Pu-erh tea

„Once dry, maocha can be sent directly to the factory to be pressed into raw pu'er, or to undergo further processing to make ripened pu'er. Sometimes Mao Cha is sold directly as loose-leaf "raw" Sheng Cha or it can be matured for 2–3 years in loose leaf form due to the faster rate of natural fermentation in an uncompressed state. This product is then pressed into numerous shapes and sold as "raw" Sheng Cha as a more matured final product.“

„Yunnan Provincial Government has stipulated that for tea to qualify as Pu er it must be:

i) of the Broad Leaf variety (Sinensis Assamica)
ii) grown in the Lancang (Mekong) River region
iii) sun dried. The third point is important as there is much tea grown in the Lancang River area that is not sun dried.

There are also increasing amounts of Small Leaf Variety (Xiao Ye Zhong /小叶种) being grown in the Lancang River area.“