Pu-erh Tea has long been valued in Chinese herbalism for its vast benefits. Pu-erh tea (pronounced ‘poo-air’) contains high levels of polyphenols (flavonoids, catechins and theaflavin), which are known for their antioxidant activity.
These powerful chemicals speed up fat burning as well as reduce stress and heavy metal consumption due to the cell repair compounds found within. The theanine and flavoids found within pu-erh just so happen to aid in digestion after meals by acting as a sponge and accelerator for fat burning.
However, of the five main types of tea (white, green, oolong and black being the others), pu-erh stands apart from every other one as its tea leaves go through a natural fermentation process before the tea is gently dried. This not only creates a cup with zero astringency and deep, rich body, but this fermentation process also helps produce micro-organisms which are being shown to be particularly beneficial to the human body.
While there are variations in the brewing methods for individual varieties, pu’er tea is traditionally brewed using the gongfu method. This method calls for a larger amount of leaves to be steeped very briefly. As a result of the short steeping times, pu’er leaves are generally good for ten or more infusions. If you’ve ever had a very bitter cup of pu-erh, it was likely brewed in the western style, meaning it was oversteeped.
Brewing Instructions:
1.If using an yixing, pour hot water over it to pre-heat it. If using a gaiwan, fill it about halfway with hot water and tilt it a bit so that the water creeps up the side and then rotate it so the inside gets wet all the way around. Then pour the water out. Do the same for any tea cups.
2.The amount of tea to use depends very much on personal tastes. As a good starting point, put around 2 teaspoons of tea leaves in your gaiwan or yixing (assuming it holds 4 oz or 114 ml of water).
3.Discard the water after 2 seconds. This will rinse the leaves. If you are using a ripe pu’er (see below for info), repeat this process one more time.
4.Fill the gaiwan or yixing with hot water. The temperature should be around 95ºC (203ºF) for regular varieties and 85-90ºC (185-194ºF) for high-quality aged varieties.
5.Place the lid on the vessel and let the tea steep for 20-30 seconds. Then pour the tea into the cup(s) for drinking.
6.For each subsequent infusion, add 5-10 seconds to the steeping time. You can generally get more than 10 infusions out of pu-erh leaves. The higher quality the tea, the more infusions it will give you.
How to Drink Pu Erh Tea for Weight Loss
Pu-erh tea is one of the favorites in the weight loss tea category because it has a number of properties that will help you lose weight more quickly and effectively.
Tea with Caffeine
Caffeine occurs naturally in tea. A mild stimulant, it accounts for tea’s reputation as a beverage that clears the mind and lifts the spirit.
Chinese Black Tea Benefits
Chinese black tea is often confused with red tea because black tea in America is something completely different. Chinese black tea can also be called fermented tea or more commonly known as dark tea.
