Pu-erh Tea Varieties

Pu-erh is sold loose and in four compressed shapes, plus rare forms like the mushroom and the golden melon. What each of the forms is for at home.

Pu-erh is Assamica, but the variety holds dozens of local populations. The named cultivars, the leaf grades and what a cake label really claims.

Old-tree tea comes from forest gardens and plantation tea from rows. The yield, the leaf, the price and whether the cup can tell them apart.