The healthiest and cleanest Puerh Tea is made from the very young green tea buds (first flush) and is only available 3-6 weeks a year during spring or as known by the native Puerh growers as the awakening of the insects. These pristine Tea buds contain the least environmental pollutants and the most antioxidants, are handpicked and carefully processed the same day to avoid oxidisation and preserve the antioxidants, polythenols etc. Unlike regular Teas the beneficial properties found in Puerh continue to improve with time due to micro biological activity caused by the unique Puerh hand processing, this is what sets Puerh apart from regular Green Teas, all Tea with the exception of some Oolongs should be drank within a year of harvest, but puerh continues to develop with age.
If young green tea buds are so healthy, then why are we constantly being sold flavoured Tea, so called herbal Tea, sweetened bottled tea, packaged tea supplements and Green Tea bags with finely chopped leaf and extended expiry dates running into years not months. The reason is simple there is just not enough of the fine Tea to supply the needs of the rapidly growing world thirst for Tea so the big Tea growers – manufacturers use the mature leaves as it is a guaranteed source of Tea material, allowing year round processing. Large mature tea leaves cost much less than buds, allow Tea farmers to harvest throughout the year and supply a growing market demand while making profits more easily, not to mention allowing the implementation of machine harvesting and processing as hand selecting and picking is no longer necessary.
I am not against conventional tea products, there is something for everybody and a little of a good thing is not bad, but if you, like me, drink Tea for its great taste and more importantly for its health benefits, then I would choose a good quality Puerh Tea handpicked from early spring buds, from a remote location away from pollution and modern farming methods that are reliant on chemical pesticides, fertilizers, etc.
This is the reason why HorseRoadTea only sells Puerh tea. The remote jungle covered mountainous region of Yunnan China, the native birth place of Tea, is perfectly located away from the industrial world where 1500 year old Puerh trees still stand and produce the most highly valued Teas and still offer great quality and value.
Look for more about traditional native organic Puerh growing and the added benefits in our upcoming blog Mother Nature’s tea garden.