Buy Shou Pu (Ripe Puerh) | Chinese Loose Leaf Tea

$52.00

Shou Pu, also called Pu Er Shou Cha, is a post-fermented tea commonly known in English as ripe or cooked pu-erh. Tea Drunk uses Shou Pu because it is the precise traditional name.

This tea is also included in the Classic Tea Sampler and Reserve Tea Sampler.

What Is Mao Cha? follows how rough tea relates to Shou Pu, while What Tea Am I Drinking? explains the name.

Tea Drunk ClassicThe best tea of each vintage.

Shou Pu (sometimes called Cooked Pu Er) is a popular style of black tea from Yun Nan using Sheng Pu as its rough tea. Given the nature of its heavy processing, Shou Pu is usually a blend. Black teas are very dark and earthy with a full, smooth body.

The Three Pillars · 熟普

Place · terroir

Ai Lao Shan, Yun Nan province, China (~1000m elevation)

Plant · cultivar

Indigenous Heirloom

Craft · type

Black Tea

In the cup

This vintage

Spring/Autumn Blend 2022

Sweet earth with a full smooth body

Due to the large batch and rough processing method of black tea, many Shou Pus are harsh and taste funky. However, a well-made Shou Pu is the mellowest, easiest-to-drink tea out there. It is earthy but sweet, without any trace of astringency. Its thick body provides a particular kind of satisfaction.

The making

Shou Pu is made of all Qun Ti Da Ye Zhong (Heirloom Large Leaf) material. This tea category is made by fermenting the already processed Sheng Pu and adding heat and moisture to facilitate "compost" of the leaves with beneficial microbes, making it a black tea.

How to brew

History & significance

Shou Pu is commonly said to be an "artificially aged" Sheng Pu. This fact is not actual; they are different teas. Sheng Pu aging does not result in Shou Pu. Shou Pu will continue to decompose while the bacteria in the tea continue to break down the leaves. Sheng Pu from newer tea trees planted following traditional practice with the prospect for the trees to be independent of human shaping and become big trees is called xiao shu cha. Our Shou Pu is a sophisticated batch made from mostly ancient tea trees from Jing Mai tea mountain.