What is _cooked_ Puerh actually

See

to find out what cooked Pu'er is. You'll probably answer your next ten Pu'er questions while you're at it.

/Lew

Hello Lars,

Cooked or ripe pu'er refers to raw pu'er that underwent a man-made accelerated fermentation process. Basically, sheng/raw pu'er leaves (maocha -- before they are compressed into various shapes) are spread on the floor of the tea producer's indoor facility and then they are covered in wet blankets. This way, the leaves are exposed to constant high humidity for an extended period of time (a month, more or less) which allow them to ferment quickly (aka: controlled rotting process). In that short period of time, the usually harsh raw pu'er is transformed into a mellower and smoother tea...making them more drinkable / approachable than the harsh new raw pu'er. The "cooking" process turns the leaves from green to black-red. Poorly controlled cooking process can result in nasty-tasting tea...or mold could form. Different pu'er factories, as far as I've read, have their own approach...but the basic process is the same.

Such is my understanding...

Phyll

I'm not a language expert but I willing to bet the term "cooked pu- erh" (shou pu-erh) is a mistranslation.

In Chinese, the word "shou2" (熟) can have two meanings: "fully ripened" and "fully cooked". The first case applies to green fruits on the vines and trees when they ripen to their full sweetness. The second case is used when cooking raw vegetables and meat to doneness. Since shou pu-erh was never really cooked with heat (the fermentation temperature is not that high) but rather allowed to "ripen (to sweetness)" through a slow fermentation as described by Phyll above, I'm willing to bet that "shou pu-erh" should really have been called "ripened pu-erh" and not "cooked pu-erh".

Look at the spent leaves. If black it is shu,cooked if green then sheng,raw. You can see a mixture of both but that is another topic. The term baked is applied to oxidation processing. Puer is fermentation processing. If it is loose puer then it heretofore meant shu. Recently a green version has appeared but that is also another topic. What is discussed mostly here is the compressed architectural version of shu or sheng in forms of cakes,logs,mushrooms,etc. We use the Chinese pinyin terms of shu or sheng which would probably be different in Swedish. The Chinese characters speak to the Chinese and not us. What we use is colloquial meaning like cook,raw etc. For example, we refer to the term Tuocha as bird nest but that isn't the literal meaning at all. Is the literal term Puer used in Sweden?

Jim

If sheng has been aged long enough, it can be as dark as shu.

/Lew

Just according to creation theory because it is inconvenient to wait for anything to happen.

Jim

Quite true Lew. I have many sheng puerhs where the spent leaf is indeed quite dark, and at a casual glance could be mistaken for shu. Actually this color is often seen in the most coveted of aged sheng pu.

Cooked puerh goes through a process (as Phyll mentions) that is very similar to composting. Each factory closely guards the specifics of their method as if it were a state secret. But, as Phyll mentions, it is all essentially variations of composting.

I too have heard the term "ripe" used to describe black puerh. I first heard the term used by a Chinese puerh wholesaler in Kunming. This guy moved literally tons of puerh each month. So it is evident, at least to me, that the term is indeed used in this manner in China to some degree. I first heard the term "cooked" from an American dealer who was living in China at the time. The term "cooked" seems to be the most prevalently used term in the US. I prefer to use either "shu" (shou) or "black" as that side steps the whole translation issue.

If there is any interest I can post my pictorial series of pictures again that show the cooking process.

Mike

Yes, please post the pictures! I find it helpful to have a visual reference to go with all the great discussion on the NG.

Alan

"Mike Petro" wrote in news:1174586618.722890.47090 @n76g2000hsh.googlegroups.com:

I second Alan's request. It would be fascinating, thanks Mike.

Ozzy

Third ...thanks Mike!

Phyll

Well, black really muddies the water because, as you pointed out, old puerh can be very black. It confuses people.

Ripened is perhaps more accurate, but it is not entirely without merit to call it cooked either, as the composting process actually generates quite a bit of heat. The internal temperature of the piles of rotting leaves are, from what I'm told, much higher than the surroundings. So in a sense, the leaves are cooking themselves into sweetness.

MarshalN

OK, no problem, I will post them on the my front "spotlight" page tonight. See URL below....

Mike

True, not to mention the confusion between black and red tea, eastern versus western, definitions.

Didnt I read something somewhere where the Chinese authorities were considering a different classification for "cooked" puerh? Something to the effect that raw puerh is a true black tea, like Liu An etc, and cooked puerh is something else.

Mike

I hope nobody thinks I'm being perverse or flippant, but I think it's actually the reverse: that the Chinese authorities pushing this distinction regard *cooked* (shu) Pu'er as a black tea, along with the various hydro-fermented Hunan, Sichuan, and Guangxi teas that are most popular among non-Han peoples far from coastal China.

/Lew

Thank you Phyll! Very good explanation. Now I will have better questions for my Tea Shop.

I enjoyed reading Mikes Puerh site too.

Lars Stockholm

My notes say zao3 means jujube. It is the most common brick in Chinatown. My last kilo was $8. It was Mydnight who also mentioned mi xiang.

Jim

I don't doubt it, but cheap bricks are not the only things that go under the Zao Xiang name.

Right. Thanks, Mydnight!

/Lew

Thanks for the pictures on your site, Mike! They're great!

Phyll

"Phyll" wrote in news:1174712302.480365.230700 @d57g2000hsg.googlegroups.com:

Thank you, Mike. Hun hao!

Ozzy