pu erh packaging question...

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


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Nov 9th, '08, 08:33
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pu erh packaging question...

by odarwin » Nov 9th, '08, 08:33

hi guys!

i came across this blog, im sure a lot of you know this blog already...

http://lagalettedethe.blogspot.com/

i've noticed in his pictures that he wraps his tea cake in a paper wrapper, any of you know what these wrappers are? and what their purpose is?

im speculating that its humid in france, and these would help keep away moisture away from the tea cakes... i do have a bit high level of humidiy here in the philippines and im experimenting with storage conditions
from the translation that im getting, it seems like he just leaves the cake out to air naturally, and probably just has an extra layer of paper wrapper to protect from moisture, and just let the cakes breath, any inputs would really help =)

-darwin

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Nov 9th, '08, 09:45
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by heavydoom » Nov 9th, '08, 09:45

TomVerlain wrote:The paper is probably not to protect from humidity, as paper will let the humidity flow right through. Some people (and vendors) wrap the cakes in an extra layer of rice or cotton paper to help protect them from ripping or tearing the origonal wrapper during their (hopefully) long storage.

I like to save the origonal wrapper to view, and keep the cakes in the other, plain, wrapper if I am drinking them.
i thought the exact thing, tom v.

the guy has some nice pots, damn!!

what is this house of three leaves out of taiwan, anyone??


there is not that much humidity all year round in france. perhaps in the summer. i have stayed in europe for a bit so we should know. i recall that we never had to use an air conditioner back then. things could have changed since then though.

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Nov 9th, '08, 09:48
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by thanks » Nov 9th, '08, 09:48

I think that's how they come. They're from a tea shop in Paris that, at least from what I've heard, is grossly overpriced. The proprietor oversees productions to her specifications. The name of the shop is Maison des Trois Thes.

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Nov 9th, '08, 10:11
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by nada » Nov 9th, '08, 10:11

heavydoom wrote: there is not that much humidity all year round in france.
you'd be surprised at the humidity Heavy - It's similar here in Ireland, but we just doesn't have the same kind of temperatures as HK to go with it though

Image

Image

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by heavydoom » Nov 9th, '08, 10:45

thanks wrote:I think that's how they come. They're from a tea shop in Paris that, at least from what I've heard, is grossly overpriced. The proprietor oversees productions to her specifications. The name of the shop is Maison des Trois Thes.
:D

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by odarwin » Nov 9th, '08, 10:46

hi nada! interesting chart! where did you get those?
mind posting manila in? :D

so nada, any comments on the topic?

i just got a whole tong of combination ripe teas more than a month back, and i placed it in a box, tasted it and decided to just put it outside the box as there was a big transformation in taste and flavor. just after i placed it in a box for a few days, it tasted really off, so i took it out, and after a few weeks, which is now, i tasted it and it was a big difference, not much off flavor now, and actually quite nice and became so much more mellow than a few weeks back, and with lots of qi in my opinion... now it gets me thinking about clay jars, as it would restrict airflow... any comments?

-darwin

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Nov 9th, '08, 10:51
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by heavydoom » Nov 9th, '08, 10:51

if manila is all year round humid then you gotta control it man. otherwise you will get some wet stored pu.

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Nov 9th, '08, 10:57
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by olivierco » Nov 9th, '08, 10:57

heavydoom wrote: there is not that much humidity all year round in france. perhaps in the summer. i have stayed in europe for a bit so we should know. i recall that we never had to use an air conditioner back then. things could have changed since then though.
Air conditioners are seldom used in France although marketing has been quite aggressive these last years.

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Nov 9th, '08, 11:26
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by nada » Nov 9th, '08, 11:26

here you go odarwin - from world travel guide (not the most accurate source I'm sure, but it was quick and easy)

Image

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Nov 9th, '08, 12:01
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by heavydoom » Nov 9th, '08, 12:01

i distinctively remember us not using any air conditioning at home at all. we were in holland from the mid 70's the mi 80's. this goes to show us he effect of global warming.

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Nov 9th, '08, 12:18
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by nada » Nov 9th, '08, 12:18

I think most people there wouldn't use air conditioning in N.Europe now either.

There's a big difference between how it feels in cold temp/high humidity and high temp/high humidity.

Ireland (and Paris) seem to have similar humidity to Hong Kong, but their low temperatures make it very bearable. No aircon required - just lots of heating in the winter.

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by Salsero » Nov 9th, '08, 15:01

odarwin wrote: i tasted it and it was a big difference, not much off flavor now, and actually quite nice and became so much more mellow than a few weeks back, and with lots of qi in my opinion..
I'm glad to hear that they are improving!

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Nov 9th, '08, 17:15
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by odarwin » Nov 9th, '08, 17:15

nada, thanks for the chart, it shows that hong kong ang manila have similar conditions except that manila has warmer and more stable temp all year round...


sal, i honestly cant point what factor contributed to the big change in taste... here is what happened... once it arrived here from china, i just placed it on a shelf with the typical paper tong wrapper form menghai factory. i let 2 weeks pass by and before a week-long rain period, i placed it in a box hoping that the box would protect it from humidity... after a week, i opened the box and to my surprise, i found mold in cakes that i got from malaysia which i suspect to have left the factory poorly dried and a bit wet, but as for the menghai ripe cakes, it survived. after experiencing mold, i decided to drop the box and just store them as how i used to store them, just on a shelf with their proper packaging. so after a month, i tried the menghai tea cakes again, and was very surprised on the result. its probably the air circulation that is the problem...

-darwin

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Nov 9th, '08, 20:26
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by Wesli » Nov 9th, '08, 20:26

+1 for bad air circulation creating mold.

Hey Odarwin, what happened to the mold? Did it dry up and die? Did you scrape it off?

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