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Numi Co-Founder sources Numi's Puerh from 500-year-old tea trees
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WHAT IS PUERH TEA?
Puerh (pū-ěr) is an ancient healing tea known for its medicinal properties and rich taste. Numi's Organic Puerh comes from 500-year-old, wild, organic tea trees grown in China's pristine Yunnan Mountains. The maturity of these trees yields a superior tasting tea compared to younger pruned bushes. Unlike traditional teas that are oxidized over an 8 hour period, Puerh undergoes a unique 60-day fermentation process resulting in a bold, earthy flavor with hints of malt and more antioxidants than green tea. Puerh can be compressed into bricks and aged, like fine wine, for months, years or even decades. This increases its value, health benefits and premium taste.
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WHY SO WISE?
Numi's organic Puerh Tea is made from a variety of old,
wild-harvested, "broad leaf" tea trees from the pristine
Yunnan mountains of Southwestern China. The maturity of
these trees and Puerh's unique 60-day fermentation process
yields a superior taste compared to younger pruned bushes.
Puerh's ancient history began over 2,000 years ago when tea
was transported by horse caravans along 5 main routes known
as the "Tea Horse Roads". The most traveled road began in
the village of Pu Erh. Merchants piled the tea to maximize
their load when traveling across China and found the tea
tasted better at journey's end and discovered that it yielded
additional health benefits. It is said the Last Emperor's
mother, known as the "Beautiful Countenance", cured her gout
by drinking Puerh before revealing it to the masses.
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WHY SO TASTY?
Unlike traditional teas that are oxidized over an 8 hour period, Puerh undergoes a unique 60-day fermentation process. Freshly picked Puerh leaves can be lightly steamed and air-dried, keeping them in their "raw" or "uncooked" form, thus creating Green Puerh which naturally ferments as a "living tea". To make Black Puerh, leaves are piled into heaps, covered, dampened & rotated frequently for a period of 60 days. The temperature will reach 120° F, "cooking" or fermenting the leaves, turning them from green to black. Black Puerh is then air-dried and ready to be compressed into bricks for aging, or left loose which Numi uses in its tea bags. The resulting taste is a bold, earthy flavor with hints of malt.
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WHY SO TREASURED?
After fermentation, select Puerh tea leaves are
set aside for aging. Leaves are compressed, wrapped
into bricks, then stored in cool, dark rooms away
from heat and sunlight. A Puerh brick can be aged
for months, years or even decades, increasing its
medicinal properties and premium quality. Much like
wine, Puerh teas are classified by the year and region
of production; the best Puerhs are so highly prized
by connoisseurs that one aged brick can cost thousands
of dollars.
In Chinese culture, Puerh is part of a bride's dowry
due to its great worth. Families also buy Puerh to
celebrate a child's birth - the tea appreciates in
value as the child grows.
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WHY SO VITAL?
Puerh's fermentation and aging process elevates its beneficial nutrients making it a highly effective healing beverage:
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- Numi's Organic Puerh tea bags averages 32% more antioxidants than green tea.
- Numi's Organic Puerh iced tea averages 50% more antioxidants than the leading brands.
- Antioxidants help protect healthy cells by neutralizing the damaging effects of free radicals.
- Puerh is purported in Chinese culture to lower cholesterol, aid digestion, break down fat and rejuvenate energy*.
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- Puerh has a caffeine level comparable to that of green or black tea which is at least 50% of coffee.
- In Chinese culture, Puerh is drunk with Dim Sum (or other fatty meals) as a digestif for its ability to break down fat.
- The ripening and aging process may support probiotics and digestive enzymes which help reduce gas, bloating, indigestion and heartburn.
These microbes assist in breaking down proteins, carbohydrates, fiber and fat thus aiding in weight loss. In Taiwan, Puerh is known
as the "Skinny Tea".
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*"Effect of Microbial Fermentation on Content of Statin, GABA, and Polyphenols in Pu-Erh Tea"
Jeng K. et al: J. Agric. Food Chem., 2007, 55 (21), pp 8787–8792.
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NUMI'S PUERH PRODUCTS
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- 50% more antioxidants than other iced teas
- 100% real ingredients (not flavorings) for a pure, authentic flavor
- More freshly-brewed organic full leaf tea per bottle
- Barely sweetened with a touch of organic honey, agave nectar and/or evaporated cane juice
- Featuring Numi's most popular flavors including Moroccan Mint and Earl Grey
- Gluten-free and Organic, Kosher and Halal Certified
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