Yunnan Pu'er tea
· Location: south Yunnan Province, South China
· Famous tea: Pu'er tea (Yunnan Pu'er, 云南普洱)
· Tea type: post-fermented/dark tea/pressed tea
Xishuangbanna is one of the Yunnan endpoints of the Ancient Tea Horse Road and is still a major tea-growing area. From there, pressed tea was carried by horseback to Tibet, India, and Nepal. The tropical forested hills of Xishuangbanna are where the Dai people produce some of the best Pu'er tea, which is pressed into a variety of wheels, bricks, etc.
Pu'er, the next major stop after Xishuangbanna, was where tea was traded and it gave its name to this famous type of dark pressed tea, although most prefectures in Yunnan, including Xishuangbanna, produce Pu'er tea. Pu'er tea should be tried as it is different to the generally delicate flavors of Chinese tea. It has a rustic woody taste, and is soothing and reminiscent of a minority culture.
