Cooked Puerh Tea

The process used to convert raw leaf into ripened (cooked) Puerh is a recent invention that manipulates conditions to approximate the result of the aging process by prolonged fermentation in a warm humid environment under controlled conditions; it involves piling, dampening and turning the tea leaves to ensure an even fermentation.

Control over the multiple variables in the ripening process (particularly humidity) is key in producing ripened (cooked) Puerh of high quality. The ripening process typically takes anywhere from upwards of forty days after it has begun but others are aged for much longer.