The right steps for preparing Pu-erh tea

Accessories for preparing Pu-erh tea

Do you use a classic teapot to brew your teas? You can use it for your Pu-erh, but you will appreciate its quality less. For a better tasting experience, we prefer a Chinese tea set consisting of:

• a Gaiwan or a Yixing teapot;
• a small cup or several;
• a tea pitcher or a second teapot;
• tongs, to handle heated items.

A Gaiwan is a small bowl with a lid. It can be made of glass or porcelain. This allows you to see the color of the infusion. It's also used for other teas, such as Oolong or green teas.
A Yixing clay teapot has the particularity of "capturing" aromas. Indeed, tannin is deposited in its porous material over the course of infusions. This type of teapot is appreciated for strong teas.
To avoid flooding your table, place your tea set on a special tea tray: the boat.
If your Pu-erh is loose, you can start the infusions. But how do you prepare Pu-erh tea if you have cakes? You need a tea pick to retrieve the leaves.

Take tea leaves from a cake

Depending on its production, your fermented black tea cake is more or less compressed. To preserve the benefits and taste of your Pu-erh, you need to gently detach the leaves, without breaking them.
To start, place your cake on a dedicated tray or on paper. It's important not to start your cake from the side. Its shape should be maintained as you use it. Look for a dip on top of your cake. Take the pick and place it between two layers of horizontal leaves. Make small rotating movements until you lift a layer. Repeat the operation until you get the desired amount of tea. We use about 5 to 10 grams for 25 cl, depending on the fermentation of the teas.
Keep only the leaves and discard the crumbs. They can alter the taste of your infusion. Let's move on to practice and see how to prepare Pu-erh tea.

Gong Fu Cha step by step

Your leaves and accessories are ready. Here are the steps of this traditional Chinese method:

• Rinse and heat the equipment with boiling water
• Put the Pu-erh tea leaves in the Gaiwan or teapot
• Cover them with high-temperature water (90 to 95°C) for a few seconds, to rinse and unfurl them
• Pour this first infusion over the rest of the accessories
• Empty the different containers, handling them with tongs
• Repeat the operation, letting it steep a little longer
• Pour the infusion into the pitcher, then into the cup
• Wait a few minutes and it's time to taste!
  

Note that with the same amount of leaves, you can make about ten infusions. This depends, among other things, on the fermentation.
Gong Fu Cha has several advantages. The small-sized containers allow, in particular, to quickly lower the temperature of the drink. And putting the tea in the pitcher prevents the leaves from steeping too long, which spoils the aromas.

In addition to its flavors, this fermented tea from Yunnan helps control cholesterol. This makes it a high-quality product. It requires a few minutes of your time before tasting. But now you know how to prepare Pu-erh tea to enjoy all its benefits.