Further categorisation is roughly in this manner: ‘Ancient’ or maybe ‘Tall’ tea trees (gu shu/古树), which are generally considered to be more than 100 years old and ‘old’ or ‘big’ tea trees (da shu cha/大树) which are less than 100 years old. The term ‘small tall tree’ (xiao shu/小树 or maybe xiao qiao mu/小乔木) is sometimes used to denote a tree between maybe 50 and 80 years old – considered to produce Puer tea of lesser quality than old and ancient tea tree Puer, but which none-the-less can make for some reasonable tea that shares many qualities with tea from older stock. Tree size can vary considerably with area and other conditions, and there are also some regional variations in categorising trees – what is considered da shu in one area may be called lao shu/老树 in another, or qiao mu. There is not a definitive method of categorisation but any tea coming from the above kinds of trees (as distinct from bushes) is a very small minority of the annual production of Puer tea in Yunnan.

Terms such as ‘wild’ (ye sheng/野生), ‘wild tall tree’ and ‘antique arboreal tree’ have been common on Puer wrappers. In reality, there is a limited amount of tea produced from truly wild tea trees. Most commonly, whatever the name, most older tea trees are cultivated trees that have been, for a variety of reasons, left un-managed for a substantial period of time and are now left to grow more or less naturally with minimal human intervention.

In the last few years, the government has tightened up on monitoring how tea manufacturers and traders describe their tea and it is no longer permitted to use terms like ‘gu shu/古树‘ or ‘da shu/大树‘ on tea wrappers. There is of course lots of tea around that was made prior to these regulations, so they are still commonly seen.

Cultivated bush tea (guan mu cha/ 灌木茶 ) refers to a method of planting that was introduced in the 1930’s where tea bushes are planted in rows. Cultivated bushes (tai di cha/台地茶), grown from old tea tree seeds are very common and there have been extensive programmes of replanting, notably in the latter half of the 20th Century when big tea factories engaged in clearing and replanting to increase productivity and meet a growing demand for Puer. The tea from these trees is generally thought to be inferior, not least because of the concern over widespread use of agro-chemicals in their cultivation. In recent years more people have also begun to cultivate the small leaf varietal (xiao ye zhong/小叶种) brought from other parts of China (as noted above it still seems unclear whether these varieties that have been introduced later are distinct from the ‘xiao ye zhong’ which has been cultivated from much earlier in areas like Yi Bang).

Yunnan Government ruled in 2008 that Puer tea should be named according to certain geo-specific and technical requirements, making it a ‘product of geographic distinction’, rather like champagne. These were subsequently adopted as national standards by the Chinese Government. Of course, sinensis assamica grows across a broad swathe of south China and and northern SE Asia where Puer tea is also produced from Vietnam, Laos, and at least as far west as Myanmar.

In sheng/生 or raw Puer, it is hard to tell the difference between the leaves from these different trees in the dried form, but it is easier to detect which type of tree a leaf came from either just after it’s been picked or once the tea has been steeped.

There are some misconceptions about what an ancient or old Puer tea leaf looks like – many people assume that the bigger the leaf, the older the tree. It’s not that simple. An old tree quite likely will have less vigorous growth than a younger tree and may produce smaller leaves with shorter stems. The leaves and stems are likely to be thicker than those of cultivated varieties. New leaf tips can be a different shape and the edges of the leaves can also be an indicator, with older trees having less regular serrations on the leaf margins and a less pronounced mid-rib.

Apart from regional variations, other factors, such as the soil, micro-climates, position of the tree – south or north facing , where the leaves are on the tree – higher or lower, also play a part in the rate of growth.

Once mao cha/ 毛茶 has been pressed into Puer cakes it becomes a little more difficult to identify leaf sources because the pressing process tends to break up the tea leaves so there are less whole leaves in a tea cake or bing / 饼 . But with raw Puer it is still possible to learn a lot from the spent leaves.

Once mao cha/ 毛茶 has been pressed into Puer cakes it becomes a little more difficult to identify leaf sources because the pressing process tends to break up the tea leaves so there are less whole leaves in a tea cake or bing / 饼 . But with raw Puer it is still possible to learn a lot from the spent leaves.

With cooked ‘shu cha‘ there is really no easy way to identify the original tea leaf origins because the ‘fermentation’ process changes the leaf characteristics. In recent years there has been more of trend to ferment ‘shu cha‘ more lightly, hence, the integrity of the leaves is better maintained and one can also see how consistent the leaf is.

Xishuangbanna, being in the northern region of the sub-tropics has two seasons; A wet season between May and October and a dry season. None-the-less tea is generally said to be picked over three seasons, spring Puer being the most sought after. Autumn tea is the next most popular followed by summer tea which is generally of poorer quality. Tea is rarely, if ever, picked in the winter. Tea that is picked as early as January or February will be referred to as ‘Early Spring’ tea. Puer tea from each season has different qualities. Variations in weather in any given season can also greatly affect the quality of Puer produced. So for example, a particularly wet spring may produce tea leaves that have grown more quickly. They may also have a higher water content making for a weaker tea. In recent years we have seen a couple of spring seasons with extreme dry weather, this too tends to have a detrimental effect on the quality of fresh tea.

Spring tea is generally defined by three periods; First Flush (tou chun – ‘beginning of spring’), Second Flush (er chun – ‘second spring’), and Third Flush (chun wei – ‘end of spring’). Fourth Flush (yu shui – ‘rain water’) is sometimes called Summer Tea. Autumn Flush (gu hua) is also only picked once in a time period which can be anywhere from the end of September to the beginning of November.

Tou Chun  is typically considered the best tea, but this concept is somewhat alien to Yunnan Puer tea. It’s an idea that comes more from other parts of China. Tou Chun generally falls in March/April; sometimes said to be after Spring Festival up to and including a few days either side of another national holiday – Qing Ming Jie/清明节, however it may well come later depending on weather conditions. Most people would consider that by ‘Water Splashing Festival/Po Shui Jie/泼水节‘ on April the 13-14th the Spring season is pretty much over, as the rains will likely have started by then. In recent years, due to changes in climate the sequence has become less predictable, but generally bush tea flushes first and is sometimes picked as early as February (referred to as Early Spring Tea), though not in great quantity. Old and ancient tea trees are less predictable and typically flush later. Much good tea is produced well into April.

In reality, flushes of old tea trees in this area are not that distinct, and there are certainly not three flushes in the spring, quite possibly only one with older trees. A typical spring may see two flushes in some areas.

Although rather older trees may be picked both less, and less frequently than younger trees and bushes, good, healthy old tea trees can still produce tea throughout a large part of the year. Processing Puer tea includes a number of steps; picking, wilting, frying, rolling and sun drying. The end result is loose raw Puer, or mao cha.

Apart from the quality of the leaf produced by each kind of tree and the method of processing, each area also produces a different kind of tea. Much akin to the importance of terroir with French wine, Puer from different areas has different qualities and tea drinkers will often prefer one over another. Unlike the French wine system of regional or domain classifications, there is no strict rule about how an area is defined, so tea could be sold as Lao Ban Zhang, but it could actually come from, say Xin Bang Zhang (New Ban Zhang as opposed to Old Ban Zhang). This may seem like a small difference but the tea will have different characteristics. What is geographically considered to be Lao Ban Zhang is quite clear and there is a general acceptance of what ‘Lao Ban Zhang’ tea tastes like, but within that there are variations – not all ‘Lao Ban Zhang’ tastes the same. This is due to different strains, or perhaps eco-types, that have developed and partly due to local topography which has created many micro-climates. But also, height above sea level, soil characteristics and orientation all have an effect on the tea.

There is a contention that young Puer (sheng cha) at this stage cannot be rightly called ‘Puer’ as it has not yet undergone sufficient ageing to render it deserving of the name. This does not fit easily with current official guidelines which hold that, once pressed into cake form, the tea has begun the ageing process and therefore can be called Puer. Others believe that the market in young sheng Puer was only popularised in recent years by tea vendors and that hitherto there had limited or no interest in drinking young sheng Puer. This is questionable.

There have been periods of time in the past when young green Puer tea was given other names such as qing bing/青饼 (Green Cake) but the point at which a cake of ‘green’ tea can be called ‘Puer Tea’ is debatable, and any attempts to put figures (usually years) on it are rather arbitrary since they are guided by personal preference and, more importantly, the environment in which the tea is stored, which will have a profound effect on the tea; 1 year in Xishuangbanna is typically thought to be equivalent to 3 in Kunming, so a 3 year old tea stored in Jinghong would have qualities similar to a 9 year old tea in Kunming. Exactly how the tea is stored; size of room, quantity of tea in the room, temperature, humidity and airflow will all have an effect on how the tea ages.

There are similarly debatable views about the need to ‘age’ cooked or shu/熟 Puer. The aim of storing shu cha is less to bring about some maturation of the tea, but rather to wait for the often rather strong flavour left after the wodui/渥堆 process to abate somewhat. In the last decade shu Puer makers have upped their game considerably and it is now not at all uncommon to have freshly made shou that has little if any errant aromas.