Puer Tea Glossary - Zhi Zheng Tea Shop

„Pang xie jiao; 旁鞋脚. Latin; (Viscum articulatum Burm.f.) Literally Crabs legs. A parasitic plant that grows on trees in sub-tropical regions. When it grows on the tea tree it absorbs flavour from the tree and makes a sweet, refreshing drink, hot or cool. Very limited availability. Puer cakes can be found that have Pangxiejiao mixed into the cake. Normally around 10-15%. It is also part of the Chinese medicine pharmacopoeia – said to have a diuretic effect and is used to clear heat“

„Ripened or aged raw pu-erh has occasionally been mistakenly categorised as a subcategory of black tea due to the dark red colour of its leaves and liquor. However, pu-erh in both its ripened and aged forms has undergone secondary oxidization and fermentation caused both by organisms growing in the tea and free-radical oxidation, thus making it a unique type of tea. This divergence in production style not only makes the flavour and texture of pu-erh tea different but also results in a rather different chemical makeup to resulting brewed liquor.“