Re: Pu'er leaf size and quality

That’s right. The grading basing on pluck quality, however, is purely a starting point, even if that grading standard is universally observed by all puer producers. The issue is complicated by the fact that most puer productions in the market now are blends. That is why there is this “formula” thing. My father used to buy a dark tea called “Luan Gu”, that is still available in some tea shops. The tea is basically tea twigs. Most puer tea discuses are blended with twigs and larger leaves which sharper tastes complement the lowered tastes of the leaves on the surface of the “cakes” that have been greatly reduced through exposure to the environment, considering the kind of storage most of theses products are subjected to. That is why there is usually a wider range of taste in such products. A better one is usually characterised by a rounder body even when the infusion is prepared slightly stronger.