Puerh Tea Fermentation

How is Puerh tea fermented? What are the stages? What is the principle? Today, Naturalpuerh takes everyone to understand the fermentation principle of Puerh tea:

The fermentation of Puer tea consists of three major parts: primary fermentation, quasi-fermentation (also called secondary fermentation), and subsequent fermentation.

The primary fermentation of Puerh tea is done by natural inoculation of microbial flora in a special environment during the drying of green tea. It is the pretreatment of tea before Puerh tea enters quasi-fermentation. Because it has the "intervention" of microbial flora, coupled with the great changes in the tea drying process, it already has the characteristics of fermentation, so it is called primary fermentation. At this stage, it is also called aerobic fermentation. The original chlorophyllase in tea hydrolyzes chlorophyll to produce phytol and phytochlorophyll, and under the catalytic action of polyphenol oxidase, it oxidizes to form an unstable o-benzoquinone compound, which is then further non-enzymatically oxidized. There is a rare phenomenon of browning.
Quasi-fermentation consists of two parts, one is natural fermentation (ordinary raw tea), which is a traditional process handed down in history, which is to steam and dry the green tea into a solid shape, which has the shape of dough, cakes, Tuo, bricks, etc.;

ãã The second is artificial fermentation (puer cooked tea), which is a new process invented in modern times, which is to quickly ferment the dried green tea through the fermenting method, and then autoclave it into a solid shape-dumplings, cakes, Tuo, bricks.
The reason why we call these two processes "quasi-fermentation" is because they have not completed all the fermentation processes. Whether it is Puerh raw tea or Puerh cooked tea, there is a "year" requirement and subsequent fermentation is required. To determine the timing and quality of Puerh tea, just ask for a different time. Although Puerh tea has obvious characteristics of ready-to-drink, there is still a big gap between the quality and taste of cooked Puerh stored for more than three years and fresh Puerh (referred to as piling).

ããFollow-up fermentation is also what we commonly call "post-fermentation"; it is also an anaerobic fermentation stage. Anaerobic fermentation is a process that breaks down complex organic compounds that cannot be completed by aerobic fermentation into relatively simple substances. It is the final process of solid fermentation of Puerh tea after compacting into agglomerates, cakes, Tuo, bricks and other forms-quality reconstruction. This process is different from the first two fermentation processes. This process is different from the first two fermentation processes. If the first two processes are completed by a Puer tea maker or enterprise, then the last process is the tea depositor ( Or merchants, or consumers, manufacturers) completed.
What is the difference betwee
Puerh tea fermentation after compaction and aerobic fermentation?

ãã First of all, aerobic fermentation is mainly aimed at loose-shaped tea. After the compaction, the fermentation of Puerh tea enters the anaerobic fermentation stage. After the tea is compacted, in addition to the surface contacting with the air, the inside is anoxic, which is exactly conducive to the occurrence of anaerobic fermentation; therefore, the "post-fermentation" of Puerh tea basically uses compaction molding The way.

Secondly, the division of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in nature is different. Aerobic fermentation is more to complete the biological oxidation of a group of substances, while anaerobic fermentation is a process that breaks down complex organic compounds that aerobic fermentation cannot complete into simpler substances.

ããThe two stages of aerobic fermentation and anaerobic fermentation of Puerh tea rotate to form a complete fermentation chain.
Therefore, the aged Puerh tea, which has been passed down in history, basically appears in the compaction molding mode such as dough, cakes, and Tuo, and loose tea is rarely seen. Because loose-shaped tea only exists in the process of aerobic fermentation, the lack of anaerobic fermentation procedures will inevitably cause the subsequent evolution of loose-shaped tea to be carbonized.

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