There are a few things to look for when buying pu-erh. The first, as with almost every tea, is to avoid Teavana like the plague. Their pu-erhs are over-priced, of low quality and often mixed with extra flavors which overpower the tea itself. Also, that store is just a miserable place to be…I like to drink tea, not have some teenager try to upsell me every ten seconds.

Ok, so you are studiously avoiding your local mall…what next?

There are a few factors to take into account when buying Pu-Erh. The first is the type. Taste several to decide whether you prefer ripe or raw Pu-Erh. The next thing to look at is place of production and production method. Ideal teas are made in the Yunnan province in China, and are made using the most traditional methods.

You also want to take age into account. Once, while sitting in a tea store in Beijing, I remarked to the owner that I was looking to buy a good Pu-Erh, but didn’t have too much cash at the time. Luckily, she had something interesting for me: three years before, she had gotten a great deal on a large amount of mediocre ripe Pu-Erh, and had decided to sit on the case for a while. She had just cracked open a few cakes and found that it was actually quite good, but was still selling cakes for less than $15! I tried it, and it was honestly better than some much more expensive teas I had tried before. While not all Pu-Erhs are suitable for aging, being well-kept for a few years can bring out a depth and complexity of flavor lacking when they are young, so I highly recommend looking for cakes which have been aged properly for at least a year.

Honestly though, the best thing to look for is what YOU like. Find a good brick and mortar tea store which will let you sample different varieties, and choose based on taste. If there are no good tea stores in your area, find an online tea store which has a wide selection and robust user reviews. Order samples of a wide variety of Pu-Erhs and choose the one which suits you best.