Pu'er for Oolong Drinkers: An Introduction Starting from Taiwanese Tea
In Taiwan, many people grew up drinking high-mountain oolong, Dongding, and Oriental Beauty. The first time they try pu'er, some think, "Why is it so different from oolong?" while others fall for it immediately. In fact, coming to pu'er from oolong is a very natural path: you already know how to use a small teapot and how to pick out aroma and huigan; adjust a few habits and you'll find the pu'er you like.
How Oolong and Pu'er Differ
| Taiwanese oolong | Raw pu'er | Ripe pu'er | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tea plant | Mainly small-leaf (Qingxin Oolong, Jin Xuan, Four Seasons Spring, etc.) | Yunnan large-leaf | Yunnan large-leaf |
| Processing | Withering and tossing for partial oxidation, then kill-green, rolling, drying, sometimes roasting | Kill-green and rolling, then sun-drying, then steaming and pressing | Sun-dried maocha goes through pile fermentation |
| Shape | Rolled or strip-style loose leaf | Mostly compressed cakes, bricks, tuo | Loose or compressed |
| Aroma | Floral, milky, fruity, roasted | Floral-honey, fruity; turns to aged notes with storage | Aged, woody, jujube, glutinous-rice notes |
| Does it change? | Generally prized fresh, though some age roasted teas | Gradually transforms with storage | Becomes more mellow with storage |
There are two big differences: pu'er uses large-leaf tea, with a stronger, thicker taste and more direct bitterness and astringency; and pu'er is mostly compressed tea, expected to change slowly over time. The difference between raw and ripe is covered in Raw Pu'er vs. Ripe Pu'er, and large-leaf tea in Yunnan Large-Leaf Tea.
Will High-Mountain Oolong Drinkers Like Pu'er?
Quite likely. People who love high-mountain oolong usually care about an elegant floral aroma, a clean texture, sweetness in the throat, and a sense of the mountain. All of these can be found in raw pu'er.
- If you want floral notes and sweetness: Raw teas from Yiwu and Bingdao have a lifting aroma, soft liquor, light bitterness, and a clear huigan, the easiest direction for high-mountain drinkers. Bingdao's character is in Bingdao Old Village, Yiwu's in Yiwu Zhengshan.
- If you like an elegant orchid fragrance: Jingmai Mountain's raw tea is often described as having an orchid note and a clear liquor; see Jingmai Mountain.
- If you care about "mountain character": High-mountain drinkers are sensitive to origin, and pu'er divides mountains and villages even more finely; see Regional Overview.
What to be mentally prepared for is that young raw tea has more noticeable bitterness and astringency than high-mountain oolong, especially the intense types like Bulang Mountain and Lao Banzhang. At first, start with the sweet, soft mountains.
If You Love Oriental Beauty, Which Pu'er Should You Try?
Oriental Beauty is a heavily oxidized oolong whose leaves have been bitten by tea green leafhoppers, giving it a ripe-fruit and honey-like sweet aroma and an amber liquor. People who love that flavor can try:
- Raw tea that has aged for a while: As raw tea ages to around 10 years (a common view in the tea world; it really depends on storage), floral notes gradually turn to honey and dried fruit, and the liquor goes from orange-yellow to amber, quite close to the feel of Oriental Beauty.
- Mountains with high sweetness: Raw teas from the Bingdao and Yiwu families have a pronounced honeyed sweetness.
If You Love Charcoal-Roasted Tieguanyin or Dongding
The appeal of charcoal-roasted Tieguanyin and heavily roasted Dongding is a warm roasted aroma, a thick texture, and a ripe-fruit, nutty depth. People who like this style usually like:
- Ripe pu'er: A deep red liquor, thick and smooth, with aged, woody, or jujube notes and none of young raw tea's bitterness and astringency; it's very forgiving to brew. See How to Brew Ripe Pu'er.
- Aged raw tea: Raw tea stored 20 years or more has a deep, settled aged aroma and a mellow, thick liquor; see How to Brew Aged Raw Pu'er.
- Lao cha tou: Nuggets of tea that clump together during ripe pile fermentation; long-lasting and very sweet, great for people who like strong tea. See Lao Cha Tou.
How Brewing Pu'er Differs from Oolong
Oolong drinkers already have good fundamentals; you just need to adjust a few things:
- Hotter water: Use 95–100°C for raw pu'er and 100°C boiling water for ripe and aged tea. High-mountain oolong is sometimes brewed at 90–95°C, but with pu'er you can confidently use boiling water.
- Faster pours: Large-leaf pu'er has a lot of substance, so the first few infusions can be poured off after about 10 seconds; don't steep for oolong's 40–60 seconds, or it'll be too strong.
- Rinse the tea: For compressed pu'er, first pour hot water over it quickly and discard it so the leaves open up, once or twice for raw tea and two or three times for ripe; see Rinsing and Awakening the Tea.
- Leaf amount: About 5–6 grams in a 110 ml gaiwan for everyday drinking, 7–8 grams for careful tasting. Oolong drinkers are used to covering the bottom of the pot with rolled leaves; use less than that for pu'er.
- Teaware: A gaiwan is best for observing; if using a pot, ripe and aged pu'er suit a well-insulated zisha (purple clay) pot, while young raw tea does better in a thin-walled pot or a gaiwan. Detailed numbers are in Brewing Pu'er in a Gaiwan.
A Suggested Path from Oolong to Pu'er
- Step one: ripe pu'er, or dragon pearls and tea bags. Get familiar with pu'er's basic taste first; pyramid tea bags and dragon pearls come in just the right amount and need no prying, such as the Pu'er Pyramid Tea Bag Gift Box and Bingdao Old Village Dragon Pearls.
- Step two: sweet, soft young raw tea. The Bingdao and Yiwu families, to experience the floral aroma and huigan of large-leaf tea.
- Step three: compare different mountains. Brew two or three at once to experience Bulang Mountain's intensity, Jingmai's clean fragrance, and Yiwu's softness.
- Step four: drink some tea with a few years on it. Experience the aged aromas that come after transformation.
For buying directions as a beginner, read Your First Pu'er: How to Choose.
FAQ
Will high-mountain oolong drinkers like pu'er?
Quite likely. People who love floral aromas and sweetness can start with sweet, soft, or orchid-scented raw teas from the Bingdao, Yiwu, and Jingmai areas.
How does brewing pu'er differ from oolong?
Pu'er uses hotter water (95–100°C for raw, 100°C for ripe), faster pours (about 10 seconds for the first few infusions), a rinse for compressed tea, and a bit less leaf than oolong.
If I love Oriental Beauty, which pu'er should I try?
Try raw tea aged around 10 years, or high-sweetness raw tea from the Bingdao and Yiwu families; their honey and dried-fruit notes are very close to Oriental Beauty.
If I love charcoal-roasted Tieguanyin, which pu'er should I try?
Ripe pu'er, aged raw tea, or lao cha tou. They have a thick texture with aged and woody notes and none of young raw tea's bitterness and astringency, very much to the taste of roasted-tea lovers.