Microbial fermentation
Pu-erh (Dark Tea)
Aged and fermented by microbes rather than simply oxidized — flavor deepens and changes for years, even decades.
How it's processed
- Pluck (large-leaf Yunnan varietal)
- Fix
- Sun-dry (maocha)
- Compress into cakes
- Age (raw) or 'wet-pile' ferment (ripe)
Teas to know
- Sheng (raw) pu-erh
- Shou (ripe) pu-erh
How to brew it
95–100°C · rinse first steep, then short steeps
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