My old friend BSL has found joy indulging himself in the world of Chinese teas for much of his life, and Pu’er tea definitely has a special place in his heart. He has vowed to personally travel to the epicentre of China’s Pu’er tea culture in Yunnan province, strolling leisurely in the expansive tea gardens and putting up at least a night at the local lodging.
Sure enough he had to look to me to plan his “tea country pilgrimage” trip, so that he could get what he had wanted, completely hassle-free!
As a matter of fact, I have also wanted to look for something else in the trip – the much-hyped Pu’er coffee!
The whole world knows about Pu’er tea, but what on earth is “Pu’er coffee”? Is it just another kind of tea, or coffee actually? Could that be a scam exaggerated by our tour guide?
Our Yunnan guide Yang Jin lives in the mountains 1,000 meters above sea level outside Pu’er, in a family-run organic tea garden. She explained smilingly: Pu’er is the only place in China named after a tea variety. In theory, any tea grown in this area can be called Pu’er tea, but in reality, the soil and weather here are more suitable for coffee plantation!
Prices of high-quality Pu’er coffee with its unique aroma and style have shot through the roof in more recent years, whilst those of Pu’er tea have plummeted significantly, resulting in a sharp decline in production owing to squeezed profit margins. Be it tea or coffee, both beverages do have a long history in Pu’er.
Hearing her explanation, our travel buddies exclaimed: Wow! We have learned something new today!
So, it comes as no surprise that the storyline of the 2020 movie Coffee or Tea? has evolved chiefly around Pu’er coffee. It talks about three young men trying to persuade their families and local villagers to turn their traditional tea gardens into coffee estates. Thanks to their unwavering commitment to quality, they have successfully won international accolades for their coffee beans, which have also been favoured by renowned coffee retail chains as the exotic coffee of the year!
While the story in the movie might sound somewhat too dramatic, the real-life story is even more fascinating than in the movie!
The rise of the coffee -growing industry has not only buoyed the local economy, it has also attracted the participation of many young people who have returned to their native villages from cities to start their new careers. This has rejuvenated Pu’er and helped promote high-quality coffee culture.
It appears that from movies to real life, Pu’er coffee has emerged as an irrefutable global trend! And given the massive economic spin-off, coffee plantations have slowly expanded into traditional family-run tea gardens in Pu’er!
As a matter of fact, coffee has been around here for more than a century. When French missionary Alfred Liétard arrived in Zhukulacun village in Binchuan County, Dali, in 1892, he planted the first coffee tree in Yunnan. Today, the 13-acre old coffee estate can still be found in the village, including 24 trees over a hundred years old.
To minimise price impact from major coffee-planting hubs in South America, Nestlé shifted its focus from Brazil to Pu’er in 1988. The move captured the attention of international coffee brands such as Starbucks.
Today, Yunnan’s coffee-growing region has spread to nine cities and 35 counties, including Baoshan, Dehong, Lincang, Wenshan and Xishuangbanna.
Notably, China’s Yunnan province, along with Indochina (mainly Vietnam and Thailand), contribute about a quarter of global coffee production today, while Pu’er alone contributes almost half of China’s total output, making it the veritable “coffee capital of China”.
As for Pu’er tea, it has had a very long history since time immemorial. Literary records on the beverage emerged as early as during the Nanzhao Kingdom of Tang Dynasty (738-902 CE). And during the reign of Qing Dynasty’s Yongzheng Emperor (1723-1735), Pu’er became an important starting point for the ancient Tea Horse Road forming part of the Southern Silk Road – helping to promote the trade of tea leaves.
This not only speaks volumes of the long history of Pu’er tea but has also consolidated its respectable status in China’s tea culture.
Despite the dramatic changes taking place over the centuries. The Pu’er tea culture continues to wield tremendous influence across the globe, reflecting the wisdom of human’s harmonious coexistence with Nature.
Like an old wine, Pu’er tea’s flavour grows as it ages. Writer Yu Qiuyu once described Pu’er tea this way: Before gaining rational self-consciousness, we can only know it through our mouth and tongue, our body and mind, and our time. In other words, while early traders of Pu’er tea were well aware of the commodity’s exceptional quality and charm, they also understood that such qualities would peak with the passing of time, and the impeccable aroma of perfection would only be tasted by people after them – such as our friend BSL who is now enjoying its extraordinary aroma to the fullest!
Well, our friend will never be stingy giving Pu’er tea his biggest thumbs-up, calling it the finest of all teas!
Currently, naturally fermented Pu’er raw teas such as Yunnan Qizhi and the various artificially fermented Pu’er ripe teas are equally popular among tea connoisseurs.
Even though Pu’er tea is widely sought-after around the world, its market remains vulnerable given the lack of strong support in scientific accreditation, brand certification and quality assurance – making it susceptible to impact from counterfeits, price fluctuations, as well as external scepticism. For example, demand from Japan plunged tremendously more than 20 years ago, while the prices of Pu’er tea experienced a sudden spike in China in 2007.
Fortunately, leading beverage brands such as Mixue have invested heavily in Pu’er tea plantation, so that Pu’er tea will not get wiped out from the market by coffee.
And now, with the sky getting darker, the captivating aromas of tea and coffee fill the air… BSL is gazing into the star-studded sky through the skylight, as he lies inside his chalet in the tea garden, feeling the unusual calmness and serenity being surrounded by the boundless expanse of Pu’er tea estate – boosted by the unexpected coffee aroma that fills the air..
That serves to remind everyone that the air of Pu’er is not just saturated with the aroma of tea, but also coffee nowadays!
