Pu-erh tea (普洱茶) is a distinctive category of Chinese tea from Yunnan (云南) Province in southwestern China. Unlike green tea and oolong tea, Pu-erh is post-fermented, meaning it continues to age and transform even after processing, sometimes for decades.
Its history traces back more than 1,000 years to Yunnan’s mountainous regions, home to some of the world’s oldest tea trees. Ethnic groups such as the Bulang (布朗族) and Dai (傣族) were among the first to cultivate and process leaves from this large-leaf variety (Camellia sinensis var. assamica) native to the region.
During the Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE), the Tea Horse Road (茶马古道) emerged as a vital trade network linking Yunnan with Tibet, India, and other regions. Merchants compressed tea into cakes, bricks, and other forms for easier transport by horse. This compression and the long journey inadvertently led to the discovery of Pu-erh's unique fermentation properties. The tea would naturally ferment during the months-long journey through varying climates, developing complex flavors that traders and consumers came to appreciate.
As we know, today's Pu-erh tea sold in the market falls into one of two main categories: Raw (Sheng, 生茶), which ages naturally, and Ripe (Shou, 熟茶), which undergoes artificially accelerated fermentation. Originally, only Sheng existed, and high-quality teas required 10 to 30 years of natural aging to develop its characteristic smoothness and complexity. However, due to rapidly growing demand for aged Pu-erh in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other Southeast Asian countries in the 1970s, the Shou type was invented, using controlled fermentation techniques to replicate the mellow qualities of traditionally aged tea in merely a fraction of the time.
In 1973, after studying the production process of Liubao tea (六堡茶) from Guangxi (广西), the Kunming (昆明) and Menghai (勐海) Tea Factories adapted Liubao's "wet-piling" (渥堆) technology to suit the region's large-leaf variety. And the tea master Zou Bingliang (邹炳良) helped refine the method, which involves piling and moistening leaves under controlled conditions for approximately 40 - 60 days. By 1975, this process yielded the first commercial Shou Pu-erh, making this mellow complexity of decades-old tea widely accessible to the public.
However, this method still has its drawbacks. During the wet-piling process, rapid microbial reproduction and fermentation can produce unpleasant flavors, commonly known as "wo dui wei" (渥堆味) or "pile odor". Typically, Shou Pu-erh requires at least another 5 years of aging for most of these flavors to dissipate and become enjoyable. More regrettably, the Qi (炁) that is naturally present in Sheng Pu-erh is almost completely lost during this accelerated fermentation. This is why naturally aged Sheng remains superior to its Shou cousin.
Over the past two years, we have been experimenting with infusing agarwood into Cliff tea through charcoal roasting. Last year, we confirmed that the Qi of agarwood merges seamlessly with Cliff tea. When consumed, this newly formed, powerful Qi flows not only through the major meridians in our body but also through the smallest channels, filling every cell of our body with vitality. To verify whether this method works with other teas, we turned to Shou Pu-erh, since most of its original Qi is lost during the artificial fermentation process, making the infusion of agarwood particularly noticeable. Combined with the rich and mellow taste of Shou, a more satisfying drinking experience can be obtained.
For this session, we specifically selected one high-quality Shou Pu-erh that has been aged for over 16 years. Crafted from exceptional ancient tree materials sourced from Yiwu (易武), this tea contains many golden buds, a sign of its richness in internal compounds. This specimen of tea offers remarkable depth, complexity, and an impressive endurance through multiple infusions, making it an ideal candidate for charcoal roasting.
To facilitate better fusion with the agarwood, we broke the tea cakes into small pieces and roasted them over charcoal fire together with agarwood.
In a taste test of the product after two rounds of agarwood roasting, we were completely blown away. Unexpectedly, the "pile odor" was completely eliminated, and it was the first time we had tasted a Shou Pu-erh like this. The tea also developed a subtle caramel-like sweetness in the aftertaste that was truly impressive. What was most the gratifying to us was that the agarwood's Qi had completely integrated into the tea, developing a strong, powerful presence. From the first sip, every cell in our bodies felt as if immersed in a hot spring, warmly enveloped in heat. It was as though we had entered a sacred spring, where dormant cells within the body began to awaken, and we could clearly perceive every part of the body filling with the vitality of life.
However, a minor imperfection is that the Pu-erh tea cakes were compressed too tightly. Even when we broke it into small pieces, unlike other Agarwood Cliff teas, the fragrance of agarwood was not particularly noticeable. Though it's not perfect, it is truly the most wonderful Pu-erh tea we have ever tasted, possessing exceptionally complex, rich, and deep layers of flavors. With the infusion of the agarwood's Qi, it becomes a harmonious union of Yin (阴) and Yang (阳), which evokes us one of the Four Spiritual Animals in ancient mythology – Black Tortoise (玄武, Xuánwǔ). Thus, we chose its name for this new Agarwood Pu-erh tea.
There is an old Chinese saying, 流水不腐戶樞不蠹, running water is never stale and a door-hinge never gets infested with worms. This Agarwood Pu-erh tea contains very powerful Qi, which can promote the circulation of Qi and blood within the body. This is also the highest philosophy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in health preservation and preventing illness before it occurs. We hope to bring you not an extraordinary Pu-erh experience but also lasting health and vitality.
