Pu'er tea a wonder cure for diabetics

By Ye Jun (China Daily)

A sip of Pu'er tea can be as helpful as drugs in lowering blood sugar and preventing diabetes, says a recent press briefing by the Pu'er city government. That is the finding of scientists at Jilin University and the Changchun Science and Technology University, after two years of studies organized by Pu'er city, Yunnan province.

The provincial government's Science and Technology Department also organized a forum for health experts to discuss the health benefits of Pu'er.

"Owing to Pu'er tea's obvious effect in restraining some enzymes related to diabetes, the experts believe drinking the right amounts of Pu'er tea can help lower blood sugar levels and prevent diabetes to some extent," says Sheng Jun, deputy mayor of Pu'er city.

The first phase of the study involved 20 genetically obese lab rats with very high blood sugar levels. Researchers fed 10 of them with regular amounts of mature Pu'er tea while the other 10 rats were not given any.

"Only two rats of the group not fed any tea, survived after 11 months. The others became infected and had sores before dying," says Sheng. "Meanwhile, all the 10 rats that drank Pu'er tea survived, and showed no trace of sores or infection."

The research team also compared Pu'er tea with Rosiglitazone, a widely used medicine to lower blood sugar levels. After two weeks, they found that the rats that were fed Rosiglitazone had 36.5 percent less blood sugar, while the figure was 42 percent for the group that was fed Pu'er tea. Also, those on Pu'er lost weight while those on the drug showed no evidence of any weight loss.

The researchers carried out a test among 120 diabetic volunteers. They were asked to drink Pu'er regularly and stop their medicines, while making no change to their dietary habits. Seventy percent reported blood sugar levels lowered to below 7 mmol/L, with an average decrease of 35 percent.

Although all teas are believed to be capable of lowering blood sugar levels, Pu'er and oolong are thought to be the most effective. In fact, they sometimes lower blood sugar level so fast that some people feel weak in the limbs, experience a faster heartbeat and even feel dizzy - all signs of too low a blood sugar level. The Chinese refer to such people as zui cha, or tea drunk.

Sheng Jun reveals that Yunnan has one of China's best longevity rates and attributes this to tea drinking. "Moreover, as Yunnan has the lowest incidence of cancer, Pu'er city has the lowest number of cancer patients in Yunnan."

The city has applied for a patent for its research into the health benefits of Pu'er, and will continue with its tests.

Puer Tea: China's Next Hot Commodity?

By EMILY RAUHALA / HONG KONG

There is Champagne, France; Tequila, Mexico; and Parma, Italy — all places turned trade names known for their unique, high-quality foods. Now, if China has its way, there could be another: Puer.

This lush corner of Yunnan province in China's south is home to one of the world's hottest teas. Puer tea may not look like much — it is typically sold in heaps resembling cow patties — but one mug of these aged leaves can fetch up to $1,000. The drink is touted for its health benefits and is loved for its light, earthy taste. It is already a hit in Hong Kong, where rare teas are a status symbol among the city's élite, and it is generating hype outside China, too. Three high-profile Silicon Valley techies recently tweeted and blogged their way through a Puer tea tour of Yunnan. Dieters, meanwhile, are buzzing about rumors that Victoria Beckham, the svelte former Spice Girl, drinks Puer to lose weight.

Making Puer tea as internationally renown as Roquefort cheese could expand China's tea exports while adding a bit of luster to a food industry infamous for its health scandals. But building a Puer brand will depend on getting control of a market riddled with imposters, financial speculation and controversies.

The need for stricter control of the Puer industry became clear two years ago, when the Puer market went on a destabilizing roller-coaster ride. Some Chinese buy tea as an investment, much like Europeans buy wines. In the early part of the decade, thousands of cash-rich urbanites poured their savings into the Puer, causing prices to double, then triple. "People were buying anything," says David Lee Hoffman, a California collector. By 2007, the finest aged Puer was — quite literally — worth its weight in gold. As demand soared, however, quality suffered, fakes flooded the market and prices fell.

That's when Beijing stepped in. In an effort to restore confidence, piracy-prone China tightened controls to define exactly what should be considered real Puer. As of December 2008, only teas produced in Yunnan province's 639 towns and 11 prefectures and cities can be labeled "Puer." Branded tea must also be made with a certain type of leaf, using specified technology. Yunnan leaves aged outside the province are no longer considered authentic. The goal, officials say, is to protect Yunnan's heritage and build an internationally viable, niche brand.

Not everyone welcomes the rules. It is unclear if other Chinese provinces will adhere to the regulations and grow different teas under new names. The new standards, for example, shut out tea producers in neighboring Guangdong province, who claim that the tea they process is as authentic — perhaps even more so — than Yunnan's. Guangdong tea makers contend that it was Pearl River traders, not Yunnan farmers, that originally perfected Puer. Zheng Mukun, a tea master from Guangdong, says the province's claim dates to the Qing dynasty, when tightly packed leaves were fermented over the course of the three-month journey, by horse, from Kunming to Guangzhou. The blackened leaves became popular in Hong Kong and industrious southerners began to experiment with fermentation. At the 1957 Canton Fair, Zheng says, local tea masters shared their recipes with colleagues from Yunnan. Ever since, the provinces competed to produce the best teas. Earlier this month, at a trade fair in Hong Kong, a table of Guangdong tea vendors called the regulations "unfair" and "ridiculous."

Experts also have doubts that Chinese regulators can get enough control over the Puer market to build a premier brand. Beijing's standards only apply to domestic producers; competitors in Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Burma can continue to grow and sell their own "Puer" tea. Hoffman, the collector, predicts that fakes will persist and urges caution. "This has always been a buyer-beware market, and it will always be thus," he says.

Still, Hoffman is confident the industry can thrive — and he's put money on it. This fall, he plans to open a luxury tea shop in California that will be a gathering place for American aficionados and a showcase for his fine, aged Puers. "There is a lot of hype and marketing, but that doesn't interest me," he says. "I am only interested in taste." People have offered to buy his collection, but he's dismissed them in turn. He wouldn't trade it now, he says, not for all the tea in China.