According to the growth mode of tea trees

Wild tea: refers to tea picked and processed from non-cultivated tea trees. Wild tea trees usually have a certain age, with rich tea flavor, rich nutrition and no pollution, but it is worth noting that only "domesticated" wild tea is suitable for drinking.

Terrace tea: also known as base tea and tea garden tea, refers to tea products made by picking raw materials from tea trees cultivated in artificial tea gardens. In recent years, with the rising demand of Pu 'er tea market, a large number of artificial tea gardens have appeared in Yunnan. The artificially planted tea trees are usually short in age and thin in nutrients.

Classification of tea varieties

Arbor tea: Pu 'er tea in the traditional sense is made of leaves of big-leaf arbor, which is called big-leaf tea.

Shrub tea: With the increasing demand for Pu 'er tea, tea farmers transplant tea trees to make tea gardens. In recent years, platform tea (tea garden tea) has been cultivated into a shrub species, commonly known as dwarf tea tree species, known as lobular tea. Shrub tea seeds are thin and have few nutrients.

Classification by appearance

Loose tea: Pu 'er tea still maintains the original loose leaf shape of tea leaves and is not pressed into a special shape, which is called loose tea. Loose tea is beneficial for people who know Pu 'er tea for the first time to observe the shape and color of tea. The finished loose tea is usually made of shrub tea.

Cake tea: flat disc-shaped pressed tea, which looks like a moon cake and weighs 357 grams, is one of the most common varieties.

Tuocha: Tuocha is a kind of pressed tea, which is conical and looks like a bun on the surface. Convenient to carry and brew.

Brick tea: shaped like a brick, mainly made in this shape, which is convenient for transportation. Brick tea is mostly made of mature leaves, which is mellow and resistant to brewing.

Classification by processing method

Fresh pu' er tea leaves become pu' er wool after deactivation, rolling and drying. After making raw tea, it is divided into "cooked tea" and "raw tea" because of the different subsequent processes.

Raw tea: Raw tea is naturally Chen Fang, and raw tea is not fermented by heap.

Cooked tea: raw tea tends to be mild after heap fermentation, so it is called cooked tea.

Classification by storage method

Cang Qian Pu 'er refers to the storage in a ventilated, dry and clean warehouse, which makes tea naturally fermented and aged 10~20 years.

Wet-stored Pu 'er: Generally, it is placed in wet places, such as basements and cellars, to speed up its fermentation. Tea often smells like dirt or mildew due to the destruction of its contents. Although the aging speed of wet-stored Pu 'er is faster than that of dry-stored Pu 'er, it is easy to mildew, which is not good for human health.

According to the classification of mountain peaks in origin

Pu 'er tea is mainly distributed in three major producing areas: Lincang tea area, Pu 'er tea area and Xishuangbanna producing area.

The six ancient tea mountains of Pu 'er tea: Aule, Yibang, Gordon, Manzhuan, Manzhi and Mansa.

The six new tea mountains of Pu 'er tea are Brown, Bada, Nannuo, Nanqiao (Menghai), Mengsong and Jingmai.

During the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, with the gradual prosperity of Menghai tea area, the tea production center moved from six ancient tea mountains in the north of Lancang River to six ancient tea mountains in the south of the Yangtze River with Menghai as the core, and Menghai tea area became the core production area of modern Pu 'er.