Pu'er tea the "ripe" Shou Chá. All types of pu'er tea are created from "máochá" (毛茶), a mostly unoxidized green tea processed from "Camellia sinensis" var. "assamica", which is the large leaf type of Chinese tea found in the mountains of southern and western Yunnan (in contrast to the small leaf type of tea used for typical green, oolong, black, and yellow teas found in the other parts of China). Maocha can be sold directly to market as loose leaf tea, compressed to produce "raw" "shēngchá", naturally aged and matured for several years before being compressed to also produce "raw" "shēngchá" or
Camellia japonica a long time. One of the most important plants related to "Camellia japonica" is the "Camellia sinensis", which is the plant tea comes from. This plant is not usually grown in gardens because it has small white flowers, unlike the "Camellia japonica", which has larger, more beautiful flowers. It is not seen in art as often as the "Camellia japonica", but it is shown in a painting called the "Song Hundred Flowers" which hangs in the Palace Museum in Beijing. "Camellia sinensis" may have been used as medicine during the Shang Dynasty. It was first used for drinking during the