What is the main difference between Puerh Shu Cake and Red tea?
I am new drinker to Puerh,and never tried Red tea before.
I am study to drink puer for 3 months,and today,a friend of mine send me some red tea produced in Yunnan(Dian hong Red tea),it is much flavor than Puerh,but very different taste.
I cant express the taste very exactly,so is it any one going to explain it for me.
Thanks
Re: Puerh & Red tea
Red tea is oxidized longer than greens and oolongs....then it is fired. Shu pu is not oxidized...like green tea....then it is wok fired. Then it is pile fermented. After that it is aged for a bit and or pressed into cakes.
Re: Puerh & Red tea
Thanks for all your info and help.
I think red tea could be recognized as black tea,red tea tech and black tea tech are very different.
Red tea is half fermented tea,is it right?
And what is the main different in the taste of both?
I think red tea could be recognized as black tea,red tea tech and black tea tech are very different.
Red tea is half fermented tea,is it right?
And what is the main different in the taste of both?
Re: Puerh & Red tea
Red tea is completely Oxidized and not fermented at all.
Shu and aged Puerh are fermented but not oxidized.
They are two different terms and chemical Processes.
Shu and aged Puerh are fermented but not oxidized.
They are two different terms and chemical Processes.
Mar 26th, '10, 12:54
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Re: Puerh & Red tea
I think both red tea and puerh have oxidation. Fermentation may or may not be a proper term for puerh, depending on how fermentation is understood. But all the terms are confusing anyway, so they don't really matter. 
I believe the main difference is, red tea is oxidized before it's dried and finalized. Puerh is processed and finalized and then oxidation happens in coming years (sheng) or in short-term wodui (shu and "black" tea bricks). Everything else may not be important due to multiple understandings of terms.
Besides the confusing name "black tea", fermentation and oxidation are also confusing terms, because people who make tea are not academic chemists and they have their own ways of calling things. In Chinese traditional vocabulary, there was no such a term "oxidation". Therefore tea professionals used to call all oxidation processes fermentation. Probably that's why we often hear people talking about fermentation in red tea, and oolong.
In biochemistry, fermentation is a term for anaerobic oxidation. Chemically speaking, fermentation is a type of oxidation which doesn't require oxygen. In sheng puerh, there is no fermentation happening (but again it depends on whether fermentation is understood as a biochemistry concept). In Wodui (warm wet pile) process of making shu puerh, since there are many microbes involved, it could be all oxidation or combination of oxidation and fermentation, but not entirely fermentation.
I believe the main difference is, red tea is oxidized before it's dried and finalized. Puerh is processed and finalized and then oxidation happens in coming years (sheng) or in short-term wodui (shu and "black" tea bricks). Everything else may not be important due to multiple understandings of terms.Besides the confusing name "black tea", fermentation and oxidation are also confusing terms, because people who make tea are not academic chemists and they have their own ways of calling things. In Chinese traditional vocabulary, there was no such a term "oxidation". Therefore tea professionals used to call all oxidation processes fermentation. Probably that's why we often hear people talking about fermentation in red tea, and oolong.
In biochemistry, fermentation is a term for anaerobic oxidation. Chemically speaking, fermentation is a type of oxidation which doesn't require oxygen. In sheng puerh, there is no fermentation happening (but again it depends on whether fermentation is understood as a biochemistry concept). In Wodui (warm wet pile) process of making shu puerh, since there are many microbes involved, it could be all oxidation or combination of oxidation and fermentation, but not entirely fermentation.