How to properly break / flake and loosen compressed Pu erh tea

39 Replies
TeaLife.HK said

There is active bacteria and fungi in pu erh (or it wouldn’t age). There are plenty of spores in the air, too. Steaming can absolutely lead to mold, so I’d suggest spreading your broken up cake out to dry. Fortunately for those in dryer climates, the tea will dry out much quicker.

Zennenn said

Yes, I was careful to let it dry completely before bagging. Being in Minnesota, it did not take long! I gave it 24 hours to be safe, even though all of the leaves were brittle dry well before then.

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Do you try and break up the mini tuo’s? I like them because then I don’t have to break out the scale, but I usually just start with them compressed and let the water gently break it up. The thought of trying to pry the tiny things apart with a tea needle is intimidating.

AllanK said

It’s easy enough to give them a longer rinse if you need to break up mini tuocha. That usually breaks them up enough unless they are really well compressed.

TeaLife.HK said

Yes, rinse, let it rest and expand, then rinse again. Three times if the tea is really suspect. In Kunming even maocha was rinsed twice. After seeing that I’m gonna rinse questionable shu three times

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I’ve heard of someone using a hammer before…

Zennenn said

And how did that work out for you? :D

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