A variety of fermented Chinese tea with a distinctive earthy flavour.
Production of Pu-ehr is a complex and time consuming process. The 'raw' tea is loose or pressed in shapes and undergoes controlled microbial fermentation and maturation that gives the tea its characteristic red-brown colour and earthy taste. This process can take up to 5 months.
In 1973 a new fermentation process was developed, speeding up the process with months. Since then both ways exist alongside, although traditionalists doubt the quality of the new process.