What is the general price of Pu'er tea paste?

Pu'er tea paste is made from Yunnan's unique large-leaf arbor tea leaves that have been processed and fermented, then through a special method the tea leaf fiber material is separated from the tea juice, and the obtained tea juice is further processed and restored into a higher-grade solid instant tea. The purpose is to better preserve and refine the aroma, color and taste of Pu'er tea. Now let's take a look at how much Pu'er tea paste costs!

How much does Pu'er tea paste cost?

The price of Pu'er tea paste varies greatly depending on the raw materials selected and the processing techniques used. Generally, tea paste extracted from slightly better tea leaves costs 5-10 yuan/gram. As early as 2004, at a Pu'er tea auction held in Hong Kong, China, 3 grams of tea paste was finally bought by a collector for 12,000 yuan. At the 2014 Hong Kong, China international autumn art auction, the most favored item was a box of 5 pieces of Qing palace Pu'er tea paste, which finally sold for 1.408 million yuan.

How to identify Pu'er tea paste

1. Liquor color: Tea paste is the refined and concentrated essence of tea leaves, with large amounts of impurities filtered out. The liquor color is therefore not disturbed by tea leaf impurities, and the substances that reflect liquor color, such as thearubigins and theaflavins, bind more tightly with water, giving better color expression than directly brewed Pu'er tea. If turbidity appears, it indicates that the pressing process is imperfect, that impurities remain during filtration when the liquor is produced, or that other ingredients have been artificially added.

2. Aroma: Pu'er tea releases different aromatic substances at different temperatures. In addition, Pu'er tea itself has the saying "one mountain, one flavor; a hundred mountains, a thousand flavors," so the aroma of each Pu'er tea paste will differ slightly. Combined with differences in raw material blending techniques, its fragrance can be described as ever-changing.

3. Taste: The taste of tea paste is thicker, smoother and mellower than Pu'er tea leaves of the same year. This is also because Pu'er tea paste is a concentrated essence of tea leaves, with a higher content of beneficial substances and components. After the molecules of the tea substances bind with water, the gaps between the molecules of the tea liquor become smaller and the binding is tighter, so in terms of taste one can feel that the tea liquor has a higher degree of cohesion and is naturally thick, smooth and mellow.

How to brew Pu'er tea paste

1. Place Pu'er tea leaves into a filter cup, about 6 grams (covering the bottom of the cup, slightly higher).

2. Pour just-boiled water into the filter cup, covering the tea leaves.

3. After a moment, take out the filter cup and discard the first infusion of tea.

4. Pour in boiling water again, covering the tea leaves, put on the cup lid, and let it sit for about 20 seconds.

5. Open the cup lid and invert it, take out the filter cup, let the tea juice drip off slightly, and place it inside the cup lid.

6. Done, a cup of fragrant, rich and mellow Pu'er tea is brewed.

7. While enjoying it, don't forget the tea leaves in the filter cup. Be sure not to discard them. Pu'er is very resistant to repeated brewing. When you are about to finish the first infusion, you can put the filter cup back into the teacup, pour in water again in the same way, cover it, let it sit for a little while, and the second cup of Pu'er is brewed!

8. The tea liquor from the second and third infusions can be mixed together and drunk to balance the tea's character and avoid it being too strong.

9. After the fourth infusion, add 15 seconds for each additional infusion, and so on.