Skip to content
  • Blog
    • Learn
    • Sip
    • Connect
    • Travel
  • Beginner’s Guide to Tea
  • Matcha
  • Puerh
  • Tea in NYC
  • Book
  • About Me
  • Blog
    • Learn
    • Sip
    • Connect
    • Travel
  • Beginner’s Guide to Tea
  • Matcha
  • custom-logo
  • Puerh
  • Tea in NYC
  • Book
  • About Me
Learn

Why Do Puerh Cakes Weigh 357 grams?

September 12, 2022September 12, 2022 3 comments
Why Do Puerh Cakes Weigh 357 grams?

Puerh cakes can be found in many sizes and shapes, especially now that a lot of U.S.-based vendors are doing custom pressings. Tuocha, puerh balls, and smaller 100g cakes are a great option for tea drinkers that just getting started. Traditionally though, bings weighed an oddly precise 357 grams. I’ve often wondered what the reasons are for that and in this post, I’ll set out to find the answer.

Table of Contents
  • Units of Measure
  • Why Was Tea Pressed Into Cakes?
  • Aging

Units of Measure

First, we should keep in mind that the metric system is a fairly recent invention (in relation to how long people have been drinking tea). Production of puerh cakes dates back to the Qing Dynasty. For most of the world’s history, units of measure rarely crossed borders. Even today tea in China is more likely to be measured in liang or jin rather than grams or kilograms.

A single 357g cake is the equivalent of 7 liang. For storage and transport, puerh cakes are packed into tongs. Each tong is a stack of 7 cakes wrapped together in bamboo. Tongs are referred to as Qi Zi Bing and weigh 5 jin, or just a hair under 2.5kg. I’ve read in a few places that 7 is considered to be a lucky number in Chinese numerology so that may have played a role as well.

Why Do Puerh Cakes Weigh 357 grams?
Bings of puerh are traditionally made in the oddly precise weight of 357 grams

Why Was Tea Pressed Into Cakes?

Before the Ming Dynasty, all tea was green tea that was pressed into cakes or bricks. The emperor ordered that the production of compressed tea be stopped due to the rampant corruption surrounding the tea industry. The switch to loose-leaf tea led to innovations like the development of oolong and black tea. Yunnan is the westernmost province and was primarily populated by ethnic minorities so the royal decree never reached them.

Tea was originally pressed into bings because compressed tea was easier to transport via horseback than loose leaf. The Ancient Tea Horse Road, or Cha Ma Gu Dao, was a trade route that first emerged during the Tang Dynasty. Teams of people, mules, and horses traveled precarious mountain passes in order to trade tea with Tibet. If you would like to learn about this fascinating piece of tea history, I can’t recommend Tea Horse Road: China’s Ancient Trade Road to Tibet by Michael Freeman and Selena Ahmed enough.

12 tongs were then packed into a large basket, totaling approximately 30kg. Each horse, donkey, or mule would be able to carry one basket on each side. It is believed that being carried on long routes through humid environments (and next to the body heat of the pack animals) may have caused some natural fermentation to occur en route.

Tea Horse Road statue image by Daderot (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

Aging

One of the most complex aspects of puerh tea is that it can age over time. Compressing the leaves into bings or other shapes slows down that process by reducing the surface area of tea that is exposed to oxygen. I don’t think that this was part of the reasoning when puerh cakes were first compressed. Intentionally aging tea in a carefully controlled environment is a relatively new practice. Ancient tea drinkers did not have pumidors or Boveda packs so it is more likely to be a happy accident.

I hope that this post helped answer the question of why puerh cakes weigh 357 grams. Let me know in the comments if there are questions you have about puerh (or any other type of tea) like this one! I’ll do my best to answer or find someone else who can.

This post was originally published on July 3rd, 2017. It was revised and updated on September 13th, 2022.

Help Support This Site

Get access to exclusive behind-the-scenes content, my private Discord server, surprise quarterly packages, and more!

Join My Patreon Community
ChinaGuideHistoryPuerhTea
About Nicole Wilson

About Nicole Wilson

Nicole Wilson is a tea writer and educator who has been sharing her love of the leaf online for more than a decade. Her website, TeaforMePlease.com, is the longest continuously running tea blog written by a female author. In 2018, she won the World Tea Award for Best Tea Blog. Every week you can expect to see reviews of specialty teas and related products, informative articles, reports on important events, and more.

Related Posts

What Do Tea Certifications Mean
What Do Tea Certifications Mean
How Tea Helped Women Win the Right to Vote
How Tea Helped Women Win the Right to Vote
Legends of the Leaf: Margaret’s Hope
Legends of the Leaf: Margaret’s Hope
5 Reasons Your Gaiwan Should Be Your Best Friend
5 Reasons Your Gaiwan Should Be Your Best Friend

Post navigation

Is It Possible to Decaffeinate Tea?
Does All Tea Come from the Same Plant?

3 comments

  1. Nicole Martin says:
    July 31, 2017 at 11:51 pm

    So glad that you enjoyed it!

    Reply
  2. One You tea says:
    July 31, 2017 at 11:51 pm

    357 grams is alot of tea but it makes sense to compress for transport. Puerh is getting more and more popular here in the USA. Fantastic article and I love the history. Thank you Nicole..

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hey, there!

Hey, there!

Nicole Wilson. Tea Writer and Educator
Do you love to drink tea, but wish you knew more about it? I'm here to help! The world of specialty tea is massive so it can be a lot to take in. On this blog, you'll find over 1,000 articles and tea reviews to start your journey. I'm always happy to answer any questions you might have!

Help Support This Site

patreon

Get access to exclusive behind-the-scenes content, my private Discord server, surprise quarterly packages, and more!

My New Book!

My New Book!

Subscribe!

Subscribe to my weekly newsletter for the latest blog posts, tea news, and more!

Categories

  • Connect
  • Learn
  • Sip
  • Sponsored
  • Testimonials
  • Travel

Archives

Instagram

Amazon Rec’s

Amazon Recommendations
  • Blog
    • Learn
    • Sip
    • Connect
    • Travel
  • Beginner’s Guide to Tea
  • Matcha
  • Puerh
  • Tea in NYC
  • Book
  • About Me
Copyright © 2023 | All Rights Reserved | Designed by Little Theme Shop