Pu-erh or Pu'er is a variety of fermented tea produced in Yunnan province, China, and named after Pu'er City. Fermentation in the context of tea production involves microbial fermentation and oxidation of the tea leaves, after they have been dried and rolled. This process is a Chinese specialty and produces tea known as Hei Chá (黑茶), commonly translated as dark, or black tea (this type of tea is different from what in the West is known as "black tea", which in China is called "red tea" 红茶). The best known variety of this category of tea is Pǔ'ěr from Yunnan Province, named after the trading post for dark tea during imperial China. The name of the tea is pronounced approximately as "pu'ar". Pǔ'ěr traditionally begins as a raw product known as "rough" máo chá (毛茶) and can be sold in this form or pressed into a number of shapes and sold as "raw" shēng chá (生茶). Both of these forms then undergo the complex process of gradual fermentation and maturation with time. The wò duī fermentation process (渥堆) developed in 1973 by the Kunming Tea Factory :206 created a new type of Pǔ'ěr tea. This process involves an accelerated fermentation into "ripe" shou cha (熟茶) which is then stored loose or pressed into various shapes. The fermentation process was adopted at the Menghai Tea Factory shortly after and technically developed there. The legitimacy of shu cha is disputed by some traditionalists in contrast to aged teas. All types of pu-erh can be stored to mature before consumption, which is why it is commonly labelled with year and region of production.

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