Puerh History - Pu-erh.Net

„In 1940, the Chinese State owned company CNNP started to manufacture Pu Erh Tea with a trademark "Zhong-Cha" at the Fo-Hai Tea Factory (now called "Meng-Hai Tea Factory"). Later, Yun-Nan Tea Company and Guang-Dong Tea Company also produced the same brand and started to export abroad. There were varieties such as red-label, green-label, yellow-label, small-letter and big-letter etc.“

„This process was first developed in 1972 by Menghai Tea Factory and Kunming Tea Factory] to imitate the flavor and colour of aged raw pu-erh, and was an adaptation of wet storage techniques being used by merchants to falsify the age of their teas. Mass production of ripened pu'er began in 1975. It can be consumed without further aging, though it can also be stored to "air out" some of the less savoury flavors and aromas acquired during fermentation.“