Tea growers unload freshly harvested leaves at the market in Emei, Sichuan. Buyers are often the owners of tea-processing factories.
Photograph by Tuul and Bruno Morandi
Buyers and sellers mingle at the wholesale green tea market in Mingshan, Sichuan.
Photograph by Tuul and Bruno Morandi
In Sichuan, green tea leaves are spread on bamboo mats to be dried in a drying machine. All teas need to undergo a final drying process to "fix" the flavour and colour.
Photograph by Tuul and Bruno Morandi
After Pu'erh leaves are harvested and withered briefly, the leaves are stir fried. This process is called "heqing" (killing the green).
Photograph by Tuul and Bruno Morandi
After the Pu'erh tea processing is complete, older and mature leaves, known as "huang pian" (yellow leaves), are picked out by hand.
Photograph by Tuul and Bruno Morandi
Pu'erh tea is packaged differently from other teas. It is mostly pressed into cakes or bricks. After pressing, seven cakes are wrapped together with bamboo shoot leaves into a stack, called "tong." In the old days, the purpose of this type of packaging was for easy transport.
Photograph by Tuul and Bruno Morandi
One of the amazing characteristics of Pu'erh tea is that it can be pressed into a variety of shapes. In addition to round cakes and bricks, some Pu'erh are pressed into pumpkin, mushroom, nugget, or melon shapes.
Photograph by Tuul and Bruno Morandi