tuo tea

LATIN NAME: CAMELLIA SINENSIS

COMMON NAME: Tuo Tea, Pu-erh Tuo Cha, Compressed Tea

The tuo tea is one of the most distinctive of the compressed teas of the warm mountains of the Southwest, and its nest-shaped cakes and its rich, earthy flavour have made it a favourite of the tea houses and the collectors across the world. It is made from the leaves of the tea plant, a small, evergreen shrub of the tea family, reaching up to a metre or more in cultivation, with alternate, oval, pointed, leathery, dark-green leaves and, in the autumn, small, white, fragrant flowers, followed by the small, hard seeds. The leaves are picked, withered, rolled, fermented and steamed, then pressed into the small, nest-shaped cakes which are dried and aged, and the tea is known as the tuo tea, the pu-erh tuo cha or the compressed tea.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The tuo tea has a real and distinguished place in research. It has been studied in the food science and the tea chemistry, since the tuo tea is a fermented and aged tea with a complex chemistry, and the researchers have examined the leaves, the fermentation, the aging and the constituents of the brew, while the study of the fermented teas and their chemistry has drawn attention in the international food and tea press, and the tea is best appreciated as a beverage and a subject of study rather than a casual remedy. The plant has also been studied in the horticulture and the tea cultivation, since the tea plant is one of the most important of the beverage crops of the warm mountains, and the researchers have examined its cultivation, its harvest and its processing, while the study of the tea growing has been of continuing interest across the world. The species has also been studied in botany, since it is a member of the tea family and a plant of the ancient cultivation, and its relationships, its domestication and its many forms have been examined, while the leathery, dark-green leaves of the tea plant have been of interest to the botanists and the tea growers. For a tea of such character, the tuo tea has a rich and distinguished record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

To grow the Tea Plant from seed, ecologically, the tea plant is a shrub of the warm, misty mountains and the shaded gardens. Its small, white, fragrant flowers feed the bees and the insects of the autumn, and its evergreen, leafy growth gives a fine cover on the terraced hillsides, while the tea gardens are one of the most characteristic of the agricultural landscapes of the warm mountains. Its economic value is real and great: the tuo tea is prized as one of the most distinctive of the compressed teas, and its value has drawn attention in the international food and trade press, while the aged tuo tea has become a favourite of the collectors, and the tea growing and the processing have been the foundation of the mountain economy for a very long time. To raise the tea plant, sow the seeds in pots of acidic, moist compost in a warm, shaded place, keep them gently watered, and grow the little tea bushes on in the light.

sow the seeds in pots of acidic, moist compost in a warm, shaded place, keep the young tea gently watered, and grow the little tea bushes on in the light.

Brewing tuo tea or  Puerh tea To make tea must control the water temperature, which greatly effect the aroma and tasty of the tea soup. Pu’er Tea requests the boiled water of the 95℃～100℃.How much tea can depend on personal taste, generally, 3-5 grams tea properly with 150 milliliters water, and the proportion of tea to water between 1:50-1:30.For the tea purer aroma, it is necessary to warm tea, i.e., pour out the boiled water immediately for the first time, which can have 1－2 times. The speed must be quick so that the taste of the tea soup can be prevented from influence. While really starting, about a minute the tea soup can be poured into the public cup, and then continue the second. With more times, the time can be prolonged slowly, from 1 minute to a few minutes gradually, which can keep the even density of tea soup.