One achievement that gives us the most satisfaction is that our regular customers, when they arrive at the store, ask us for Puerh instead of Red Tea. It may seem insignificant, but let’s see what’s behind this slight difference.
When I discovered the world of tea around 1997, I did not know of the existence of this famous variety. Hardly any origin (pure teas) arrived in Spain, and only one chain of stores offered loose tea, or at least we only knew this brand. One day, the mysterious “Red Tea” came into our hands. A strange aroma, with notes of wet wood, leather, sawdust and a rancid memory… Those were difficult times for Puerh in Spain, there were not many options to choose from, and the quality was not the best in the world.
I must admit that until just six years ago, I unconsciously classified Pu-Erh as red tea, but now we will see exactly what this tea is.
First, we will find this tea as Puer, Puerh or Pu-Erh. To go to its origin, you must travel to a region in southern China, Pu’er, in Yunnan.
The Puerh has a “Denomination of Origin” (Geographical Protection Indication), so it must come from Yunnan to classify it as Puerh. If not, the correct thing to do would be to call teas from other areas post-fermented teas.
What is red tea?
Another super important clarification that will serve as an introduction to describe the Puerh is that in China, the cradle of all varieties of tea, Red Tea is translated as – Hong Cha – and for them, this tea is the one that we call black tea. Why? Well, mainly because of the colour of the infusion. If you brew any black tea (Ceylon, Darjeeling, Keemun.), the injection is a Coppery/red/orange hue… If you think about it, it makes sense. In this image, you can see an infusion of Black tea from India, so you can see clearly what I am talking about.
You may be wondering, So what do I call this tea? My advice is to call him by his name, Puerh; this way, you will avoid any confusion wherever you go.
But there is still more. If you investigate, you will see that many kinds of literature refer to puerh as black tea. This may be a bit better, but Hei – Cha (Literally black tea in Chinese) is a variety of tea from Hunan and some other regions, so it can also confuse you at any given time.
Your next question should naturally be… Is there a category for this tea?
The reality is that yes. There is a consensus that includes Post-fermented teas (mainly Puerh and Hei cha) within the category “Dark Teas” or dark teas.
Now you will understand why we are so proud to help spread the tea culture and do our bit, customer by customer, so that the name “Red Tea” is not misused.
You can take a look at our entire assortment of Puerh tea. As you can see, we still use red tea; on the web, we cannot explain these to each Internet user, but our goal is to include them in their correct category one day.
The result of our love for this variety is our commitment, incoroto rating an assortment of Puerh that is unique in Spain and one of the most important that can be found in Europe.
I hope you also take advantage of the reading and lend us a hand in spreading the word. 🙂
