Pu'er tea was marketed along the frontiers, because the great deserts did not produce fruits or vegetables. For the ethnic minorities, who ate meat year after year, tea served to dispel fat, calm hot vapors, and replenish vitamin C. Tibetan butter tea and Mongolian milk tea are both brewed with the Pu'er leaf.
普洱茶主銷邊疆，因大漠中不產蔬果，對長年吃肉的遊牧民族來說，茶是去油膩、降火氣，及補充維他命 C 的唯一來源。藏族嗜飲的酥油茶、蒙族的奶茶，煮的都是普洱茶。