The surge in popularity stems largely from merchants promoting its health benefits. Pu'er tea is considered a post-fermented tea, where microorganisms within the leaves are not killed by high temperatures but remain alive. Under specific temperature and humidity conditions, these microorganisms continue to grow and ferment.
Key beneficial microbial communities—Aspergillus niger and yeast—gradually transform into theaflavins and thearubigins during oxidation and fermentation, resulting in higher microbial content in Pu'er tea compared to other teas. This microbial fermentation process produces components beneficial to human health, conferring potential health benefits such as fat reduction, stomach nourishment, and weight loss.
In reality, any tea can develop these beneficial components through fermentation.However, due to environmental influences during fermentation, not all resulting microorganisms are beneficial. In poorly sanitary small workshops, harmful substances may form. Additionally, since Pu'er tea primarily uses mature leaves, pesticide residues, heavy metals, and fluoride levels are generally higher than in premium green teas made from young leaves. This may increase the risk of developing osteomalacia.