• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Marisa Moore Nutrition
  • Home
  • About
  • Work With Me
  • Media
  • Recipes
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About Marisa
  • Work with me
  • Media
  • Contact
×
Home » Blog » Health and Wellness » Nutrition

Try it Tuesday: Pu-erh Tea

Published: Apr 7, 2015 · Modified: Mar 6, 2025 by Marisa Moore·

Not your typical cup of tea, pu-erh tea is an ancient brew known for boosting mental alertness and used in traditional medicine to lower cholesterol and protect the heart.

Loose pu-erh tea on marisamoore.com

In today’s Try it Tuesday, I’m sharing my first sip of pu-erh tea. Never heard of it? That was me until a few months ago when I started researching traditional butter tea for an article I was writing for Food & Nutrition magazine. Like other teas and fermented foods, pu-erh tea seems to be gaining popularity, so I thought I’d give the trend a try.

What is it? Native to the Yunnan province of China, pu-erh tea (pronounced poo-air) is a fermented and aged black tea. It’s known for its distinctive flavor and potential health benefits.

Pu-erh tea has been traditionally used as an energy booster, and research suggests that it may help with weight management and reducing cholesterol levels. This is because the tea contains small amounts of the chemical, lovastatin which in animal studies suggests can help lower triglycerides and LDL cholesterol which can help improve heart health.

Thanks to it being fermented, pu-erh tea provides some probiotics to the body which may benefit gut health.

Because of its high caffeine content, the tea can help boost mental alertness and cognitive capacity but there’s not enough evidence to support the other claims.

Brewed pu-erh teaon marisamoore.com

Having tea is one of my favorite morning rituals. I love to hold my mug close and take in the invigorating aroma of hot tea in the morning. Here’s how my first sip or pu-erh went down…

First whiff: It’s not at all floral as I’ve come to expect from tea. It smelled a little funky in fact.

First sip: It’s a totally different flavor than any other tea I’ve experienced. It’s smooth yet complex. It’s earthy. I’d even call it malty. It’s different. Just funky enough to turn me off a bit (Keep reading. I learned why.).

To finish my cup, I may have ruined the regality of the tea by adding a bit of sweetened cream. But by my calculation it was only a 30 calorie drink.

Brewed Pu-erh tea on marisamoore.com

Since my first taste of pu-erh tea, I’ve done more research. I’ve learned that the funky flavor is likely due to poor quality tea. As with any tea, it appears that pu-erh tea quality is paramount for optimal flavor and health benefits. So, I will give it another shot and hopefully find one I enjoy. (I won’t mention the brand but I paid $9 for the equivalent of 15 cups of tea. Not cheap in my book.)

Bottom Line:  If you are a tea connoisseur or a fan of sometimes funky, fermented drinks – go for it! You’ll love the truly ancient flavor of pur-ehh tea.

Have you tried pu-erh tea before? Have a favorite source? I’d love to hear about it! Please share in the comments below or on Instagram.

More Blog

  • Gray bowl of oatmeal topped with nut butter, jam and raspberries
    Berry Nut Butter Swirl Oatmeal
  • Cooked collards in white bowl with a spoon and a blue napkin
    Vegan Collard Greens
  • Oats with tomatoes spinach and feta in a grey bowl with a large spoon
    Savory Spinach, Tomato, Feta Oats
  • Pinto Bean and Cheese Burritos Stacked on a plate
    Freezer Friendly Pinto Bean Cheese Burrito

Filed Under: Blog, Health and Wellness, Nutrition, Try it Tuesday

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




  1. Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine

    April 07, 2015 at 4:33 pm

    I have a chocolate one, it’s okay, but not my favorite 😉

    Reply
    • Marisa

      April 08, 2015 at 9:08 am

      Hmmm. Thanks for the heads up.

      Reply
  2. DEANNA SEGRAVE DALY

    April 07, 2015 at 1:32 pm

    I have never heard of pu-erh tea before but if I buy it, will know now that funky does not equal good (ha!) Loving this Try It Tuesday series!

    Reply
    • Marisa

      April 07, 2015 at 4:21 pm

      Thanks, Deanna! Happy to share the good, the bad and the funky 🙂

      Reply
  3. Alanna

    April 07, 2015 at 1:18 pm

    I have never heard of pu-erh tea before, but thanks for the wonderful info! Sounds very interesting, I’m intrigued.

    Reply
    • Marisa

      April 07, 2015 at 2:22 pm

      It’s another one of those what’s old is new again trends. I’m curious to see how far this one goes.

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Marisa Moore in a yellow top in a white kitchen

MARISA MOORE

Hi! I'm Marisa, a registered dietitian nutritionist living in Atlanta, GA. I use this blog to share (mostly) vegetarian recipes, credible nutrition information and a peek into my Southern roots and travels!

Learn more about me →

Popular Recipes

  • Pear muffins on a blue plate
    Healthy-ish Pear Oatmeal Muffins
  • Flatlay of jar of peanuts, tangerines, tea packets, water bottle, nut butter packets, bags of pumpkin seeds and pistachios
    Healthy Airplane Snacks
  • Pumpkin Lentil Curry in a bowl with cashews in a gray bowl with gray napkin
    Vegan Pumpkin Lentil Curry with Spinach
  • CHickpea Pasta Salad in White Bowl
    Mediterranean Chickpea Pasta Salad
  • Two filets of black cod in skillet with sauce.
    Honey Garlic Sablefish
  • Blood Orange Mocktail Overhead
    Sparkling Blood Orange Mocktail

Spring Favorites

  • Overhead shot of strawberry oatmeal muffins on brown table.
    Strawberry Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins
  • Roasted Broccoli and Walnut Pasta in a Bowl
    Roasted Broccoli & Walnut Pasta
  • Bowl of roasted cabbage with a spool of hone on the side.
    Easy Roasted Cabbage Wedges
  • Cheddar Cauliflower Bites on Marble with Chives in Background
    Cheddar Chive Cauliflower Bites

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Marisa Moore, MBA.RDN.LD. | Registered Dietitian Nutritionist | Media Contributor | Cookbook Author

Copyright 2023 · Marisa Moore Nutrition · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy