Depending on who you ask you will get dramatically different reactions to ripe pu’erh. Ripe pu’erh, also shu, shou, or cooked pu’erh, is preferred by many as an easy, smooth drink. It is also often shoved aside by tea people as an inferior or simply uninteresting tea. In Zhang Jinghong’s fantastic Puer Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic she draws the analogy between raw/ripe (cooked) pu’erh and raw/cooked food. In this analogy the wo dui process that ripe pu’erh undergoes is the cooking process and the aging of raw pu’erh can be likened to naturally slow cooking cooking the tea. Freshly pressed raw pu’erh is simply uncooked (and has even been classified by many as not pu’erh!). This article will explore some intermediate level concepts of ripe pu’erh and examine common variations in the “cooking” process of ripe pu’erh and how it might affect your cup.

via Ripe Pu’erh Concepts | TeaDB.