Why does Pu-erh tea pressed?

What do you think of first when it comes to the form of Pu-erh tea?
 
Presents several states?
 
Cake shape? Tuo? Scattered? still is......
I think most people's first impression should be pie-shaped. In modern times, cake tea is the mainstream, "Qizi cake" is the most representative form of Pu-erh tea, and the packaging of seven cakes is mentioned. At the same time, each cake is 7 double, which is now 357g.
 
But why is Pu-erh tea pressed tightly without being scattered?
 
I believe that everyone has thought about this problem, but they only have a one-sided understanding of the meaning of Pu-erh tea pressed into cakes.
 
Most people think that pressing Pu-erh tea into cakes is just because of the beautiful appearance, and many people follow the example of squeezing other teas.

In fact, the reason is not just because of appearance.
 
To put it simply, initially, the purpose of compressing Pu-erh tea was only because of the high terrain and rugged terrain of Yunnan. Most of the tea can only be transported by the horse caravan. The high transportation costs and the complex natural environment make the squeeze Tea has become the first choice for exporting tea.
 
However, by the end of the last century, the trend of drinking old Pu-erh tea gradually rose, and people began to store Pu-erh tea.
 
Compared with bulk material, pressing Pu-erh tea into cakes is more conducive to its storage and later conversion. In addition, the Pu-erh tea pressed into cakes, after time conversion, is more mellow in taste and fuller in taste than loose tea.
Why do you say this way?
 
Because Pu-erh tea is stored at a later stage, the tea leaves will be oxidized automatically. In the tea leaves, the enzymatic oxidation of polyphenols, the transformation of microbial action, these conversion factors are mainly moisture, temperature, oxygen and light.
 
Pu-erh tea is pressed into cakes, and the absorption and evaporation of water have little effect on the compressed Pu-erh tea. Therefore, microorganisms and aroma can be better preserved; secondly, the temperature in the air does not affect the internal pressure of the compressed tea a lot, the microorganisms in the tea can survive better; finally, the contact area of ​​oxygen and light and Puer pressed tea has been relatively reduced, the oxidation of polyphenols, ketones and chlorophyll is much slower, and the quality of the tea can be Better save.

Of course, the conversion of Pu-erh tea in the later period depends on the quality of the tea itself. Under the premise that the quality of the tea raw material itself is guaranteed, it can be transformed into high-quality Pu-erh aged tea by supplementing it with excellent technology and pressing it into cakes.
 
Why do oolong tea leaves need to be compressed for storage? This question also slowly came to a certain answer.

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