Pu’er Black Tea

Pure Warmth Tea

It is very hard to believe that this tea is practically unknown in the West.

In China, Pu’er is a whole world of history and tradition, millenary tea plants and manufacturing wisdom. Pu’er is an aged tea, and the Chinese call it the 'miracle tea' for its amazing properties. Basically, it is a category of tea of its own, which we hardly know about. It's a little as if we didn't know what carrots were.

Chinese people say this is slimming tea (it is said that it stops fats from breaking up and being absorbed by the system, making Pu’er a sought-after tea amongst some UK and Hollywood stars these days); that it lowers cholesterol and improves circulation. It is certainly a warming tea - in Chinese Medicine terms - which aids digestion.

People who drink this tea in my ceremonies are immediately aware of this warming effect. The experience usually starts with a feeling of warmth in the belly, which people can tell is not about the temperature of the water: it is like being warmed up from the inside. It then spreads to the lower belly, giving a beautiful sensation of expansion and energy. Many say it is sensual (some have actually re-named it ‘the sex tea’!). Then the whole body feels warm and alive. Their mood brightens and they become fully alive and energized. Often the giggles spread in the group…

By the way, there is not a milligram of caffeine in Pu’er tea: it is just its ancient energy. Pu'er comes from the region of Yunnan, in the deep south of China, at the border with Laos and Myanmar. The tea plants grow in a tropical climate, with some more than 1,000 years' old.

Pu’er is aged tea, which is quite extraordinary for tea, which normally is best consumed fresh. And I am talking about proper ageing: Pu’er becomes very good after five years, and gets more precious and of better quality with each further year. So Pu’er can be a highly expensive tea. You can expect that drinking this tea is quite something else.