Storing puerh outdoors?

[TokyoB]

This blog entry describes storing tea in a screened in porch in a house in New England in the summer. Thoughts? Is this a good idea or not? How else can someone in New England or the Mid-Atlantic area take advantage of the humid summer months for puerh if the house is always air-conditioned?

http://teatrekker.wordpress.com/2011/07 ... or-pu-erh/

[MarshalN]

If you're really careful about it it could work. Last time I had a cake exposed to air like that in my Taipei apartment after a week of rain, I started seeing evidence of mold. So, caution is warranted.

[Drax]

I live in a second story apartment, and I have a porch in back that is well-shaded. I've thought about doing similar -- placing large covered jars full of tuos out there during the summer months.

Unfortunately I am very nervous about sudden storms, which we do occasionally get, and I would have to rig up some sort of shield against the rain... and I think it's still not a good idea to expose the tea to that extreme level of humidity.

Because of this worry, I have not done it. I would have the greatest concern, as MarshalN says, about mold. The screened porch probably helps, but mold is still everywhere. I've had my slop bowl (for tea rinses) inside my office (interior, no windows) grow mold on it after a few days!

The rotations and what-not that the person describes probably helps. I would be keeping a hawk-eye on everything though, and I don't have time for that, either

I am definitely interested if other people have tried this out or similar...!

[bearsbearsbears]

I would think that, mold aside, insects and other pests would also be a problem. One Angeleno I know had a good chunk of their collection eaten into by mice when it was stored outdoors.

[TokyoB]

I would think that, mold aside, insects and other pests would also be a problem. One Angeleno I know had a good chunk of their collection eaten into by mice when it was stored outdoors.

Yes, I would be worried about insects. The screens would hopefully keep out mice and clay jars would definitely solve that problem.

For now I am experimenting with a few cakes in a cardboard box on a shelf in the garage. So I will probably only have to worry about mold.

[Drax]

I would think that, mold aside, insects and other pests would also be a problem. One Angeleno I know had a good chunk of their collection eaten into by mice when it was stored outdoors.

I will admit that I was highly concerned about spiders.

Not because the spiders would eat the tea.... they just really frighten me...

[MarshalN]

I would think that, mold aside, insects and other pests would also be a problem. One Angeleno I know had a good chunk of their collection eaten into by mice when it was stored outdoors.

Yes, I would be worried about insects. The screens would hopefully keep out mice and clay jars would definitely solve that problem.

For now I am experimenting with a few cakes in a cardboard box on a shelf in the garage. So I will probably only have to worry about mold.

I hope your garage doesn't smell like rubber and other household tools as garages tend to do.

[Bob_McBob]

I hope your garage doesn't smell like rubber and other household tools as garages tend to do.

Not to mention exhaust fumes.

[odarwin]

I will admit that I was highly concerned about spiders.

Not because the spiders would eat the tea.... they just really frighten me...

just the other night, when i walked in my room, there was a big spider near where my slippers are, fortunately, i killed it before it had the chance to slip away.... then when i though that was it... after walking past my curtain... there was another one... this time almost 2 time larger than the first one... this time i had to call for reinforcement

[betta]

I prefer a more "controlled" aging by less variety of microbes on my tea. Storing your puerh tea outdoor opens a chance for more varieties of microbe, bacteria of any kind in the air to grow on your tea.
Under certain condition, some can outgrow the bacteria beneficial for proper aging.

[TokyoB]

I prefer a more "controlled" aging by less variety of microbes on my tea. Storing your puerh tea outdoor opens a chance for more varieties of microbe, bacteria of any kind in the air to grow on your tea.
Under certain condition, some can outgrow the bacteria beneficial for proper aging.

But how can you ensure that the bacteria that are beneficial for proper aging do have sufficient humidity to grow?
Also, teas aged in Hong Kong and Taiwan obviously are exposed to rather high levels of humidity.

[Tao]

If they can talking about how is the temperature change when they storage the pu-er will be better to discuss.

[betta]

But how can you ensure that the bacteria that are beneficial for proper aging do have sufficient humidity to grow?
Also, teas aged in Hong Kong and Taiwan obviously are exposed to rather high levels of humidity.

The humidity can be controlled the same way as how the shops in HK or Taiwan do or store in a semi-closed container with water in it to provide humidity or use "pumidor". So... the controlled aging done by controlling the humidity artificially.

There's no way to ensure that we grow solely bacteria which are beneficial for aging. The teacake itself contains already all kinds of bacteria during processing, shipping, etc.
But we should make sure that we don't add much more additional bacteria into the tea.

Some microorganism can release chemical substance during the metabolism, that hampers growth of others.
If I am not wrong, one of the bacteria beneficial for the puerh aging release some kind of penicillin-kind- substances, which is literally an antibiotic. So.. pu aging could have "self-protection" by natural.

But if this bacteria is outgrown by others, things will be different.
That's why the storage should be clean, free of insects and do not introduce more microbes unnecessarily.