If you want to buy some Chinese tea, I highly recommend Pu'er tea due to its great health benefits, such as losing weight, lowering blood fat, and nourishing stomach.

At the southeast of Xuanwumen lies a Yunnan Pu'er Tea City. Outside the building you can notice a sign on a window writes "Longsheng", a big brand famous for Pu'er tea. The company owns some of the largest tea mountains in China. They are so famous even the president Hu Jintao personally visited their organic tea base on Yingpan Mountain. When it comes to quality, Longshen is second to none.

Inside the outlet, I found each of their goods attached with a price tag. The shop assistant told me that the prices are the same nationwide. They have a wide range of compressed tea for customers to choose from. A cake tea usually weighs 357 grams, and its price starts from 50 yuan. Tuo Cha (bun-shaped tea) looked lovely. A 250-gram grade A package cost 96 yuan. Yinya Tuo Cha, or Silver Sprout Pu’er Tea, had many tea sprouts with white tiny fluff. Its grade was higher than the previous one, and priced at 150 yuan per piece (250 g).

The outlet also carries jasmine tea, organic green tea and oolong tea made in Yunnan.

What I appreciated

Quality Pu'er tea, famous brand

What customers appreciate

Healthful Pu’er tea, reliable quality

In tea shops, when you see tea compressed into a variety of shapes, like cakes, bowls, or brick, the tea is undoubtedly Pu'er tea from Yunnan. You may find it strange. But it's to aid in transportation, as Pu'er tea comes from the high mountains.

Tao Cha Ju is filled with a collection of Pu'er cakes on the shelves. The shop owner, Mr Xiao, told me that all his teas are collected from ancient tea trees in natural forests of Yunnan. The 100% natural Pu'er tea helps aid digestion, reduce the risk of cancer, and lower cholesterol.

Pu'er tea has a very unique taste. It was said to have developed because transportation in ancient times took weeks until it reached town. During this period, the tea leaves would begin to ferment in the humidity and release a strong, fragrant aroma.

Thus, Pu'er tea became unique in that it tastes better after fermenting. This is in direct contrast with other teas, which are best drank soon after it's dried. Some connoisseurs would to pay millions for 100-year-old Pu'er teas.

Though 100-year-old Pu'er teas are almost impossible to find on the market any more, you can still find 2 to 10 year old Pu'er at Mr. Xiao's shop. Price for a round two-year-old Pu'er cakes (357g) is about RMB 150.

What I Appreciate:
Natural Pu'er tea
 
What customer appreciate:
Good price and service

Maliandao Tea Market is the oldest and most famous building on the west side of Maliandao Tea Street. On its third floor, I recently found a booth (No.7) selling quality Pu'er tea. And it was a great find indeed, a first class agent that sells the "National Treasure" brand of Pu'er tea. Their teas have won many prizes in tea competitions over the past several years. All teas come from their own ancient tea plantation.

When I approached the booth, a middle aged woman warmly invited me over to have a seat and sample their tea. She introduced herself as Manager Chen, and told me that many customers have stopped by and realized how great their tea tastes. I sampled, and I couldn’t agree more.

Their cake teas weigh a bit less than a pound (380/400 g). Prices range from RMB 90 to RMB 6,000 per piece. The expensive ones are made from ancient tea trees more than 2,700 years old.

Their Tuo Cha, or bun-shaped tea, has two ranks: grade A and extra grade (top grade). The original price for one bag of Grade A tea that contains 5 buns (100 g per piece) is RMB 180. But aiming to let more customers know their products, you can buy a set for only RMB 58. For extra grade, you can have one bag at RMB 70, although its original price is RMB 220.

As for gift boxes, they offer one containing two big-leaf tea cakes (100 g per piece), one big-leaf tea brick (150 g), and a chisel to chip at the cakes. It costs 120 yuan. A green package containing 120 grams of ‘Jade brick tea’ only costs 30 yuan. Plus, they have more small packages of Pu’er tea quite fit for presents.

What I appreciated

Prize-winning Pu’er tea, a wide range for choice

What customers appreciate

Healthful Pu’er tea, high quality, small packages for gifts

In order to keep my body in shape, I like to drink Puer tea, which can lower cholesterol and help lose weight. One place I frequent for my tea is the Beijing Yunnan Puer Tea Market, located on Maliandao Tea Street. Here I visited an outlet of Yunnan Puer Tea Factory. I like it because the factory owns a plantation in Puer County, so they grow and harvest every single leaf they sell. 

The hospitable shop owner, Mrs Yang, greeted me as I walked in. She told me that overseas tourists like their tea giftsets, which are very uniquely packaged.

One is called Tuo Cha, or bun-shaped Puer tea -- it cost 60 yuan for 100 grams. This giftset is wrapped in a Chinese silk with a light yellow pattern, which symbolized royalty in the Qing Dynasty.

Another tea, Bing Cha, is a Puer tea presented in the shape of a cookie. It cost 80 yuan for 100 grams, and comes in a brown linen bag decorated with handcrafted embroidery made by Yunnan natives.

Finally there is Jin Ya, which means Golden Tip. It cost 150 yuan for 100 grams. As its name implies, this small decorated carton contains the very tips of the leaves. Its quality is so good that the Yunnan province used to send it as tribute to the royal court.

Mrs Yang can speak a little English when dealing with prices. And she's also an ex-tea ceremony instructor, so you just might catch her perform a ceremony when you go.

What I appreciated:
Wholesome Pu’er tea, unique small packages

What customers appreciate:
Famous Chinese tea, ideal for gifts

Chinese tea lovers know there are six types of Chinese teas: green, black, dark, yellow, white, and oolong. Among them, dark tea mainly includes Hunan dark tea and Yunnan Pu’er tea. And people see them as ‘brothers’ due to their similar history, shape, and health benefits.

It’s not common to see dark tea retailers on the famous Maliandao Tea Street. But I did find one on the basement of Beijing International Tea Centre. The shop is run by two ladies. One comes from Anhua, the hometown of Hunan dark tea. The other comes from Yunnan, home of the Pu’er tea.

The two first met in Yunnan, and almost as if by fate, immediately became friends. They soon decided to open a shop together in Beijing to sell the ‘brotherly teas’.

Dark tea is a fermented tea whose health benefits are known in all Oriental countries. Japanese call it ‘slim-keeping tea’, Koreans call it ‘beautifying tea’, and Chinese people call it ‘wholesome tea’. Drinking dark tea can help you lose weight, sober up, improve digestion, and lower your blood pressure.

Prices vary by the tea’s age. For casual drinkers, you may try a 2007 two kg brick of dark-flower tea for RMB 230. Whereas a two kg brick of 1992 dark brick tea would set you back RMB 1680.

What I appreciated

Healthful Hunan dark tea, Yunnan Pu’er tea

What customers appreciate

Health-giving Chinese tea

Decorated in a traditional style, Yipingudao (English name: Supreme Tea Life) is a tea shop specializing in quality Pu’er tea from Yunnan Province.

In the shop, you will see a spacious interior with a traditional Chinese atmosphere. Various Pu’er teas are displayed on a wooden shelf. Cake-shaped Pu’er teas, which weigh 200g to 1000g, cost RMB 40~380. A brick-shaped Pu’er tea is priced at RMB 135 (250g).

Tea sets are on display as well. A rectangular tea plate made of ebony with eight pieces of porcelain pea pot and cups looks graceful, and is priced at RMB 408. A set of the famous purple clay tea sets made in Yixing, Jiangsu Province costs RMB 160.

The most attractive thing in the shop is the Thousand Taels of Tea. You will find it right on your left side after entering the door of the shop. It looks like a columned tree trunk that is 147 cm in height, 20 cm in diameter, and 1000 taels in weight (an ancient measurement unit). It was made in Anhua, Hunan Province, and was collected by the tea company in January, 1989. As it is no longer produced, the tag price is a whopping RMB 168,000!

This tea company also owns a large teahouse nearby, so you can actually try out their teas before buying.

What customers appreciate

Quality Pu’er tea, exquisite tea sets, reasonable prices.

GuDaoTianFeng TianXiaPu’er is the complicated name of a shop which specializes in Pu’er Tea. This shop carries over 50 varieties of Pu’er teas coming from the Yunan Menghai Tea Plant which owns 10,000 acres of tea land in the mountains.

Pu’er Tea has a distinct, smokey flavor. Its brew is darker in color than green teas, but not as brown as the water of a Darjeeling, for instance. Its taste is stronger than longjin tea, and some people might find it a bit too peculiar. Pu’er Tea is highly regarded in China where it is considered highly beneficial to one’s health.

In the shop, the varieties of Pu’er teas are displayed orderly on the shelves. Some green plants here and there enhance the shopping environment. Two ancient and simple tea tables and some round stools made of tree stumps offer a welcome seating to tea lovers. The pungent aroma of Pu’er tea drifts in the air.

Prices for tea cakes (raw/processed, 357g/per) vary widely, from RMB 55 to 1,600 apiece. Prices for tea bricks (raw/processed, 250g/per) range from RMB 60 to RMB 860. Bowl-shaped compressed teas (raw/processed) cost RMB 5~40 for 50g. Prices for 50 g of loose-leaf tea (raw/processed) range from RMB 9 to RMB 260.

The shop also carries some tea ware: the larger tea cups cost RMB 28 each, and the smaller ones RMB 30. Prices for tea sets (4 pieces) range from RMB 150 to RMB 250.

What customers appreciate

The diversity of Pu’er teas, agreeable environment for a tea tasting party, reasonable prices.