Real puer - how to identify a fake?

In our time of mass enthusiasm for pu-erh and their effect, the market is flooded with teas of various quality and price category. Demand creates supply, so the shelves of tea shops are filled with pressed and loose, shu and shen, expensive and very low-cost puerhs.

If you can determine the quality of loose tea by its appearance and aroma, then with pressed puerhs, the situation is more complicated. The packaging does not allow you to look at the tea itself, the information on the packaging is mysterious hieroglyphs, and the authenticity and validity of the sky-high price can only be confirmed by the seller in words.

Ideally, tea should be tasted, but if this is not possible, how can one make sure that this pancake is really 20 years old and is made in a worthy tea factory that has earned a reputation for quality products?

Age, excerpt shu puer

The production technology of shu puer was developed and implemented in 1973. Hence it is clear that the age of puer can in no way exceed the figure 46. If you are offered a 50-year-old puer - you are already being deceived, it is worth looking for another seller.

Packaging

You are offered to purchase a 20-year-old puer. In brand new packaging, it seems, only with a printing house. Refuse immediately. A good puer is packed in breathing paper, and it is obvious that with such long-term storage, its appearance should be a little "tired".

Packing puerh can tell a lot, we have already written how to decipher the most common inscriptions and hieroglyphs on puerh. But if you see a familiar logo, for example, the Menhai tea factory, this does not always mean that this particular tea was produced there. Since 2006, in order to protect himself from fakes, Menhai began to place a hologram with microtext on the packaging. Puerh Menhai Dai has several degrees of protection: the quality of printing and printing, the type of paper, the sticker on the packaging (tongi) and the pancake itself, the folding quality and accuracy, the nifey (stamp imprinted in tea) on the front side of the pancake or dot, the glow in the light of ultraviolet lamps and the very quality of tea.

Manufacturers are interested in keeping the brand's reputation unsullied, which is why some tea factories are protected from fakes with the help of labels glowing in ultraviolet light or with threads or ribbons pressed into the tea itself. Often the packaging is made of special breathable paper with silk threads forming a chaotic pattern.

But the thing is that only well-known, advanced Puer brands protect against fakes. Small tea farms do not have any means of protection, and who will fake puer in an unknown package? That is why among such pouers you can find very worthy tea at a nice price.

Appearance of pressed tea

The density of the pressing should be such that the pancake, sharpening or brick kept their shape and did not crumble in their hands. At the same time, the tea leaf should be detached without much difficulty and risk of damaging it. Although there are exceptions - the Iron Pancake pressing technology involves very tightly pressed tea, for the separation of which it is necessary to use a knife or awl for puer. But still, such tea is quite rare and is, rather, an exception to the rule. But such pancakes can be stored for a long time at home, allowing tea to ripen and improve its quality.

Sprigs in tea are not an indicator of its low grade. They are specially added to the blend so that puer can breathe in the process of maturation. Usually, the leaves and buds serve as raw materials for puer, therefore the tea is not uniform, the leaves are dark brown to black, the buds are orange-golden (in shu puer) or greenish-brown leaves and silver buds (in shen puer).

It seems quite simple to determine the quality of the feedstock. Twigs are permissible, but dust, a broken and crumbled sheet, especially foreign objects (sometimes it happens), are unacceptable.

Scent

Even if packaging cannot be expanded, the aroma of tea can be captured through breathable paper. Good shu puer does not smell like fish or mold - it was someone who deceived you. The aroma of black pu-erh - nuts, woody bark, sometimes moist earthy notes, but not mold at all - if you catch the smell of mold, it means that the storage technology is broken and the tea is corny moldy. The older the puer, the less noticeable earthy notes, the notes of dried berries or spices appear.

Shen puerh smells of dried fruits, meadow herbs or flowers; a slight “smoke” is often present in the aroma. The more tea buds in the green puer, the more floral the aroma. And never, remember - never a good green puerh smells like fish!

Color infusion

Another fake test - fill the shu puer with cold water. If the infusion stains in less than a minute, the dye is in the tea.

Shu puer gives a pure color of infusion, from reddish - cognac to black. Without dregs and suspensions. The color intensity depends on the type of raw material and the time of infusion.

Shen puer - a clear, transparent infusion from light yellow to olive brown. The longer the exposure, the darker the infusion. But certainly not muddy, always transparent and beautiful.

Number of brews

It directly depends not only on the quality of the tea, but also on the brewing method. If we are talking about brewing a strait, a good puer can withstand more than 10 brewing, while from a fake you will get 3-4 straits at best.

Summary

Distinguishing a quality puer from a fake is not so difficult. For well-known brands - this is the presence of protection (packaging print quality, glow in the ultraviolet, paper threads or special distinctive details pressed into the tea itself). Pay attention not only to numbers and brand names, it is better to carefully study the tea itself, even if dry. Rely on your feelings - not always expensive puer is the best.

Drink good puer, be healthy and happy!

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