Pu-Erh Tea

Shape Shifting

Different Types of Cakes

There are a number of different shapes that Pu-Erh tea blocks can be pressed into, and below is a list of the most common types.

• Brick - looks like a big brick and was useful for ease of transportation
• Bingcha - a round disc, and one of the more common shapes
• Tuocha - looks like a big round knob
• Mushroom - the pressed tea resembles a giant mushroom
• Gold Melon - this is a special pressed form that really resembles a pumpkin in shape. This was the shape that was created specially for the Qing dynasty Emperors.
• Square - the tea is pressed into a flat square shape which usually has writing pressed into the tea.

Pu-Erh teas have also been pressed into balls and placed inside the peel of different citrus fruits, as well as being stuffed into the hollows found in bamboo.

Pressing Pu-Erh

A Pu-Erh cake is produced by pressing the dried mao cha together. This is accomplished by,

• First weighing out a quantity of the mao cha that is equal in weight to the final weight of the pressed Pu-Erh.
• After this the mao cha is steamed lightly (in cans with holes punched through them to allow the steam to go through), so that the leaves become soft and malleable (thus preventing them from crumbling during the compression process).
• A piece of cloth (cotton) or a cloth bag is then laid out and a "Nei Fei", (a label with all the details of the Pu-Erh) is laid face down on the cloth, while the tea leaves are piled on top of it.
• The cloth (or bag) is then quickly gathered into a ball and wrung tightly to compress the tea leaves together.
• Any excess cloth is tied into a knot and pressed into the back of the tea-cake, creating the customary dimple that is seen on most Pu-Erh tea cakes.
• The tea is now ready to be pressed, and can be done so using a heavy stone carved into a the proper shape (the older method of pressing Pu-Erh), a hydraulic press which will tightly compress the tea leaves, or a lever press (not used as much since the advent of the hydraulic press.)
• Once the tea has been pressed and has taken on the desired shape, the Pu-Erh will then be unwrapped from the cloth bag and placed on shelving to air out (this can take either several weeks, or even sometimes months, depending on the wetness of the Pu-Erh)
• After the Pu-Erh tea-cakes have been air-dried, they will then be individually wrapped for sale.

...Read the next article in the series on Pu-Erh Tea Grading

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