I'e got some mail recently asking about the new Karate Kid movie.  Some people want to know, "Is kung-fu in China just like the movie?"

Uh, maybe.

Pu'er tea or Bolay tea, is a rich full bodied tea with an earthy taste.  Much like wine, Pu'er is fermented thus older tea is often more valuable than more recent vintages.  Usually sold in cakes, the Chineses have a saying, "Rich men drink green tea, Gentlemen drink Pu'er." This type of tea made from a "large leaf" variety of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) and named after Pu'er county in Yunnan, China.

Pu'er tea can either be purchased as either raw/green (sheng) or ripened/cooked (shuo). Sheng and shou pu'er are roughly classified on an oxidation scale as either a green tea or fermented tea. The fact that pu'er fits in more than one tea type creates some problems for classification. Due to this, pu'er is almost always sold as a post-fermented product. Unlike other teas that are ideally consumed shortly after production, pu'er can be drunk immediately or aged for many years. As a result, much like wine, pu'er teas are often now classified by year and region of production.