All Puer tea begins with Mao Cha, or "rough" tea. This is leaf that has gone through the initial process of plucking, wilting, "killing green", bruising, and then drying. These steps must be performed immediately after plucking and therefore typically take place on the mountain close to where the tea was harvested.

The steps in making Mao Cha from old growth tea plants are as follows:

The tea is plucked by hand from the tea forest and gently packed into woven bamboo baskets. It is important that the leaves are not packed too tightly at this stage. They must remain intact and unbruised. (Some old tea trees are so tall the tea maker must climb into its branches to harvest from it.)

The freshly plucked leaves are carried back to the village and spread out on bamboo mats in a well ventilated room to wilt just slightly before firing. This step is performed to reduce some of the moisture content of the leaf, making it slightly pliable in order to avoid damage to the leaf while firing. Timing is crucial to allow the leaf to become pliable but with a minimum of oxidation.

The "killing green" is a firing and de-enzyming of the tea leaves typically performed by pan-firing in a large wok. For this step, the heat must be carefully controlled and the tea kept moving constantly in the pan. This is done with the tea-maker's bare hands and specific hand movements have been developed to ensure that none of the leaves are against the hot surface for more than a moment. It is only through many years of experience that the artisan learns to judge when the tea is done from the heat, feel, and aroma of the cooking leaves.

When the "killing green" is complete, the tea is then gently bruised to break down cell structures in the leaf. This is done by hand and a special kneading and rolling technique is used to bruise the tea evenly without damaging or breaking the leaf and bud.

After bruising, the leaf is spread out to dry in the sun. Lower grades and broken leaf can be placed on woven mats in a large courtyard while special pluckings are kept on circular, flat baskets placed on a raised platform. Careful timing is needed to dry the leaf sufficiently without allowing it to dry-out or become brittle.

Finished Mao Cha is then sent to a tea factory or purchased by independent tea-makers for further processing into bricks, cakes, or Wou Dui "cooked" Puer.