The Benefits of Drinking Pu Erh Tea

What are the benefits of drinking Pu Erh (Pu Er tea)?  

This is a question that we hear very often at our tea bar, mostly from good folks who are visiting for the first time. Since no member of our team is a professional nutritionist, naturopath, TCM doctor, or health practitioner, we usually try to emphasize which parts of our answer are facts and opinions.

Fact #1: every single member of our bar team loves drinking Pu Er. Even if it had zero health benefits, the joy derived from brewing and drinking good Pu Er is an overwhelming reason to do it.

Fact #2: if you Google 'Pu Erh tea benefits' you will find a long laundry list of health-enhancing properties attributed to this type of tea. These often include anything from weight loss to liver detoxification, mental awareness, and even the promotion of world peace. What is missing from (in our opinion) the vast majority of these Google entries is a list of reliable sources that support the long lists of benefits attributed to Pu Er.

Here goes our first opinion: you may very well drink Pu Er just because it is a fascinating and most enjoyable rabbit hole. The complexity of flavors and aromas, the glorious sensation of 'gan' (a concept which requires a separate article), and the meditative experience of 'gong fu style' brewing are very strong reasons to pick up Pu Er today.

Having said that, you are probably reading this article because you were expecting some tangible information about health benefits. We found a few articles from (in our opinion) credible sources that do report some interesting findings.

Hands down, our favorite article was published in Nature, a magazine that we admire. Our coarse interpretation:

Drinking Pu Er seems to help to control weight and reduce cholesterol by altering the microbes in your gut. 

Source: Huang, F., Zheng, X., Ma, X. et al. Theabrownin from Pu-erh tea attenuates hypercholesterolemia via modulation of gut microbiota and bile acid metabolism. Nat Commun 10, 4971 (2019).

Abstract:  "Pu-erh tea displays cholesterol-lowering properties, but the underlying mechanism has not been elucidated. Theabrownin is one of the most active and abundant pigments in Pu-erh tea. Here, we show that theabrownin alters the gut microbiota in mice and humans, predominantly suppressing microbes associated with bile-salt hydrolase (BSH) activity. Theabrownin increases the levels of ileal conjugated bile acids (BAs) which, in turn, inhibit the intestinal FXR-FGF15 signaling pathway, resulting in increased hepatic production and fecal excretion of BAs, reduced hepatic cholesterol, and decreased lipogenesis. The inhibition of intestinal FXR-FGF15 signaling is accompanied by increased gene expression of enzymes in the alternative BA synthetic pathway, production of hepatic chenodeoxycholic acid, activation of hepatic FXR, and hepatic lipolysis. Our results shed light into the mechanisms behind the cholesterol- and lipid-lowering effects of Pu-erh tea, and suggest that decreased intestinal BSH microbes and/or decreased FXR-FGF15 signaling may be potential anti-hypercholesterolemia and anti-hyperlipidemia therapies."

Another rough Interpretation:

Drinking Pu Er daily helped a bunch of people in a clinical test to lose weight and reduce cholesterol, triglycerides and other lipids in their blood. 

Source: Jensen, G., Beaman, J. et al. Reduction of body fat and improved lipid profile associated with daily consumption of a Puer tea extract in a hyperlipidemic population: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Clinical Interventions in Aging, March 24, 2026.

And one more:  

Pu Er seems to offer tangible results against inflammation. 

Source:  Kim, Su-Jin. The Anti-inflammatory Mechanism of Pu-erh Tea via Suppression the Activation of NF-κB/HIF-1α in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 Cells. Biomed Sci Letters 2023;29:58-65

This list is by no means exhaustive or complete; we enjoyed reading the articles and believe that you may too. As you do, consider brewing some Pu Er tea! You will (we strongly believe) love the experience. And that stuff might actually be very good for your health too.

Thanks for reading!