Puer Tea: Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic (Culture, Place, and Nature)

Puer tea has been grown for centuries in the �Six Great Tea Mountains� of Yunnan Province, and in imperial China it was a prized commodity, traded to Tibet by horse or mule caravan via the so-called Tea Horse Road and presented as tribute to the emperor in Beijing. In the 1990s, as the tea�s noble lineage and unique process of aging and fermentation were rediscovered, it achieved cult status both in China and internationally. The tea became a favorite among urban connoisseurs who analyzed it in language comparable to that used in wine appreciation and paid skyrocketing prices. In 2007, however, local events and the international economic crisis caused the Puer market to collapse. Puer Tea traces the rise, climax, and crash of this phenomenon. With ethnographic attention to the spaces in which Puer tea is harvested, processed, traded, and consumed, anthropologist Jinghong Zhang constructs a vivid account of the transformation of a cottage handicraft into a major industry�with predictable risks and unexpected consequences. Watch the videos: http://www.washington.edu/uwpress/books/Zhang_PUER_TEA_videos.html

Puer tea has been grown for centuries in the �Six Great Tea Mountains� of Yunnan Province, and in imperial China it was a prized commodity, traded to Tibet by horse or mule caravan via the so-called Tea Horse Road and presented as tribute to the emperor in Beijing. In the 1990s, as the tea�s noble lineage and unique process of aging and fermentation were rediscovered, it achieved cult status both in China and internationally. The tea became a favorite among urban connoisseurs who analyzed it in language comparable to that used in wine appreciation and paid skyrocketing prices. In 2007, however, local events and the international economic crisis caused the Puer market to collapse.

Puer Tea traces the rise, climax, and crash of this phenomenon. With ethnographic attention to the spaces in which Puer tea is harvested, processed, traded, and consumed, anthropologist Jinghong Zhang constructs a vivid account of the transformation of a cottage handicraft into a major industry�with predictable risks and unexpected consequences.

Watch the videos: http://www.washington.edu/uwpress/books/Zhang_PUER_TEA_videos.html

Puer tea has been grown for centuries in the "Six Great Tea Mountains" of Yunnan Province, and in imperial China it was a prized commodity, traded to Tibet by horse or mule caravan via the so-called Tea Horse Road and presented as tribute to the emperor in Beijing. In the 1990s, as the tea's noble lineage and unique process of aging and fermentation were rediscovered, it achieved cult status both in China and internationally. The tea became a favorite among urban connoisseurs who analyzed it in language comparable to that used in wine appreciation and paid skyrocketing prices. In 2007, however, local events and the international economic crisis caused the Puer market to collapse. Puer Tea traces the rise, climax, and crash of this phenomenon. With ethnographic attention to the spaces in which Puer tea is harvested, processed, traded, and consumed, anthropologist Jinghong Zhang constructs a vivid account of the transformation of a cottage handicraft into a major industry—with predictable risks and unexpected consequences. Watch the associated videos at https://archive.org/details/PUERTEADVD1. Foreword Acknowledgments Transliteration, Names, and Measures Maps Introduction Spring1. "The Authentic Tea Mountain Yiwu" 2. Tensions under the Bloom Summer3. "Yunnan: The Home of Puer Tea" 814. Heating Up and Cooling Down 106 Autumn5. Puer Tea with Remorse 6. Transformed Qualities Winter7. Tea Tasting and Counter-Tea Tasting 8. Interactive Authenticities Conclusion: An Alternative Authenticity Appendix 1: Puer Tea Categories and Production Process Appendix 2: Supplementary Videos Notes Glossary References Index Spring -- Chapter 1 The Authentic Tea Mountain Yiwu 33 -- Chapter 2 Tensions Under The Bloom 55 -- Summer -- Chapter 3 Yunnan: The Home Of Puer Tea 81 -- Chapter 4 Heating Up And Cooling Down 106 -- Autumn -- Chapter 5 Puer Tea With Remorse 123 -- Chapter 6 Transformed Qualities 143 -- Winter -- Chapter 7 Tea Tasting And Counter-tea Tasting 161 -- Chapter 8 Interactive Authenticities 179. Jinghong Zhang. A China Program Book. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.