Pu-erh tea can be pided into two types: raw Pu-erh tea and ripe Pu-erh tea. They differ in production techniques and tea properties, and also vary in efficacy and functions.

The Efficacy and Functions of Raw Pu-erh Tea


Raw Pu-erh tea, as a characteristic beverage among Chinese teas, has numerous health benefits and functions due to its unique production process and natural fermentation process. It is made into sun-dried green tea through procedures such as picking, spreading and drying, fixation, rolling, and drying in the sun. Then it is steamed and pressed into various shapes and undergoes post-fermentation and transformation through natural aging. The detailed efficacy and functions are as follows:


  1. Lowering "Three Highs": Raw Pu-erh tea contains components such as chlorophyll, catechins, tea polyphenols, vitamin C, and vitamin P. These components help lower blood pressure, blood lipids, and blood sugar and prevent cardiovascular diseases. The rich tea polyphenols can help reduce the levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. They can act on capillaries, improve capillary function, inhibit the activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme, and lower blood pressure. The chlorophyll in raw Pu-erh tea can hinder the body's digestion and absorption of cholesterol, and the tea polyphenols, vitamin C and other substances it contains can also promote the excretion of cholesterol from the body.

  2. Antioxidation, Anti-aging and Longevity: Raw Pu-erh tea has strong antioxidant properties. It can scavenge free radicals such as DPPH free radicals, superoxide anion free radicals, and hydroxyl free radicals in the body, combat the aging process, and is also beneficial to skin health. The catechins contained in raw tea, especially EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), have powerful antioxidant abilities and help scavenge free radicals in the human body, thus achieving the anti-aging effect.

  3. Relieving Greasiness, Reducing Fat and Losing Weight: The unique taste and lipid-lowering components of raw Pu-erh tea can help relieve greasiness and promote digestion. Tea polyphenols can promote the decomposition of body fat, increase fat metabolism, and help reduce weight and control obesity. Studies have shown that Pu-erh tea has a significantly better lipid-lowering and weight-loss effect on nutritional obesity than green tea. Pu-erh tea plays a role by reducing the levels of serum TG and TC, increasing the level of HDL-C, and inhibiting the hypertrophy of fat cells. In addition, Pu-erh tea can significantly increase the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as serum SOD and GSH-Px in laboratory rats, thereby reducing the risk of atherosclerosis-related diseases.

  4. Cancer Prevention and Radiation Protection: Raw Pu-erh tea has relatively high contents of polyphenols, amino acids, tea pigments, and tea polysaccharides. These substances have certain effects on cancer prevention and radiation protection.

  5. Promoting Digestive System Health: Components such as caffeine and theophylline in raw Pu-erh tea can promote gastrointestinal peristalsis, help improve constipation, promote the secretion of saliva, and are beneficial to digestion.

  6. Protecting Teeth and Oral Hygiene: The fluoride and other components it contains help prevent dental caries and maintain oral health.

  7. Supplementing Trace Elements: Raw Pu-erh tea is rich in trace elements, which helps supplement the trace elements needed by the human body.

  8. Sterilization and Anti-inflammatory: There are a large number of physiologically active components in raw Pu-erh tea, which have a strong sterilization and anti-inflammatory effect. Regularly drinking raw Pu-erh tea can maintain oral hygiene, kill the remaining bacteria in the mouth, make the breath fresher, and protect the health of teeth.

  9. Relieving Alcohol Intoxication: Moderate consumption of raw Pu-erh tea can help relieve post-drinking discomfort and promote alcohol metabolism.

  10. Preventing Dental Caries: Some components in tea combine with calcium to create a protective function on the tooth surface to prevent dental caries.

  11. Other Health Benefits: These include clearing heat and detoxifying, removing dampness and promoting diuresis, enhancing immunity, refreshing the mind, promoting fluid production and relieving thirst, reducing heavy metal toxicity, helping digestion, and preventing constipation. Raw Pu-erh tea is also considered by traditional medicine to be able to expel wind, dredge collaterals, and clear the head, and has a relieving effect on discomforts caused by summer heat.


It should be noted that raw Pu-erh tea has a relatively strong tea property. Newly made or recently aged raw tea may have a strong bitter and astringent taste. Therefore, it should be consumed in moderation, and attention should be paid to personal constitution and health conditions. Raw Pu-erh tea is not suitable for everyone. For example, people with poor sleep quality, those suffering from colds and fevers, those with excessive stomach acid or sensitive stomachs should avoid drinking it to avoid aggravating discomfort. Pregnant women, children, and people with gastric ulcers need to pay special attention because the tannic acid in raw Pu-erh tea may affect the body's absorption of trace elements such as calcium and iron and may increase stomach acid, which is not conducive to the recovery of gastric ulcers. In addition, drinking raw Pu-erh tea on an empty stomach may irritate the stomach. It is recommended to drink it in moderation after meals and not to drink overly strong tea or excessive amounts. Only by correctly grasping the drinking time and concentration can the health benefits brought by raw Pu-erh tea be better enjoyed. Raw Pu-erh tea from different origins and with different storage years may have differences in specific efficacy, so these factors should be considered when choosing.

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The Efficacy and Functions of Ripe Pu-erh Tea


Ripe Pu-erh tea is a type of tea that has undergone artificial fermentation treatment. During the production process, through the combined action of temperature, humidity, and microorganisms, many substances in the tea have undergone essential decomposition and reorganization. This treatment method not only gives it a unique flavor and taste different from other teas but also makes ripe Pu-erh tea have a mild tea property and has remarkable effects in terms of health care functions. Now, ripe Pu-erh tea is loved by people all over the world. The following are some of the main efficacy and functions of ripe Pu-erh tea:


  1. Reducing Fat and Losing Weight: Ripe Pu-erh tea has the effect of reducing fat and losing weight. It can promote fat metabolism and help the body excrete excess fat, which is helpful for weight loss and body shaping. It contains a variety of active substances, such as tea polyphenols, flavonoids, etc., which can promote the decomposition and consumption of fat, reduce the indexes of blood lipids and cholesterol, and help with weight loss. Many studies have shown that ripe Pu-erh tea has a significant effect on reducing fat and losing weight. It can achieve this effect by influencing the activities of enzymes related to fat metabolism, regulating blood lipid levels (such as reducing LDL-C and AI values), and increasing the level of HDL-C. Uracil and gallic acid in ripe Pu-erh tea have hypoglycemic and lipid-lowering effects, making it a good choice for people who want to lose weight.

  2. Nourishing and Protecting the Stomach: Compared with raw Pu-erh tea, fermented ripe Pu-erh tea has a milder nature, with significantly reduced tea polyphenols and less irritation to the stomach. It can form an adherent film on the surface of the stomach, which has a protective effect on people with poor stomachs. Regular drinking can play a role in nourishing and protecting the stomach and is suitable for people with cold stomachs or sensitive stomachs. It has the effects of warming the stomach and protecting the stomach.

  3. Reducing Blood Lipids, Blood Pressure and Anti-arteriosclerosis: Ripe Pu-erh tea contains rich components such as tea polyphenols, caffeine, and flavonoids, which can help reduce the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, and at the same time help lower blood pressure, which is beneficial to cardiovascular health. Tea polyphenols have the effect of improving capillaries, and catechin compounds have obvious active vascular functions. These components have certain effects on reducing blood lipids, lowering blood pressure, and anti-arteriosclerosis, and are suitable for middle-aged and elderly people to drink.

  4. Improving Glucose and Lipid Metabolism: Ripe Pu-erh tea can improve glucose and lipid metabolism by activating PPARγ receptors, inhibiting α-amylase, etc., and reduce blood glucose and blood lipid levels. This has a positive effect on the prevention of metabolic diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

  5. Helping Digestion and Relieving Greasiness: Components such as tea polyphenols and catechins in ripe Pu-erh tea can help digestion, promote gastrointestinal peristalsis, relieve stomach discomfort, and are especially suitable for drinking after meals. They help relieve the greasiness of food and promote intestinal health.

  6. Regulating Intestinal Flora: Ripe Pu-erh tea can regulate intestinal flora, increase the number of potential probiotics, reduce the growth of harmful bacteria, and thus improve intestinal health. This has potential value for the prevention and treatment of intestinal-related diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

  7. Moistening the Intestines and Relieving Constipation: Ripe Pu-erh tea has the effect of removing body fat, and can also promote gastrointestinal peristalsis, thereby promoting defecation and relieving constipation symptoms. In addition, it also has a certain effect on promoting urination, which helps relieve symptoms such as difficult urination and edema.

  8. Refreshing and Soothing the Mind without Affecting Sleep: Although compared with green tea or raw Pu-erh tea, ripe Pu-erh tea has lower contents of tea polyphenols and caffeine, it still has a certain refreshing effect, can improve attention and mental state, and at the same time will not affect sleep. It can also help people relax, enter deep sleep, and maintain good sleep quality.

  9. Enhancing Physical Fitness and Improving Immunity: Ripe Pu-erh tea contains active components such as thearubigins, theaflavins, theabrownins, gallic acid, and vitamin C. These components have certain effects on the immune system and help enhance physical fitness. The antioxidant components in ripe Pu-erh tea can resist free radicals and prevent oxidative damage to cells, thereby improving the body's immunity.

  10. Anti-inflammatory Effect: Some components in ripe Pu-erh tea have natural antibacterial and antiviral effects, which help prevent some common infections. It can reduce the systemic chronic inflammatory state through mechanisms such as regulating intestinal flora and reducing the release of inflammatory factors. This has important significance for the prevention of various inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis and cardiovascular diseases.

  11. Protecting Teeth: Ripe Pu-erh tea also has a positive effect on oral health. Ripe Pu-erh tea is rich in fluorine elements. Regular drinking of ripe Pu-erh tea has a protective effect on teeth and can prevent dental caries.

  12. Other Health Care Functions: In addition to the above functions, ripe Pu-erh tea also has multiple health care functions such as improving anti-fatigue, preventing and fighting cancer, anti-aging, and helping to clear heat. These functions make ripe Pu-erh tea a multi-functional health food.


Ripe Pu-erh tea not only occupies a place in the traditional diet culture, but its rich health care functions also provide a natural and healthy choice for modern people. While enjoying its unique flavor, people can also obtain various health benefits from it. Of course, although ripe Pu-erh tea has many benefits, it should also be noted that it is suitable for moderate consumption. Different people's constitutions and health conditions have different adaptabilities to tea. Therefore, it is best to consult the advice of professionals before choosing to drink ripe Pu-erh tea to ensure better results and safety. Pregnant women, breastfeeding women, women during menstruation and other special groups had better consult the opinions of doctors or professionals before drinking.


Finally, there are certain differences between raw Pu-erh tea and ripe Pu-erh tea in chemical components and their health care functions. For example, the extraction rate of tea polyphenols in raw Pu-erh tea is higher than that in ripe Pu-erh tea, and its scavenging rate of DPPH free radicals is also higher, showing stronger antioxidant activity. In addition, with the passage of storage time, the in vitro antioxidant activity of raw Pu-erh tea will show a downward trend, but it still maintains certain health care functions.