My first encounter with the modern style of puerh tea came in 2005 at a Chinese tea market in Kunming. During that time such teas were not taken seriously and were treated as a gimmick which often resulted in them being offered to new tea drinkers. The market sentiment was very different during those times. It was a speculative market with fast money and investing in puerh tea provided a roller coaster ride of emotions. The vast majority of buyers were Chinese and there was strong demand for puerh tea that could potentially make future profits. Buyers wanted puerh tea that was age worthy and that would give them a return on their investment. The modern style of puerh tea was an unknown quantity and its docile qualities were so different to the standard puerh tea at the time that some even questioned whether it was genuine puerh tea. The hardcore Chinese buyers were dismissive of the modern style of puerh tea and as a result the more competitive buying revolved around traditional and renowned production batches by established factories like Menghai TF, Xia Guan TF and Kunming TF.
The year is now 2018 and more than a decade has passed. The commercial success of modern style puerh tea has made many companies very wealthy. The modern style dominates the current puerh tea market. The light and fresh characteristics have similarities to Chinese green tea and lightly oxidized oolong tea making young puerh tea more relatable and easy to drink. This also made puerh tea easier to promote and gain entry to new markets. Amidst the commercial success the future of puerh tea is at a turning point and there is an undercurrent of uncertainty. The marketing of the modern style of puerh tea has been less than open in its approach, riding on the standing of puerh as an age tea that will transform into a future treasure as it matures. Unsubstantiated claims and overstated marketing hide the reality of an altered and unproven product that has been engineered to satisfy short term profiteering.
One prominent view sees the modern style of puerh tea as having lost its ability to age. It is one that I also share from my experience of having drunk extensively both styles of puerh tea for many years. I don’t find the signs of early ageing to be reassuring and see the early pleasantness of modern style puerh tea unraveling under the test of time. To what extent this will effect and damage the resulting age version that can only be determined with sufficient time. From my observation at this stage of adolescence I believe the alteration under the modern style has compromised the ageing potential of puerh tea. I have noticed the modern style puerh being prone to similar ailments that plague the type of teas that it bears overlapping features to. The staleness of deaden leaves, an unpleasant harsh abrasiveness, an insipid and hollow brew amongst other traits of ageing badly are commonly found in old and timeworn Chinese greens and oolong tea. It appears that these negative traits was also transferred over with the alteration that was made in modern style puerh tea.
As the problems and challenges with ageing puerh tea mount and come to light, it will push all of us to reexamine what we truly want from our puerh tea. There is no doubt that the drinking and enjoyment of puerh tea has taken a turn with many puerh enthusiasts appearing to enjoy the fresh characteristics of a young modern style puerh tea. The key question is, “Can this continue with the realization that the modern style puerh tea is deemed unworthy of ageing?” or is the current enjoyment of young puerh tea closely tied to the aspiration of nurturing the development of an age puerh tea. If it is the latter then I suspect that puerh tea lacking in being age worthy will come to be nothing more than a passing fad.