Auctioning of Yunnan's rare aged and high-quality Pu’er tea began on August 2.

The Pu'er auction is part of the Yunnan Cultural Industrial Expo. It offers 42 products including 19 Dayi and 23 Xiaguan teas produced between 2001 and 2007.

Pu'er tea started production over 3,000 years ago and has become a “business card” of Yunnan. It is called a “drinkable antique” because of its long history.

The tea highlights appropriate brew methods and drinking arts. Its tea soup is thick and yellowish with a durable and special aroma. The longer it is brewed, the better taste it gains. The typical Yunnan tea is divided into two categories, raw and cooked. Raw tea does not undergo fermentation so its original fragrance remains. Its functions include cooling heat, detoxification, promoting digestion and relieving constipation.

Cooked tea soup becomes red and thick and has a gentle effect after fermentation. It nourishes the stomach, reduces blood fat and aids weight loss. Its quality increases the longer it's stored.

Dayi Pu'er is a representative of Yunnan's Pu'er tea as it applies an advanced blending technology and HEMA fermentation method to its manufacturing process. Dayi 7572 and 7542 teas are respectively regarded as the gold standards for cooked and raw tea.

Edited by Peter Nordinger