Pu'er tea fermentation process

You should know that when making Pu'er tea, both the craftsmanship and the process are very difficult. This is why Pu'er tea is so valuable, because all of it needs to be made by people. Pu'er tea needs to be fermented. There are many types of fermentation processes. Different types of tea require a certain fermentation time. Only by controlling it well can we ensure that the tea made is the most natural.

What is pile fermentation?

Pile-wetting refers to a tea-making process in which, after the tea leaves are harvested and initially processed into raw tea, the aging of the tea leaves is accelerated artificially. Generally speaking, the method is to sprinkle water on the raw tea to promote the action of tea enzymes. Microorganisms also participate in the fermentation process. After the tea leaves are converted to a certain degree, they are spread out to dry.

"Pile fermentation" is the key process to form the special quality of Pu'er ripe tea. When Pu'er tea is fermented in piles, not only are strict requirements imposed on the selection of materials, but also large-leaf sun-dried green tea from Yunnan must be used. The most basic quality requirement for high-quality Pu'er tea is that the tea leaves are thick, plump, and complete in appearance, and brown-red in color.

During the fermentation period, attention should also be paid to the overall amount of pile fermentation, as well as moisture control, temperature, and ventilation effects, so as not to affect the fermentation.

The time required to ferment Pu'er tea varies at different altitudes. Spring tea generally takes 60-70 days, and summer and autumn tea generally takes 50-60 days.

Many tea drinkers are less tolerant of cooked tea than raw tea, largely because people feel that fermenting cooked tea on the ground is unhygienic and dirty. However, cooked tea is mild in nature and suitable for more people to drink. Next, let's take a look at the production process of cooked tea. Can it alleviate your concerns?

The production process of cooked tea

Generally divided into seven steps

1. Site selection

Choosing the right venue is very important for fermentation. The new fermentation room cannot be used for fermentation immediately. It needs to be cultivated. The main purpose is to remove the odor of the new ground and ensure the quality of the fermented tea. The process of soil care is as follows: spread the broken tea leaves, tea powder, etc. of cooked tea on the ground, about 1 cm high, and then water it thoroughly. Then sprinkle water every 2-3 days to keep the surface moist.

Until the cement floor turns black and the tea leaves have no tea flavor. Depending on the actual situation, sometimes this soil nourishing process has to be repeated several times before normal fermentation can take place. After the ground is well maintained, rinse the ground with water and wait until the ground is completely dry before trying fermentation.

Generally speaking, it is difficult to ferment the first few batches of tea to produce good results, so cheaper tea will be used to make a few batches. Even if they fail, the loss will not be too great. Therefore, for the sake of reliability, it is best to choose cooked rehmannia that has been fermented frequently and for many years.

Fermentation is currently done directly on the cement floor or in a fermentation tank built with cement tiles. This is the fermentation method used in most traditional tea factories. Now, some emerging companies have adopted the method of off-ground fermentation for more hygienic reasons. Generally, a sandwich stainless steel plate with countless small holes is laid a few centimeters above the ground, and the tea is piled on the steel plate for fermentation.

2. Pile Tea

Usually the sun-dried raw tea is piled up to 50-70 cm high in preparation for fermentation. As for whether it is 50cm or 70cm, it depends on the grade of the tea. Generally speaking, the coarser and older the tea is, the higher the pile will be. From the appearance, the pile is flat on top and has trapezoidal edges. There are small piles of more than 100 kilograms and large piles of more than 10-20 tons, depending on the technical standards and needs of each factory.

3. Sprinkling water

The quality of water has a great influence on the quality of fermented tea. Generally, tea factories in Menghai area extract groundwater for fermentation. The superior natural conditions of the Menghai area constitute the advantages of Menghai ripe tea. In terms of taste, the well water in Menghai area is clear and sweet, and generally has a good taste when used to brew raw tea directly.

According to tests, the water in Menghai area is mostly acidic. Therefore, when fermenting Pu'er tea, most people refer to the acidity and alkalinity of the water in Menghai area to select the fermentation water. The amount of watering is a very important parameter. Generally, 30 to 50 kg of water is needed for every 100 kg of raw tea.

For such a large range, whether it is 30kg, 40kg, or 50kg depends on experience. The so-called making tea depends on the tea. Generally, young tea should be watered less, while coarse and old tea leaves should be watered more. After sprinkling water evenly, cover with fermentation cloth and start fermentation.

4. Pile Turning

After the tea is piled high with water, it is covered with a fermentation cloth to allow the temperature to rise. The pile temperature is generally between 50 and 65°C, and the pile is turned over for the first time about two weeks. After each turning of the pile, the pile height gradually decreases from 60cm. The temperature of the pile is detected by a thermometer inserted into the pile to control the temperature not to exceed 65°C. Then turn the pile about once a week, or more frequently if the temperature is high.

During each turning process, the tea pile needs to be delumped to balance the temperature and humidity of the tea pile, increase air permeability, and dissolve "clumped" tea leaves. If the temperature is too high and the pile is not turned in time, it will easily cause "burning of the pile", causing the tea pile to carbonize and become scrapped.

5. Ditching

After several turnings, the pile height continues to decrease, usually not exceeding 40cm. After a week, which is around the 35th day of the fermentation cycle, when the temperature of the pile drops to around 35°C, trenches can be opened to allow the tea to cool and dry. Dig trenches every 3-5 days, and dig crosswise, and repeat this cycle until the moisture content of the tea leaves is less than 14%. Pu'er tea should never be dried in an oven, stir-fried or sun-dried, otherwise it will affect its quality.

6. Tea

The tea leaves are stacked for about a week, and this process is called tea cultivation. After about 45 days, the raw tea is obtained after pile fermentation, and the pile fermentation process is completed. Of course, the duration of this cycle can vary. Because the temperature changes, the height of the pile will also change. Therefore, it is adjusted according to various factors such as raw materials, temperature, etc.

7. Late Stage

After the pile fermentation is completed, it is still just raw tea. It takes several more steps to become a circulated commodity:

(1) Sorting: Many manufacturers will sort out different grades of tea from a pile, separate the price ranges, and sell them according to different grades, which is why there is a difference between imperial Pu'er and ordinary Pu'er. Generally, a screening machine is used for sorting. At the same time, non-tea inclusions such as stones, husks, etc. are removed, as well as tea inclusions such as old stems, flowers, and fruits.