普洱茶, 普洱茶的好处, 璞润元

The Ultimate Guide to Raw Pu'er Tea vs. Cooked Pu'er Tea: An Article to Help You Understand the Yin and Yang of the Millennium Tea Rhyme

By Caesar DD Apr 10, 2025 112

introduction

In the world of Pu'er tea, the competition between raw tea and cooked tea has never stopped. This pair of twin brothers, originating from the same large-leaf variety in Yunnan, have embarked on completely different destinies due to their different craftsmanship: one is a "son of nature" that travels through time, and the other is a "quick-made old tea" that is artificially carved. In the Pu'er tea market in 2025, the value game of raw and cooked tea has entered a new stage - raw tea has repeatedly set auction records due to its scarcity of "the older it gets, the more fragrant it is", while cooked tea has seized the mass consumer market with its health attributes. This article will decode the ultimate difference between these two heroes in the tea industry from four dimensions: craft code, taste philosophy, health science, and collection logic.

1. Craft Code: A Space-Time Dialogue between Nature and Artificiality

(1.Raw Tea: A Living Fossil of the Ancient Tea-Horse Road

Process traceability: Raw tea continues the "steaming and pressing" process of the Tang Dynasty, and has gone through three major processes of killing green, rolling, and sun drying to retain the natural activity of tea leaves. The "Pu tea is steamed and rolled" recorded in the "Yunnan Lue" of the Ming Dynasty is the prototype of modern raw tea technology.
Aging secret: In the dry warehouse environment of Yunnan, raw tea completes the transformation of "green→yellow→red→brown" at a rate of 0.01% oxidation of tea polyphenols per year. In 2025, a study by Yunnan Agricultural University found that the theabrownin content of raw tea stored for 10 years increased by 32%, laying the foundation for its collection value of "liquid gold".
Regional code: The "honey fragrance and orchid rhyme" of Yiwu tea area, the "dominant and sweet" of Laobanzhang, and the "rock sugar rhyme" of Bingdao are all derived from the differences in trace elements in the soil of different production areas (for example, the selenium content in Menghai tea area is 2.3 times that of Lincang).

(2. Ripe tea: the microbial revolution of pile fermentation

Technological breakthrough: In 1973, Wu Qiying, an engineer at Kunming Tea Factory, developed the pile fermentation technology, which compressed the natural aging cycle from 20 years to 45 days through temperature-controlled fermentation at 45-65℃. In 2025, the latest technology introduced "small frame off-ground fermentation", which reduced the residual pile flavor by 60%.
Bacterial flora: During the fermentation of cooked tea, dominant flora such as Aspergillus niger, yeast, and lactic acid bacteria work synergistically to produce functional ingredients such as lovastatin and theabrownin. According to the Yunnan Institute of Microbiology, the probiotic content of high-quality cooked tea can reach 10^8 CFU/g.
Flavor stratification: Lightly fermented cooked tea (30%) retains floral and fruity aroma, moderately fermented (50%) presents jujube aroma, and heavily fermented (70%) presents woody aroma. As a benchmark for cooked tea, Dayi "7572" has the "Menghai flavor" that is the golden ratio of flora and raw materials.

2.Taste philosophy: from "a tough boy" to "a gentle old man"

(1. Variations of Raw Tea in Time and Space

New tea period (1-3 years): Taking Iceland Spring Tea as an example, the tea soup is "yellow-green and translucent", the tea polyphenol content is as high as 35%, the bitterness is strong at the entrance, but the sweetness is as fast as "rock spring hitting stone".
Mid-term tea (5-10 years): 2015 Yiwu Mahei raw tea transforms into "plum fragrance", tea polyphenols are oxidized into thearubigins, the bitterness decreases by 40%, and the soup gradually shows "oiliness".
Old tea period (20 years +): 1999 "99 Green Tree" soup color is as red and thick as red wine, theabrownin content exceeds 15%, the taste is "dense as silk", and the aged fragrance is mixed with medicinal fragrance.

(2. The Taste Symphony of Ripe Tea

Fermentation stage: Newly cooked tea (within 1 year) has obvious pile flavor, and the soup is red and thick but not transparent; 3-year-old cooked tea (such as Zhongcha "7581") has "jujube fragrance" and mellow soup; 10-year-old cooked tea (such as Dayi "Hongzhuang") transforms into "ginseng fragrance" and melts in the mouth.
Technology innovation: The "lightly fermented cooked tea" (fermentation degree 40%) popular in 2025 shortens the fermentation time to retain some tea polyphenols, combining the freshness of raw tea and the mellowness of cooked tea, becoming a new favorite of young consumers.
Regional flavor: The "caramel aroma" of Brown Mountain cooked tea, the "orchid aroma" of Jingmai Mountain cooked tea, and the "bitter and sweet" of Mengsong cooked tea constitute the "flavor map" of cooked tea.

3、Health Science: The Offensive and Defensive Battle between Tea Polyphenols and Theabrownins

(1.Raw tea as an anti-oxidant

Tea polyphenol family: EGCG accounts for 30%, and its antioxidant capacity is 20 times that of vitamin C. A study by Zhejiang University in 2024 confirmed that it can inhibit the differentiation of fat cells.
Metabolic regulation: Caffeine in raw tea works synergistically with tea polyphenols to accelerate fat decomposition. An experiment at Yunnan Agricultural University showed that blood triglyceride concentration dropped by 18% 2 hours after drinking raw tea.
Taboo groups: Patients with gastric ulcers and pregnant women should be cautious when drinking new tea, as its cold nature may irritate the stomach and intestines.

(2. Cooked tea: the "intestinal guardian"

Theabrownin revolution: Theabrownin produced by fermentation accounts for 25%, which has the function of absorbing heavy metals and regulating intestinal flora. A study in Food Science in 2025 showed that cooked tea extract can increase the number of intestinal bifidobacteria by 3 times.
Stomach nourishing mechanism: Gallic acid in cooked tea inhibits Helicobacter pylori, and tea polysaccharides improve the barrier function of gastric mucosa. Clinical data from Yunnan First People's Hospital showed that after drinking cooked tea for 3 months, the symptom improvement rate of chronic gastritis patients reached 72%.
Applicable scenarios: Drinking after drinking can accelerate alcohol metabolism, drinking after meals can promote digestion, and drinking before bedtime can calm the nerves and help sleep (theanine content is 1.5 times that of raw tea).

4、Collection logic: the value game between investing in raw and mature

(1. The “time compounding” of raw tea

Market data: In the 2025 Beijing Poly Spring Auction, the 1988 "88 Green Cake" was sold for 1.28 million yuan per piece, with an annualized yield of 15%. The price of raw materials of Laobanzhang ancient tree raw tea exceeded 8,000 yuan per kilogram, a 5-fold increase from 2015.
Storage standards: The humidity of dry warehouse storage must be controlled at 60%-70%, and the temperature must be 20-25℃. The aging paths of Guangdong's "natural warehouse" and Yunnan's "dry warehouse" are significantly different. The former has a red soup color, while the latter retains the floral fragrance.
Risk warning: In 2007, the price of "Dayi 7542" plummeted by 60% due to excessive speculation, reminding investors to be wary of the "famous mountain tea" bubble.

(2. The "stabilizer" property of cooked tea

Consumer market: Ripe tea accounts for 65% of the Pu'er tea market, and Dayi "7572" has an annual sales volume of over 2,000 tons, becoming a benchmark for popular staple tea.
Value of old tea: In 2005, the auction price of "Zhongcha Dahongyin" ripe tea reached 80,000 yuan per piece, and its "aged fragrance" and "jujube rhyme" became a new hot spot for high-end collection.
Technological innovation: In 2025, the concept of "ancient tree ripe tea" emerged, using raw materials from thousand-year-old trees for fermentation, with quality comparable to 20-year-old raw tea, but the price is only 1/3 of it.

5、Buying Guide: Six identification tips for novices

(1.Look at the appearance

Raw tea: The tea leaves are tight and dark green with visible hairs; Ripe tea: The tea leaves are plump and reddish brown.
Advanced techniques: The "horse hoof" (remaining petiole) on the surface of raw tea cakes is a characteristic of ancient tree tea, while the "golden hair" on ripe tea is mostly a sign of moderate fermentation.

(2.Smell the aroma

Raw tea: New tea has a strong and sharp fragrance (such as orchid and nectar), while old tea has a strong aged fragrance; Ripe tea: New tea has a pile smell, while old tea has a ginseng and jujube fragrance.
Tips for avoiding pitfalls: Pungent "moldy smell" is a sign of improper storage, and "sour and rancid smell" is due to over-fermentation.

(3. Tea tasting

Raw tea: New tea is bitter and sweet quickly; old tea soup is mellow and has a deep throat flavor.
Cooked tea: New tea soup is thin, while old tea soup is like "rice soup" and has a high sweetness.
Laboratory data: High-quality raw tea tea polyphenols ≥ 28%, cooked tea theabrownin ≥ 12% (refer to GB/T 22111-2008).

(4. Leaf bottom

Raw tea: The bottom of the leaves is yellow-green and soft, with high activity; cooked tea: The bottom of the leaves is reddish-brown and weak in elasticity.
Counterfeit identification: The bottom of dyed cooked tea leaves is "red on the outside and green on the inside", and the bottom of raw tea leaves baked at high temperature is burnt.

(5. Check certificate

Organic certification (ECOCERT) and Rainforest Alliance certification are quality assurance.
Blockchain traceability: China Tea "Butterfly Brand" Pu'er tea uses blockchain technology, and you can scan the code to check the origin of the raw materials and fermentation batches.

(6. Brewing test

Raw tea: brew quickly in the first 3 brews to avoid bitterness; cooked tea: the taste is more mellow after the 5th brew.
Steeping test: Steep for 5 minutes. If the raw tea is still not bitter, it is well aged. If the cooked tea is sour, it is a fermentation failure.

6、Trends in 2025: Industry changes under the competition between raw and mature

(1. Market fragmentation

High-end market: The annual growth rate of old tree raw tea (such as Bingdao and Laobanzhang) is 20%, and the collectors are getting younger (30-40 years old account for 45%).
Mass market: Cooked tea (100-300 yuan/cake) increased by 15%, and the proportion of convenient packaging (small tea, tea bags) increased to 30%.

(2.Technological innovation

New technology for cooked tea: "Low temperature and long fermentation" (40℃/60 days) improves the sweetness of tea soup, and "probiotic inoculation" technology reduces the smell of tea.
Raw tea storage: Intelligent storage systems (such as "cloud warehouses") can achieve remote control of temperature and humidity, shortening the aging cycle by 30%.

(3. Consumption upgrade

Health labels: "Lipid-lowering cooked tea" and "antioxidant raw tea" have become hot-selling products in e-commerce, and the growth rate of functional products exceeds 40%.
Cultural empowerment: The premium rate of the Palace Museum co-branded tea and intangible cultural heritage tea has reached 200%, and tea culture experience stores (such as "Dayi Tea Garden") have become traffic entrances.

Conclusion: Eastern wisdom in a cup of tea

The difference between raw and cooked Pu'er tea is essentially a philosophical debate between nature and man-made, time and efficiency. Raw tea teaches us to respect time, while cooked tea interprets the power of technology. The Pu'er tea market in 2025 is staging a dual variation of "tradition" and "innovation" - while raw tea has repeatedly set sky-high prices at auctions, cooked tea has quietly entered thousands of households. No matter which cup you choose, it is a tribute to the thousand-year-old tea culture. In this era of rapid iteration, perhaps only Pu'er tea can allow us to find the true meaning of "slowness" in the hustle and bustle.