普洱
Term · Classification
pu'er
Literal meaning
pu'er (place name: Pu'er prefecture/town, Yunnan)
Definition#
A Yunnan tea made from sun-dried green crude leaf of large-leaf Camellia sinensis var. assamica, sold either as naturally ageing raw tea or as pile-fermented ripe tea, loose or compressed. China's GI standard GB/T 22111-2008 ties the name to a defined production area in Yunnan and to sun-drying of the crude leaf. The name comes from the Qing-era Pu'er prefecture, a trading hub, not necessarily the growing area.
Translation and usage#
| Language | Use | Alternatives & cautions |
|---|---|---|
| English | pu'er Yunnan raw or ripe tea from sun-dried large-leaf leaf pinyin |
Also acceptable
Avoid Puer/Pu-erh as interchangeable with 'fermented tea' covers raw (unfermented when young) tea too Pu Erh brand descriptions implying any dark or compressed tea GI restricts the name to Yunnan material |
| Deutsch | Pu-Erh Tee aus Yunnan, roh (Sheng) oder gereift (Shou) pinyin |
Also acceptable
Avoid Pu-Ehr common misspelling transposing letters |
| Русский | пуэр юньнаньский чай из листа солнечной сушки, сырой (шэн) или ферментированный (шу) pinyin |
Also acceptable
Avoid пу эр (раздельно) unestablished; the one-word lower-case form is standard in Russian |
| 简体字 | 普洱 | |
| 繁體字 | 普洱 | Regional usage
|
| 日本語 | プーアル茶 |
Common confusions#
- English 'Pu-erh' is often used for flavoured blends with no Yunnan leaf by Western mass-market brands.
- Many sources call all pu'er 'fermented tea'; young raw pu'er is not microbially fermented.
- The Cantonese reading of 洱 in the tea name (lei/nei) differs from the place-name reading (ji), so HK menus write 'bolei' — sometimes mistaken for a different tea.
- GB/T 22111-2008 recognises raw pu'er only as compressed tea; loose raw leaf is sun-dried maocha. Only loose ripe pu'er is graded (特级, 一级 to 十级). The protected area covers 639 townships in 75 counties of 11 prefecture-level divisions (AQSIQ announcement 2008 No. 60).
- Pu-erh is a conventional English spelling; pu'er follows Hanyu Pinyin. Cantonese forms are separate readings, not Mandarin pinyin variants.
Terms#
Entries that use this term 12#
普洱茶
Pu'er Pǔ'ěr chá
Umbrella entry for Yunnan tea made from large-leaf sun-dried maocha within the geographical-indication area, in two main styles — sheng (raw, aged naturally) and shou (ripe, wet-piled).
draft
普洱
Pu'er Prefecture Pǔ'ěr
Prefecture-level city (Simao until 2007) whose historic seat Ning'er gave pu'er its name; contains Jingmai (Lancang), Jinggu and Kunlu Shan. All ten county units lie in the pu'er GI area.
draft
勐海茶厂
Menghai Tea Factory Měnghǎi Cháchǎng
The most influential pu'er factory; its standard recipes such as 7542 and 7572 are reference points for the whole market.
sourced
革登
Gedeng Gédēng
Smallest of the old six tea mountains, in Anle village of Xiangming; known for a Qing-recorded 'tea king' tree, now dead.
sourced
昆明茶厂
Kunming Tea Factory Kūnmíng Cháchǎng
State factory in Kunming where wodui (the shou pu'er process) was developed; known for shou bricks such as 7581.
sourced
香港
Hong Kong Xiānggǎng
Major tea-trading and storage hub with small-scale local tea growing at Kadoorie Farm and restoration harvesting at Ngong Ping on Lantau.
sourced
Show all entries 12Show fewer entries
雨林古茶坊
Yulin Gucha Fang Yǔlín Gǔcháfāng
Pu'er brand focused on old-tree single-origin teas, with published suggested retail prices.
sourced
普洱茶厂
Pu'er Tea Factory Pǔ'ěr Cháchǎng
State pu'er factory founded in 1975 in Pu'er (now Ning'er) County. Usually given as the '4' in mark numbers; two companies claim it as their predecessor.
sourced
临沧茶厂
Lincang Tea Factory Líncāng Cháchǎng
1950s state factory for Lincang's growing black-tea area. It later split into county and prefecture factories known for Yinhao and Jianshen tuocha; private firms now use its names.
sourced
云南省茶叶进出口公司
Yunnan Tea Import & Export Yúnnán Shěng Cháyè Jìnchūkǒu Gōngsī
Yunnan's provincial state tea trading company, founded 1938. It held export rights, ran the mark-number system, sold the big factories' pu'er under the 中茶 label and later the Jixing brand.
sourced
南涧茶厂
Nanjian Tea Factory Nánjiàn Cháchǎng
Nanjian county tea factory founded by a former Xiaguan director, known for the Tulin Fenghuang (Phoenix) tuocha; the line runs through a 1991 state company to Yunnan Tulin Tea.
sourced
云南双江勐库茶叶
Mengku Rongshi Yúnnán Shuāngjiāng Měngkù Cháyè Yǒuxiàn Zérèn Gōngsī
Lincang pu'er company formed in 1999 when Rong Jiasheng bought the state Shuangjiang tea factory; Mengku/Rongshi labels and an early Bingdao buyer.
sourced