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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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