Pu-erh tea

„Pu-erh is typically made through the following steps:
1. green/raw 青普: sun fixation 曬青 > rolling 揉捻 > sun drying 曬乾:
2. dark/ripe 熟普: sun fixation 曬青 > rolling 揉捻 > Wo Dui (piling) 渥堆 > sun drying 曬乾:
3. added processes: green and dark pu'er can be compressed/shaped into cakes and aged.“

„Mr. Gao showed us how to identify gu shu (ancient tree) tea leaves by looking at their texture, rubbing them between your fingers, and eating them raw. Old tea trees produce thicker, more leathery leaves that don’t easily come apart when you rub them. And gu shu buds should be white & shiny. When you chew them, the flavor is very bitter but there is also a strong sweet fragrance, and the juice is relatively easy to swallow. Tai di cha (terrace plantation tea) is also bitter but with a strong, lasting astringency on the sides & front of the tongue, and the juice is harder to swallow.“