生茶
Term · Classification
sheng pu'er
Literal meaning
raw / uncooked tea
Definition#
Pu'er made from sun-dried crude leaf that is steamed and pressed (or left loose) without a pile-fermentation step. When young it is green-gold and often bitter-astringent; it changes slowly through oxidation and microbial activity over years of storage. Often shortened to 生普 (shēngpǔ).
Translation and usage#
| Language | Use | Alternatives & cautions |
|---|---|---|
| English | sheng pu'er raw pu'er pinyin with a gloss |
Also acceptable
Avoid uncooked/green tea it is processed and becomes dark with age; 'green' invites confusion with 绿茶 unfermented pu'er (as a permanent label) aged sheng has undergone slow microbial change green pu'er marketing label; confuses with green tea |
| Deutsch | Sheng Pu-Erh roher Pu-Erh pinyin with a gloss |
Also acceptable
Avoid grüner Pu-Erh rare in German shops; implies green tea category |
| Русский | шэн пуэр сырой пуэр (без ускоренной ферментации) pinyin with a gloss |
Also acceptable
Avoid белый пуэр unrelated: a white-tea-style product from Yunnan шэн-пуэр с дефисом в заголовках не по Палладию и непоследовательно; допустимо в составных прилагательных |
| 简体字 | 生茶 | |
| 繁體字 | 生茶 | Regional usage
|
| 日本語 | プーアル生茶 |
Common confusions#
- Russian 'зелёный пуэр' and English 'green pu'er' lead readers to think it is a green tea.
- German 'gereift' is used by some shops for shou, so aged sheng described as 'gereift' can be misread as ripe.
- шен (trade) vs шэн (Palladius sheng)
- The Russian spellings шэн and шен refer to the same 生茶; they do not denote different kinds of tea.