Interesting business idea

[Zacherywolf7]

After reading MarshalN's recent post about the same Puerh cake stored in HK and Portland (http://www.marshaln.com/2015/01/seven-y ... -portland/) and the results of the state side not being so great, it would be interesting if there was a storage area in Malaysia or really anywhere in more humid Asia areas with great conditions where people stateside could store their Puerh to take out after how many years they wanted to.
Would people be interested in this?

[puyuan]

There are rentable warehouses already, precisely in Malaysia.

[bellmont]

An interesting idea. One must note that the Portland cake may not have been stored in the way someone who collects and drinks pu-erh stateside (someone who would be a customer/business partner of your remote storage idea) would store Pu-erh. MarshalN indicates that the Portland cake was stored in a zip loc bag in a kitchen. Many would argue that this is a suboptimal storage condition, and therefore the generalizability of MarshalN's experiment is low.

Perhaps trying this experiment out with a common, more-optimal storage solution(s) stateside would produce results that would be closer to what the population of stateside pu-erh drinkers would experience if they were to try creating an optimal storage condition (closer to home). Having a solid example of how "bad" dry storage is stateside would help a remote storage business draw customers.

I do see what you getting at, and I wonder: would people want to have cakes so far away from were they are living? Especially, when considering they could construct a pumidor or insulated cabinet setup at home. Having the freedom to drink and sample cakes whenever I also think is important.

Conceptually, have people tried remote storage with wine? Or cigars? --Two consumables which require particular storage conditions for optimal enjoyment later on.

[Zacherywolf7]

There are rentable warehouses already, precisely in Malaysia.

Do you know how I could contact them?

[Zacherywolf7]

An interesting idea. One must note that the Portland cake may not have been stored in the way someone who collects and drinks pu-erh stateside (someone who would be a customer/business partner of your remote storage idea) would store Pu-erh. MarshalN indicates that the Portland cake was stored in a zip loc bag in a kitchen. Many would argue that this is a suboptimal storage condition, and therefore the generalizability of MarshalN's experiment is low.

Perhaps trying this experiment out with a common, more-optimal storage solution(s) stateside would produce results that would be closer to what the population of stateside pu-erh drinkers would experience if they were to try creating an optimal storage condition (closer to home). Having a solid example of how "bad" dry storage is stateside would help a remote storage business draw customers.

I do see what you getting at, and I wonder: would people want to have cakes so far away from were they are living? Especially, when considering they could construct a pumidor or insulated cabinet setup at home. Having the freedom to drink and sample cakes whenever I also think is important.

Conceptually, have people tried remote storage with wine? Or cigars? --Two consumables which require particular storage conditions for optimal enjoyment later on.

You bring up a good point, although controversial. There are many people who say that's not the proper way to store Puerh (pumidor, insulated cabinet).

[drinking_teas]

There are rentable warehouses already, precisely in Malaysia.

you have my full attention

[futurebird]

I'd think storing a tea in a tong vs single would have a big impact. The HK cake was with other teas. The portland cake was alone.

[kyarazen]

An interesting idea. One must note that the Portland cake may not have been stored in the way someone who collects and drinks pu-erh stateside (someone who would be a customer/business partner of your remote storage idea) would store Pu-erh. MarshalN indicates that the Portland cake was stored in a zip loc bag in a kitchen. Many would argue that this is a suboptimal storage condition, and therefore the generalizability of MarshalN's experiment is low.

Perhaps trying this experiment out with a common, more-optimal storage solution(s) stateside would produce results that would be closer to what the population of stateside pu-erh drinkers would experience if they were to try creating an optimal storage condition (closer to home). Having a solid example of how "bad" dry storage is stateside would help a remote storage business draw customers.

I do see what you getting at, and I wonder: would people want to have cakes so far away from were they are living? Especially, when considering they could construct a pumidor or insulated cabinet setup at home. Having the freedom to drink and sample cakes whenever I also think is important.

Conceptually, have people tried remote storage with wine? Or cigars? --Two consumables which require particular storage conditions for optimal enjoyment later on.

you can store them with me... if you allow me to drink a cake once in a while.. and make sure its laopanchang or ping tao~

[Puerlife]

Storing a jian (or ten) as a speculation is something that would interest those who know what to buy and when, and who to sell it back to. But for my personal stash, that has to stay with me so I can sniff it, look at it and try it out now and then so I can come to understand the aging process. If I can't do that what fun is it? Also, that removes all counter party risk, leaving only housefires, burglars and natural disasters to contend with. Granted, this is easy for me to say because my climate is suitable for long-term aging.

[Puerlife]

An interesting idea. One must note that the Portland cake may not have been stored in the way someone who collects and drinks pu-erh stateside (someone who would be a customer/business partner of your remote storage idea) would store Pu-erh. MarshalN indicates that the Portland cake was stored in a zip loc bag in a kitchen. Many would argue that this is a suboptimal storage condition, and therefore the generalizability of MarshalN's experiment is low.

Perhaps trying this experiment out with a common, more-optimal storage solution(s) stateside would produce results that would be closer to what the population of stateside pu-erh drinkers would experience if they were to try creating an optimal storage condition (closer to home). Having a solid example of how "bad" dry storage is stateside would help a remote storage business draw customers.

I do see what you getting at, and I wonder: would people want to have cakes so far away from were they are living? Especially, when considering they could construct a pumidor or insulated cabinet setup at home. Having the freedom to drink and sample cakes whenever I also think is important.

Conceptually, have people tried remote storage with wine? Or cigars? --Two consumables which require particular storage conditions for optimal enjoyment later on.

Yes, MarshallN didn't include detail about the storage conditions of the Portland cake so I assume it was poor. I'm from Portland (long, long ago) and my parents live in the suburbs in a house with central forced air heating with a duct (or ducts) leading into every room in the house. Even at night they don't turn it all the way off, so despite the constant rain the air inside is quite dry. Older houses or apartments might still have steam radiators or even an old oil furnace in the basement. Who knows? I think one slightly hopeful conclusion to draw is that even with suboptimal storage the cake wasn't completely dead.
Scott Wilson of Yunnan Sourcing has a warehouse in Portland. He'd be the perfect person to ask about Portland storage.

[MEversbergII]

This is definitely not a scientific experiment. In fact, it doesn't say anything at all! I've wondered what it would be like to co-age something in multiple locations, though. If we start now we can start finding out by 2025...

M.

[Evan Draper]

Storing a jian (or ten) as a speculation is something that would interest those who know what to buy and when, and who to sell it back to.

I suspect there are a good handful of people on this board who use remote storage, even overseas, though they might feel that chiming in on this conversation is a little beneath them. Yeah, if you're in the position where you know what makes quality aged tea, and you're committed to socking away a large quantity of it, more power to you. But one of these days the balance is going to tip towards demystifying storage, and there will be enough data about artificially creating optimal aging conditions. Only tradition is stopping us from duplicating the "ideal Malaysia" temperature, humidity, and airflow in our own neighborhoods or houses. Yeah, my brother is a certified sommelier, and he rents space in a climate-controlled storage facility specifically for wine, maybe an hour from his house. Which sounds like the perfect balance of
"accessible" and "less temptation to drink your investment". If we want this, we can do it....

[puyuan]

Sorry, I can't help with direct contact. If no other teachatter chimes in, it might be worthwhile to ask at the Puer-Erh Tea Club (on fb).

[glenbo]

I've had pretty good success storing puerh in the Seattle area. I have a dedicated puerh storage room. During the Summer/Fall I can leave the window open and it stays ~65°F and ~65%RH inside which is my goal. The room is disconnected from central air. The Winter is trickier because despite the constant rain outside the inside humidity drops dramatically. I keep the window closed and have a heater on a timer that keeps things around 65°F. Then I use a humidifier to keep things around 65%RH.

I didn't have much to compare it against until recently. We got in a shipment of cakes identical to ones we had bought 8 months ago. Same year, same company, same everything. Except those had been stored in Kunming while their brothers were here. I was really amazed at the difference in flavor. The cakes we had sitting in that room the last 8 months were noticeable richer and had more flavor.

Then there was a one off cake I bought as a sample at the market in Kunming that was just ok. Nothing remarkable or outstanding, but just decent. I tried it again the other day and really liked it! It was thicker and much more drinkable. I was really surprised.