Cakes vs. Loose Leaf: Types of Pu-erh Tea Shopping for pu-erh can be confusing. With the added variables of age and fermentation, pu-erh is one of the most diverse categories of tea, and the growing popularity of the style only makes it easier to find bad examples. … Large, whole leaves on the outside of a cake can conceal lower quality leaf …Pu-erh – Large Leaf : Truth? It looks like something you may have raked up out of the yard, but it wouldn’t be a pu-erh without a little funk, right? This exotic Large Leaf Pu-erh has beautiful minerality and a dank aroma of wet earth after a good rain. Aged in caves, and best enjoyed over multiple steepings, pu-erh teas impart a distinct range of flavors unlike any other tea.All types of pu’er tea are created from máochá (毛 茶), a mostly unoxidized green tea processed from Camellia sinensis var. assamica, which is the large leaf type of Chinese tea found in the mountains of southern and western Yunnan (in contrast to the small leaf type of tea used for typical green, oolong, black, and yellow teas found in the …Both types of Pu-erh are made from the same raw materials (mao cha) – freshly harvested leaves that have been wilted, either fried manually or tumbled through a heated rotating cylinder, kneaded and sun-dried in the open air. The term “Raw Pu-erh” refers to loose leaves, tea cakes or bricks made from raw materials without additional processing.Authentically crafted and aged in Yunnan from large-leaf tea trees, TeaVivre’s loose pu-erh tea brews up into a delicious liquid with a uniquely strong, earthy flavor and rich, dark color, distinct from all other Chinese teas. Pu-erh is a category of post-fermented tea, and is sometimes classified as ‘dark tea’.In China, pu-erh tea is known as black tea, while the black tea we are familiar with in the West and North America is known as red tea. Pu-erh tea is made from the leaves of the tea plant known by the botanical name Camellia sinensis.This tea is called bo nay or po lei in Cantonese and is frequently spelled as pu-er, puer, or pu’er tea.Later, all teas traded in this town came to be known as Pu-erh tea. Green tea and red tea, the teas popular in the West, are best enjoyed when the leaves are still fresh. But, like wine, Pu-erh tea leaves improve with age. A 357 gram 1950’s Red Chop Pu-erh tea disc now sells for over $10,000.If you’re shopping for these unique teas, understanding the difference between these two basic types of pu-erh can help you know what to expect. Find out how fermentation makes pu-erh different from all other tea types >> By definition, pu-erh teas are fermented teas grown and crafted in the province of Yunnan, in southern China.