Processing and chemical constituents of Pu-erh tea: A review

Pu-erh tea is a unique microbial fermented tea produced from the sun-dried leaves of large-leaf tea species (Camellia sinensis (Linn.) var. assamica (Masters) Kitamura) in the Yunnan province of China. Pu-erh tea has become increasingly popular in Southeast Asia may be due to its multiple health benefits. The special sensory characteristics of Pu-erh tea arise from the multitudinous chemical changes and transformations of the chemical constituents of the sun-dried green tea leaves that occur during the post-fermentation process. Many functional components have been isolated from Pu-erh tea and identified. In this paper, modern processing techniques and their effects on the transformation of the chemical constituents and the major chemical components of Pu-erh tea are reviewed and discussed.