Pu-erh Tea Processing

Sheng is made in five steps and the sun dry is what makes it pu-erh rather than green tea. The wok, the rolling, the drying and the press that follows.

Shou is made by piling mao cha with water and letting a microbial community work for 30 to 60 days. The temperature, the turning and what goes wrong.

Pu-erh is pressed into cakes, tuo, bricks and mushrooms. The weights, the steam, and why 357 grams became the standard shape and size in the trade.