Pu’er, victim of its success

At the news conference of the 9th Guangzhou International Tea Culture Expo it was announced that the price of raw Pu’er (普洱) leaves had dropped more than 20 %.

Pu’er is one of the best established tea variety in China and internationally. Because it is well reputed for having healthy properties, Pu’er became very trendy in recent years. Its prices have been increasing continually. So what caused these prices to drop? Simply put, Pu’er was a victim of its success.

Since around 2005, speculators have started to invest their money in Pu’er tea. It has been treated by some as “drinkable antique” , especially the “Green (raw) Pu’er” sort (生普洱). Contrary to “Cooked Pu’er” (熟普洱), “Green Pu’er” has not gone through a fermentation process (渥堆), but just been heated at low temperature. This allows bacteria specific to Pu’er to subsist. Over time these bacteria will make the tea leaves ferment naturally and make them tastier, hence the “drinkable antique” designation. This characteristic combined with its health properties, in a more and more health focused world, made Pu’er a target for speculators. As a consequence, the prices of Pu’er tea went higher and higher.

Speculators were not the only ones who wanted to profit from the Pu’er trend. Tea growers outside of the traditional production area (around the city of Pu’er in Yunnan province) started to sell their tea under the Pu’er name. Some Pu’er producers sold “Cooked Pu’er” as “Green Pu’er”, which is the pricier and more “noble” sort. Because of the absence of a quality standard, poor quality tea was sometimes sold as high end tea.

Through the action of speculators the prices of Pu’er were escalating; but at the same time customers were experiencing some quality problems. Now the bubble has burst and the prices are back to where they were some three years ago. This is probably not such a bad thing. First of all it will bring Pu’er back in the cups of ordinary people, who couldn’t afford it anymore. Secondly it gives the Pu’er community the occasion to rectify errors made in the past and take measures that will ensure a more sustainable growth in future.

These measures are being implemented right now. Starting next month the Pu’er appellation will be restricted to tea made in the Pu’er city area and surrounding mountains. It will have to be clearly written on the package whether the tea inside is “Green Pu’er” or “Cooked Pu’er”. Tea producers whose tea fulfil these criteria, whose tea doesn’t contain any additive and who respect certain production techniques, will be aloud to use the name Pu’er to sell their tea. I imagine that foreign importers will also pay attention to this national standard

Chinese sources: 普洱茶原料降价或超20% 普洱出口有所下跌, 坐“过山车”的普洱茶：如今价格跌回3年前, 非云南产没资格叫“普洱茶”