tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post4226322289105897863..comments2024-03-16T11:51:28.412-04:00Comments on CHA DAO: Perspectives on Storing and Aging Pu'er Teas (v): Concepts and Methods of Storagecoraxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03645573592247798140noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-84293539438655340262008-12-01T11:16:00.000-05:002008-12-01T11:16:00.000-05:00Great information there. As a puer fan for over 1...Great information there. As a puer fan for over 14 years, I've acquired quite a bit tea collection. I live in Taiwan where there is good humidity and temperature for puer storage. I keep it in a store room where there is little in the way of "off" odors. <BR/><BR/>In my experience, puer seems to change very little the first 5 years or so then accelerates more after about 10 years. <BR/><BR/>I'm glad I bought some of the older teas long ago though since the price has sky rocketed since.Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16443510749145259368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-59194052369348548192008-11-09T17:35:00.000-05:002008-11-09T17:35:00.000-05:00hi antonio,mind sharing some pictures of your eart...hi antonio,<BR/>mind sharing some pictures of your earthware jar? what type of clay was used and is it glazed or unglazed jar?<BR/><BR/>-darwindarwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06441327833012741357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-55120951601485130282008-10-23T10:56:00.000-04:002008-10-23T10:56:00.000-04:00Darwin,Yeah, I suppose I could write another artic...Darwin,<BR/><BR/>Yeah, I suppose I could write another article. It will take some time though.Warrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11864305536434125111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-64505677635970481642008-10-22T02:32:00.000-04:002008-10-22T02:32:00.000-04:00hi warren, would you be having another installment...hi warren, <BR/>would you be having another installment of pu erh storage?<BR/>we want more =)<BR/><BR/>-darwindarwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06441327833012741357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-65668813241844035072008-10-21T23:41:00.000-04:002008-10-21T23:41:00.000-04:00Antonio,Yeah, go ahead and store those young sheng...Antonio,<BR/><BR/>Yeah, go ahead and store those young shengs in their own earthenware jar.<BR/>They will mellow and age, and the earthenware jar will keep in all the tea scent, while at the same time being breathable.<BR/><BR/>But here's the thing: no one has done a definitive study on how exactly to use earthenware jars to store puer. Some people say that moving the jar around from location to location in the house makes a difference. They say that it's best to store them in a cool, dark and airy location.<BR/><BR/>Think of the earthenware storage jar as a miniature store room for pu'er tea. And inside that jar should be the ideal conditions to post-ferment and age pu'er tea.<BR/><BR/>So it shouldn't hurt to store young shengs in the jars.Warrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11864305536434125111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-69897233059223847962008-10-21T08:13:00.000-04:002008-10-21T08:13:00.000-04:00Very interesting article, full of useful informati...Very interesting article, full of useful information. thank you!<BR/><BR/>I have a quick question: would you suggest storing young sheng (I mean from 0 to approx. 10 years of age) in an earthenware jar?<BR/><BR/>I have been storing my aged sheng (from the '70s and '80s) in earthware for years now (I live in Northern Italy, where humidity can be high, both in summer and winter), with excellent results, in my opinion. No mold and great taste. And sniffing the magic smell when taking the lid of the jar is always inebriating...<BR/><BR/>But I bought this puerh already "aged".<BR/><BR/>What about storage of young stuff? My concern is that if I put a 2008 bing in a jar, it may double the aging time (say 30 years of aging before getting some signs of mellowness). <BR/><BR/>Any suggestions? Maybe just leave these new babies on a clean shelf?<BR/><BR/>Many thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-9715675663210847712008-10-20T22:14:00.000-04:002008-10-20T22:14:00.000-04:00thank you very much warren for your inputs, after ...thank you very much warren for your inputs, <BR/><BR/>after reading your reply, and to do your input justice, then i really have to phone the jar factory up in northern philippines to book my jars. there's no shortage of wood charcoal here as they are readily available and really cheap to buy. <BR/><BR/>over the past 2 weeks,ive experimented with cardboard box storage. this was what happened... on a sunny day, i placed some of my ripe pu erh and some charcoal in a box, then after a few days, it began to rain for about 3-4 days, not all day rain but "on-off" rain, but not much sun during intervals. and after being in the box for a week and a half, just last sunday, when i opened the box, i was shocked to see mold on cakes for the first time! so i scraped them off, and sun dried the cakes for a few hours. for a second i thought that the culprit would be the charcoal, but i think it was because the cakes were still a bit damp inside and i did not really dry it out completely before putting it in the box...<BR/><BR/>what i'll be trying out it would be to bring those damp cakes to the office, and just leave it there for a few weeks, and after they have completely dried out, then ill bring them back home, and hopefully, my jars would have arrived by that time... <BR/><BR/>thanks very much for your inputs warren, they are invaluable,<BR/>if i get the chance to go back to china within the year, and go to quanzhou fujian, maybe i can go on a short day trip to fuzhou and take a look at the tea market there. =)<BR/>-darwindarwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06441327833012741357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-59727139434148097752008-10-20T11:07:00.000-04:002008-10-20T11:07:00.000-04:00Darwin,The clay storage jar is by far the best thi...Darwin,<BR/><BR/>The clay storage jar is by far the best thing to use to store puer, even better than a box. <BR/><BR/>Boxes tend to leak air, so it doesn't seal in the scent of the tea as well as the earthen ware jar. And the boxes emit a peculiar smell. But a lot of pu'er collectors still like to use cardboard boxes - mostly because they're cheap and plentiful.<BR/><BR/>With the earthenware jar, make sure the inside is very clean, and fully dry. Then, put in some dry wood charcoal chunks at the bottom. Don't be cheap with the charcoal. Use lots of it. It's fairly cheap anyway. You might want to put the charcoal into small cotton sacks. To save you from having a black mess at the bottom and on your puer. (You could probably use some thin rice paper instead too.) Then, put in your pu'er and cover the jar. Any moisture that gets into the jar will then be sucked into the charcoal. So that can really help to save your tea from getting moldy. <BR/><BR/>But in general, putting the tea cakes into the earthenware jar without any charcoal should be good enough. It should't get moldy like that. <BR/><BR/>Once in awhile though, it's good to take the cover off the jar, and just cover it with cotton cloth, and let new air into the jar.<BR/><BR/>And that should prevent any mold problems while at the same time allow you to store your puer securely and safely.<BR/><BR/>And if you still have any mold problems, then, take the moldy ones and sell them on Ebay. Hahahaha.<BR/><BR/>But if you see mold, just let them air out and dry a bit, and then scrape/brush off the mold with a brush. <BR/><BR/>If you see aged pu'er cakes, and you see the edges are really ragged - that's because they have been brushed vigorously to remove all traces of mold.Warrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11864305536434125111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-68259547792173727902008-10-19T07:28:00.000-04:002008-10-19T07:28:00.000-04:00this is really a very relevant read for me as ther...this is really a very relevant read for me as there are lots of things concerning high humidity level storage here, thanks very much warren!<BR/><BR/>i do want to clarify some things about (here i go again...) clay jar storage....<BR/><BR/>as i read about puerh, its clear that they really need to breathe, be it sheng or shou, they need mild exchange of air, but not too much, and the only time it needs "more air" is when its really humid, that set straight, if i use clay jars, then its an ideal situation, dark, breathable spaces, perhaps opening the lid once a week or once every other week to circulate fresh air into the tea cakes. during summer or sunny days, there should not be any problems. but what about during rainy and very humid days? would it be correct to just close the lid until the sun comes out again and its not humid anymore? the logic behind it is to not let the humidity enter the jars... <BR/>and what if there would be molds? what shall i do? just the usual brush and sun dry in a cloth bag? then back to the jar again?<BR/><BR/>thanks very much for your inputs!<BR/>-darwindarwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06441327833012741357noreply@blogger.com