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PU ERH TEA
Pu Erh tea is named after town and district Pu
Erh in the Chinese province ofYunnan, a centre of distribution of
tea in general and the original marketinglocation of Pu Erh tea.
It is produced in the mountainous border regiontowards Tibet from
an old, large leaved variety of the tea tree (Camellia sinensis,
variety "Dayeh"). There is some confusion concerning
the production method for this tea. CHOW & KRAMER (1990)
report that Pu Erh tea is "semifermented like Oolong tea,
but for a longer period". The fact is that Pu Erh tea is a
"postfermented" tea: Dry green tea is moistened and
kept in warehouses at a certain temperature and humidity. The
fermentation may be due to the organism "Aspergillus
niger" which is normally found in high counts in Puerh tea
(up to 200 000 organism/g) (SANO, 1996). After the fermentation
period which lasts about three months the tea is stored for
another one to two years. It is possible that the climatic
conditions in the humid mountain regions (especially
Xishuangbanna and Simao along the river Lacang) induced this
fermentaion spontaneously if only the tea was stored long enough.
Formerly storage periods of 5 to 10 years were common but this
period could be shortened as nowadays the fermentation is started
intentionally. Nevertheless, in China Pu Erh tea is considered to
be the more valuable the
longer it has been stored (the storage period may be up to 20
years). This is a striking contrast to green and black tea which
are considered to be the better the fresher they are. The
Chinese, however, are convinced that Puerh tea is best and most
wholesome if it is covered by a slight mouldy layer. Aspergillus
niger, normally found in Pu Erh tea is a microorganism much used
in industrial fermentation (e.g. for citric acid manufacture),
which, however, may also be pathogenic (by aspergillosis of skin
or lung). This is irrelevant, however, if Pu Erh tea is used for
the preparation of hot water infusions (which after all is the
customary use of all teas). In former times Pu Erh tea was
carried in shoulder baskets from the mountains to the town Pu
Erh. Nowadays trucks transport it over steep mountain roads with
numerous hair pin curves to the market.Since old times Pu Erh tea
is a famous medicinal tea, reputed for its healthfull effect. It
is mentioned in the classical Chinese medicinal book Pen Chaw
Kang Mu of LI (1596). In the modern scientific literature Pu Erh
tea is mentioned so far only rarely. The only available serious
publication on Pu Erh tea as special subject is of SANO (1986).
It describers the effects of Pu Erh tea on the lipid metabolism
of rats. Pu Erh lowered, as expected, and as also found for green
tea, the plasma cholesterol values, in addition, in
contrast to green tea, also the triglyceride values. The body
weight of the Pu Erh tea group of rats was reduced as was the
weight of the abdominal lipid tissue in this group. In the lipid
tissue a significantly enhanced adrenalin induced lipollysis
activity was determined which causes the degradation of the
triglyceride in the tissue and explains thus the weight
reduction. The effect of the Pu Erh tea was independent of its
age, that is, a two year old tea was as effective as a tea stored
for 20 years. Only inofficial information is available on further
research results. It is thus reported by the Hospital St. Antoine
in Paris that the daily consumption of three cups of Pu Erh tea
during one month reduced the blood lipids by 13%. (according to
CHOW & KRAMER, 1990, without detailed reference).
According to a not Chinese investigation mentioned by Pu Erh tea
suppliers but not directly available the cholesterol lowering
effect of Pu Erh tea is better then the effect of Clofibrate.
References
CHOW, K., KRAMER I, 1990: All the tea in China, China Books and
Periodicals,
Inc. p. 155 f.
LI, SHI-ZHEN, 1596: Pen Chaw Kang Mu, Peking
SANO, M. et al., 1986: Effects of pu-erh tea on lipid metabolism
in rats.
Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) 1986 Jan;34(1):221-8
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