Pu erh tea cake

Pu erh tea cake

A pu erh tea cake is a compressed disc of tea that originates from Yunnan, China. These teas have historically been compressed to facilitate storage, transportation, and trade. Please visit the FAQ section below to learn more about how to break up, brew, and store a pu erh tea cake

How to break up a pu erh tea cake?

A pu erh tea cake consists of two sides: the front and the back. The front side typically displays the manufacturer's tag, while the back of the cake has a hollow in the middle. Many people prefer to start from the back to maintain the cake's appearance.

To break up a cake, follow these steps:

  • Use a tray or the tea cake's wrapper to catch leaves and crumbs.
  • Gently insert the needle in a spot near the hollow on the backside. You may need to try multiple spots to find the soft spot.
  • Once you've found the right spot, insert the needle and delicately wiggle it to loosen the tea. Avoid applying too much force.
  • You may need to repeat the previous step by inserting the needle one or two more times near the first hole, until you can break off a chunk of tea.

Take your time and be patient. If the leaves break off in one large piece with minimal crumbs, the resulting brew will be smoother.

How to brew a pu erh tea cake?

Once you've broken off a chunk of pu erh, you can use your preferred teapot or gaiwan to make yourself a cup of tea. For more information about the steeping time and steeping temperature, you can visit the individual tea pages above and read the steeping instructions section.

How to store a pu erh tea cake?

To allow a pu erh tea to age optimally, we recommend to take to store it at room temperature between 20-30ºC. The room in which the tea is stored should be well ventilated and the storage location should be away from odours, direct sunlight, and excessive humidity.

The tea can be stored in its original wrapper, which can be placed inside a box or jar. If you live in a very humid climate, then you may first place the tea cake in a food grade ziplock bag before you store it inside a box/jar.

At last, we recommend to store raw and ripe pu erh tea separately from each other.

Where to buy pu erh tea cakes?

We recommend to buy tea cake from Teasenz.eu when you're based in Europe. We offer fast shipping from our EU warehouse in the Netherlands. If you're based outside the EU, you may order tea cakes from our global store in China (Teasenz.com).