Classification

Aside from vintage year, Pu-erh tea can be classified in a variety of ways: by shape, processing method, region, cultivation, grade, and season.

Pu-erh is compressed into a variety of shapes. Other lesser seen forms include: stacked "melon pagodas “, pillars, calabashes, yuanbao, and small tea bricks (2–5cm in width). Pu-erh is also compressed into the hollow centers of bamboo stems or packed and bound into a ball inside the peel of various citrus fruits or sold as nuggets or bundles made from tea at the center of wet piles.

	Bing, cake, or disc	A round, flat, disc or puck-shaped tea, the size ranges from as small as 100 g to as large as 5 kg or more, with 357 g, 400 g, and 500 g being the most common. Depending on the pressing method, the edge of the disk can be rounded or perpendicular.
	Bowl or nest	A convex knob-shaped tea, its size ranges from 3 g to 3 kg or more, with 100 g, 250 g and 500 g being the most common. In ancient times, cakes may have had holes punched through the center so they could be tied together on a rope for easy transport.
	Brick	A thick rectangular block of tea, usually in 100 g, 250 g, 500 g and 1000 g sizes. Bricks are the traditional shape used for ease of transport along the ancient tea route by horse caravans.
	Square	A flat square of tea, usually in 100 g or 200 g sizes. Characters are often pressed into the square, as in the example illustrated.
	Mushroom	250 g to 300 g, shaped with a stem rather than a convex hollow. This makes them quite similar in form to a mushroom. Pu-erh tea of this shape is generally produced for Tibetan consumption.
	Dragon pearl	A small ball-shaped or rolled tea, convenient for a single serving. Generally balls contain between 5 and 10 grams of compressed material. The practice is also common among Yunnan black tea and scented green teas.
	Gold melon	Thicker body decorated with pumpkin-like ribbing. This shape was created for the "Tribute tea" made expressly for the Qing dynasty emperors from the best tea leaves of Yiwu Mountain. Larger specimens of this shape are sometimes called "human-head tea", due in part to its size and shape, and because in the past it was often presented in court in a similar manner to severed heads of enemies or criminals.

Pu-erh teas are often collectively classified in Western tea markets as post-fermentation, and in Eastern markets as black teas, but there is general confusion due to improper use of the terms "oxidation" and "fermentation". Typically black tea is termed "fully fermented", which is incorrect as the process used to create black tea is oxidation and does not involve microbial activity. Black teas are fully oxidized, green teas are unoxidized, and Oolong teas are partially oxidized to varying degrees.

All Pu-erh teas undergo some oxidation during sun drying and then become either:

    1. Fully fermented with microbes during a processing phase which is largely anaerobic, i.e. without the presence of oxygen. This phase is similar to composting and results in Shu (ripened) Pu-erh

    2. Partly fermented by microbial action, and partly oxidized during the natural aging process resulting in Sheng (raw) Pu-erh. The aging process depends on how the sheng Pu-erh is stored, which determines the degree of fermentation and oxidization achieved.

According to the production process, four main types of Pu-erh are commonly available on the market:

Maocha, green Pu-erh leaves sold in loose form as the raw material for making pressed Pu-erh. Badly processed maocha will produce an inferior Pu-erh.

Green/raw Pu-erh, pressed maocha that has not undergone additional processing; high quality green Pu-erh is highly sought by collectors.

Ripened/cooked Pu-erh, maocha that has undergone an accelerated fermentation process lasting 45 to 60 days on average. Badly fermented maocha will create a muddy tea with fishy and sour flavors indicative of inferior aged Pu-erh.

Aged raw Pu-erh, a tea that has undergone a slow secondary oxidation and microbial fermentation. Although all types of Pu-erh can be aged, the pressed raw Pu-erh is typically the most highly regarded, since aged maocha and ripened Pu-erh both lack a clean and assertive taste.

Ripe Pu-erh is often described by its multiple layers of aroma or fermented flavour, or storage flavour, or fish flavour and moldy flavour. The aromas can be annotated as camphora, ginseng, jujube, costus, minty or very aged. Raw Pu-erh is often distinguished by its floral, grassy, fresh, herbal, fruity or honey aroma.

Some Pu-erh are flavour infused, for example Sticky rice Pu-erh are infused with leaves of Semnostachya menglaensis native to Mengla, which gives it a young rice flavour. Bamboo roasted Pu-erh is encased in bamboo tubes and underwent a smoking process. Tangerine Pu-erh were made from small green tangerine stuffed with tea. Flower-infused Pu-erh are made in the form of tea balls or tea cakes.