Some nice photos showing 10 years aging progress

One of the intentionally aged teas, Pu-Erh has a loyal following.


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Dec 31st, '12, 20:14
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Some nice photos showing 10 years aging progress

by apache » Dec 31st, '12, 20:14

NOT MY PHOTOS, BUT SOMEONE ELSE!!!!

http://www.hkteaforum.com/forum.php?mod ... a=page%3D1

I think most of them are stored at home in HK. Wish some of my cakes make similar progress.

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Jan 1st, '13, 00:34
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Re: Some nice photos showing 10 years aging progress

by TomVerlain » Jan 1st, '13, 00:34

That looks really good for a 2004 cake. I have a tong of stuff I got in 2007 that looks like ........... 2007.

Of course, it's Cloud. I like the leaves are excatly the same pattern, so it is the exact same cake.

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Jan 1st, '13, 06:23
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Re: Some nice photos showing 10 years aging progress

by MarshalN » Jan 1st, '13, 06:23

Hong Kong storage is not too bad, generally speaking.

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Jan 1st, '13, 15:47
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Re: Some nice photos showing 10 years aging progress

by ImmortaliTEA » Jan 1st, '13, 15:47

MarshalN wrote:Hong Kong storage is not too bad, generally speaking.
Agreed on every level. In fact I prefer HK storage. I am not the biggest fan of dry storage yet because I haven't found any prime examples but I am still searching. Any recommendations M or you just like HK stored like me?

Jan 1st, '13, 16:42
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Re: Some nice photos showing 10 years aging progress

by shah82 » Jan 1st, '13, 16:42

Eeeeh, I don't require earthiness or woodiness. So long as the brew is actually sweet, soft, smooth, and rich character in taste and bodyfeel, I couldn't care less. I like it when earthiness is there, and when it isn't. Moreover, I think what really needs the traditional storage are the inferior teas like the average Haiwan or 6FTM cakes. By and large, I think much of that still happens with good dry storage, but you won't get much dark taste. Thus, looking at a tea you know the age of, and admiring the darkened color of the leaves is pointless to me.

Broadly speaking, when I want something nicely woody, earthy (and better than shu), it's hard not to conclude I really want some serious age (20y+) on that cake. OTOH, I think a very quick traditional storage that gives a cake a head start works wonders in giving the benefits? of dry storage, while keeping it on a path to low registers in a reasonably short time.

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Jan 1st, '13, 17:18
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Re: Some nice photos showing 10 years aging progress

by TIM » Jan 1st, '13, 17:18

shah82 wrote:Eeeeh, I don't require earthiness or woodiness. So long as the brew is actually sweet, soft, smooth, and rich character in taste and bodyfeel, I couldn't care less. I like it when earthiness is there, and when it isn't. Moreover, I think what really needs the traditional storage are the inferior teas like the average Haiwan or 6FTM cakes. By and large, I think much of that still happens with good dry storage, but you won't get much dark taste. Thus, looking at a tea you know the age of, and admiring the darkened color of the leaves is pointless to me.

Broadly speaking, when I want something nicely woody, earthy (and better than shu), it's hard not to conclude I really want some serious age (20y+) on that cake. OTOH, I think a very quick traditional storage that gives a cake a head start works wonders in giving the benefits? of dry storage, while keeping it on a path to low registers in a reasonably short time.

Could you elaborate what is your idea of quick traditional storage? HNY :)

Jan 1st, '13, 17:32
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Re: Some nice photos showing 10 years aging progress

by shah82 » Jan 1st, '13, 17:32

I think that 2003 Bulang that Houde sold is an excellent example of that genre. The 2001 YYX gancang is another example. As these kind of thing is quite ad-hoc, and dominated by '98-'04 examples that not too many people might have had, I think I'll stop there. I do think that people should deliberately do something like this, but there are serious time and warehousing costs without a customer base that'd pay for it issue. Some of this does happen, sorta, with aged maocha, with things like YS '09 Bulang or the wet stored Yiwu and Manzhaun maocha pressed cakes that Teaurchin has had around. That sort of concept, I'm not much of a fan of. Then again, perhaps they need more recovery time and normal aging on the shelf.

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Jan 1st, '13, 23:10
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Re: Some nice photos showing 10 years aging progress

by MarshalN » Jan 1st, '13, 23:10

shah82 wrote:Eeeeh, I don't require earthiness or woodiness. So long as the brew is actually sweet, soft, smooth, and rich character in taste and bodyfeel, I couldn't care less. I like it when earthiness is there, and when it isn't. Moreover, I think what really needs the traditional storage are the inferior teas like the average Haiwan or 6FTM cakes. By and large, I think much of that still happens with good dry storage, but you won't get much dark taste. Thus, looking at a tea you know the age of, and admiring the darkened color of the leaves is pointless to me.

Broadly speaking, when I want something nicely woody, earthy (and better than shu), it's hard not to conclude I really want some serious age (20y+) on that cake. OTOH, I think a very quick traditional storage that gives a cake a head start works wonders in giving the benefits? of dry storage, while keeping it on a path to low registers in a reasonably short time.
When I said Hong Kong storage, I didn't mean traditional storage. Cloud doesn't store any of his teas that way. The changes you see in his pictures are all from natural storage methods - just letting the tea sit.

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Re: Some nice photos showing 10 years aging progress

by Tead Off » Jan 1st, '13, 23:18

MarshalN wrote:
shah82 wrote:Eeeeh, I don't require earthiness or woodiness. So long as the brew is actually sweet, soft, smooth, and rich character in taste and bodyfeel, I couldn't care less. I like it when earthiness is there, and when it isn't. Moreover, I think what really needs the traditional storage are the inferior teas like the average Haiwan or 6FTM cakes. By and large, I think much of that still happens with good dry storage, but you won't get much dark taste. Thus, looking at a tea you know the age of, and admiring the darkened color of the leaves is pointless to me.

Broadly speaking, when I want something nicely woody, earthy (and better than shu), it's hard not to conclude I really want some serious age (20y+) on that cake. OTOH, I think a very quick traditional storage that gives a cake a head start works wonders in giving the benefits? of dry storage, while keeping it on a path to low registers in a reasonably short time.
When I said Hong Kong storage, I didn't mean traditional storage. Cloud doesn't store any of his teas that way. The changes you see in his pictures are all from natural storage methods - just letting the tea sit.
I'm confused. What does traditional Hong Kong storage mean? And, how does it differ from Guangdong storage, and Banna storage?

Jan 2nd, '13, 00:06
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Re: Some nice photos showing 10 years aging progress

by shah82 » Jan 2nd, '13, 00:06

I wanted to avoid just saying humid storage and stick with connotations of good humid storage. The quick Traditional part was meant to be about traditional storage, but only a few months worth. Sorry for the confusion.

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Re: Some nice photos showing 10 years aging progress

by Tead Off » Jan 2nd, '13, 00:12

shah82 wrote:I wanted to avoid just saying humid storage and stick with connotations of good humid storage. The quick Traditional part was meant to be about traditional storage, but only a few months worth. Sorry for the confusion.
Literally, I mean what is the definition of 'traditional' HK storage as opposed to the other types of storage in Guangdong and Banna? I understand what humid vs. non-humid means like HK vs Kunming. But what other kind of storage can there be in HK or Guangdong, both humid places, unless storage is in an airconditioned facility.

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Re: Some nice photos showing 10 years aging progress

by shah82 » Jan 2nd, '13, 00:26

Traditional storage, I suppose, is basically a system for actively tending to lots of tea in a warehouse at relatively high heat and humidity such that you, after keeping it in someplace normal for a few years, will have a darker, deeper tasting, and sweet brew that tastes more aged than it otherwise would be.

This is an artform practiced by tea merchants dealing with huge amounts of tea, generally, by merchants in HK specifically, for HK tastes. Humid storage is less wet, generally, than traditional storage--which is why something stored in HK is considered dry-stored, even though during part of the year, it's very hot and humid. You also don't really do anything else, or pay much attention. That means there are plenty of humid stored teas (and fake aged teas) that are moldy or nasty one way or another. Plenty of such teas from Malaysia are rather monotonic, even if quite aged tasting. Getting a good result from tea in hot places requires skill and attention, hence traditional storage.

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Re: Some nice photos showing 10 years aging progress

by Tead Off » Jan 2nd, '13, 00:45

I'm not sure I see the difference between 'traditional' storage and leaving it on the shelf in HK. HK can be overwhelmingly hot and humid for long periods of time, even more humid than Bangkok. If not in a temp/humidity controlled environment, isn't it all basically 'wet' stored in HK? This is opposed to a drier climate with high elevation like Kunming which is less humid. I want to get specific when we talk about this 'storing' business.

Often, I have tasted aged teas from some of the popular vendors where that moldy, musty, flavor/aroma permeates the tea and colors the whole drinking experience. These are aged teas that are not cheap are well reviewed by some drinkers. Personally, I can go deeper than just the aroma/taste, but this aspect of a tea definitely makes its presence known and is not particularly enjoyable to me. Having tea taste like an old drawer or pair of socks is not my idea of enjoyment.

Luckily, I have had some wet cakes sit here in BKK for some years and lose a lot of that mustiness, yet this is considered a humid environment. So far, much of the explanation of what is dry and wet is very confusing and I would tend to think that not all 'dry' storers are doing exactly the same thing. Plus, the dry storage in Kunming will taste completely different than the dry stores cakes in HK.

Jan 2nd, '13, 00:48
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Re: Some nice photos showing 10 years aging progress

by shah82 » Jan 2nd, '13, 00:48

I was very vague and general because I didn't want to outpace my knowledge, and I figure that this link might help...

http://www.marshaln.com/2011/01/traditional-not-wet/

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Re: Some nice photos showing 10 years aging progress

by MarshalN » Jan 2nd, '13, 01:02

This is why I avoid the words "dry" and "wet" generally - they are vague and don't answer any questions. Like you said, Hong Kong is wet, but then, Bangkok isn't exactly dry either.

Traditional storage needs artificial increase in the humidity and consequently, the temperature of the storage facility. Natural storage in Hong Kong is just leaving it on a shelf/box/unit with no human intervention in the condition of the storage environment.

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