Green And White Pu-erh Tea - What's The DIfference?

by Matt

Have you any informations about green pu-erh tea chemical composition (catechins, caffeine), or about white pu erh tea chemical composition?


What are the differeces concerning health benefits between green tea and green pu-erh tea? (and between white tea and white pu-erh tea)?

Answer:

I have heard of white pu-erh tea but not green pu-erh tea. Can you explain?

White pu-erh tea is quite misleading because it really is pu-erh tea, and is processed like a pu-erh tea, but is made from white tea plants, using younger tea shoots.

It is not unusual for highly oxidised tea such as oolong, pu-erh or red tea to be made from young tea shoots.

Traditionally, the best of these teas are made from young tea shoots anyway.

Some sellers make such a big deal out of this, but they shouldn't really do.

The difference of this tea with green and white tea is that they tend to be harvested later in the year, and so yes, will have markedly different chemical composition compared to the best of green and white tea.

There are two forces at play here - raw fresh leaves chemical composition and those due the processing.

Non spring harvests tend to have lower theanine content and higher polyphenol/aromatic oil content.

Different raw chemical composition makes them suited for making different kinds of tea.

The effects of oxidation, obviously, is to convert EGCG/catechins to the like of theaflavins etc.

My guess is that green and white pu-erh tea are much more like pu-erh tea than green and white tea.

Compared to other pu-erh tea, they should be higher quality, as the tea shoots are more tender and more potent.

They should also contain less contaminants.

Hope this helps.

Comments for Green And White Pu-erh Tea - What's The DIfference?

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Apr 17, 2008
green pu erh tea
by: Matt

Hi Julian,

You can find some informations about green pu erh tea here ( http://www.pu-erh.net/sections.php?Choice=Green_Puerh )

Also I would show this new study to you

Source: Nutrition (Elsevier) May 2008, Volume 24, Issue 5, Pages 433-442
"Consumption of green tea favorably affects oxidative stress markers in weight-trained men"
Authors: V.S. Pereira Panza, E. Wazlawik, G.R. Schutz, L. Comin, K.C. Hecht, E.L. da Silva

Apr 19, 2008
Green and White Pu-erh tea
by: Julian

Ahh... you mean Shen pu-erh, now I get it, thanks!

(Obviously the level of oxidation of a shen pu-erh is dependent on its aging or maturation. This post-fermentation will determine its oxidation level and how similar its chemical composition is to green tea.)

And thanks for pointing me to the study as well.

Jan 10, 2014
White green puerh
by: Anonymous

White puerh is a kind of green puerh. green puerh just means raw unprocessed, so usually, when first sold the tea is young and has a green- yellow hue when infused. After aging a few years it ferments and the hue turns orange and fianlly a reddish color. white puerh is raw puerh made with young shoots and alot of tea flower buds, rather than just leaves. White tea means the buds of the tea flower and leaf shoot. So the base material is different.

The main difference however is that white puerh is a modern invention and the aging properties of pressed tea buds is largely unknown or really dubious. Normal raw puerh will generally increase in value yearly for 20-50 years at least unless damaged or really bad quality. The general concensus on white puerh is that it tops out in about 3-5 years. The plus side is that you can enjoy raw puerh without having to wait 8-10 years. The negatives are that it tends to be about as pricey as other puerhs without possessing the investment or collectable properties and also probably will never age into a deep-smooth-classic red hued puerh. however the verdict is not out.. it hasn't been produced long enough in sufficient quantities stored and observed by masters so who knows?

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