This question runs in a similar vein to what puerking was posting in another thread about a cardboard box possibly changing the flavor of his puerh.
I was browsing through regular cigar humidors. Apparently a common wood for the humidor is a Spanish cedar, and also apparently this wood can impart the aroma of the wood to long-stored cigars (and this is often desireable).
Something tells me, however, that such a transferal of wood aroma to puerh would not be so good.
If that's the case, any ideas on what *would* make for a safe pumidor material? I found the othe thread on constructing a pumidor very interesting, but I don't think there was any discussion on wood-aroma transferal...
Nov 21st, '08, 13:43
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Dizzwave
Hmm, yeah, probably best not to have very smelly wood.
I still use my pumidor, but I'm not as hardcore about keeping the humidity up as I used to be. I don't even refill my sponges when they're dry, unless the humidity dips below 65 for a long period of time -- which it doesn't seem to, here in rainy Portland.
I should probably check for mold more often than I do... but somehow I'm not that worried about it.
dave
I still use my pumidor, but I'm not as hardcore about keeping the humidity up as I used to be. I don't even refill my sponges when they're dry, unless the humidity dips below 65 for a long period of time -- which it doesn't seem to, here in rainy Portland.
I should probably check for mold more often than I do... but somehow I'm not that worried about it.
dave
Nov 21st, '08, 15:11
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Drax,
I am having a cigar humidor manufacturer make me a larger size humidor, but I am using a Honduran Mahogany on the inside instead of the Spanish cedar that is normally used. I smoked cigars for several years and I am quiet familiar with Spanish cedar. I think it would quickly ruin my tea as the odor is very strong and durable and does not get altered very easily by other smells!
He swears the Honduran Mahogany is neutral in odor and I hoping it will work fine. I will keep you posted whenever it gets delivered.
I am having a cigar humidor manufacturer make me a larger size humidor, but I am using a Honduran Mahogany on the inside instead of the Spanish cedar that is normally used. I smoked cigars for several years and I am quiet familiar with Spanish cedar. I think it would quickly ruin my tea as the odor is very strong and durable and does not get altered very easily by other smells!
He swears the Honduran Mahogany is neutral in odor and I hoping it will work fine. I will keep you posted whenever it gets delivered.
Nov 21st, '08, 17:05
Posts: 1633
Joined: Feb 15th, '08, 10:15
Location: Pennsylvania
I love the smell of Spanish cedar. Though I dont smoke I have a collection of cigar box collection. I'm up to about 35 now.CDS wrote:Drax,
I am having a cigar humidor manufacturer make me a larger size humidor, but I am using a Honduran Mahogany on the inside instead of the Spanish cedar that is normally used. I smoked cigars for several years and I am quiet familiar with Spanish cedar. I think it would quickly ruin my tea as the odor is very strong and durable and does not get altered very easily by other smells!
He swears the Honduran Mahogany is neutral in odor and I hoping it will work fine. I will keep you posted whenever it gets delivered.
You need to find ones that don't have a strong odor. I imagine the ones people use for comics might work well.PolyhymnianMuse wrote:I wonder if cardboard has any kind of qualities that would "seep" into pu'erh. That also makes me wonder about how a lot of people suggest brown paper bags for storing pu. Wouldn't they also do something comparable to what cardboard might?
Basically, you just have to use your nose and see if a particular box has an unpleasant odor or not. If it doesn't smell strong to you, it probably won't affect the tea either.
ps - If you didn't already, check out:
http://community.livejournal.com/puerh_tea/226558.html
http://www.cloudsteacollection.com/html ... 017_e.html
http://community.livejournal.com/puerh_tea/226558.html
http://www.cloudsteacollection.com/html ... 017_e.html
Huh, that second link was quite useful! The first one... well, just another example of somebody taking stabs in the dark at possible scientific explanations with no evidence either way.
In any case, I'm not sure I've run into many cardboards that *don't* have a smell, to be honest. Granted, some of them are much fainter than others, but they always seem to have some sort of odor (and especially as they age... I'd wonder how easily a cardboard molds in 70-80% humidity?)
Meanwhile, thanks everybody for the thoughts. Mahogany is a good one to keep in mind. CDS -- I will be extremely interested to hear (and see?) how your custom humidor turns out (and maybe find out who did it, if it turns out well!).
In any case, I'm not sure I've run into many cardboards that *don't* have a smell, to be honest. Granted, some of them are much fainter than others, but they always seem to have some sort of odor (and especially as they age... I'd wonder how easily a cardboard molds in 70-80% humidity?)
Meanwhile, thanks everybody for the thoughts. Mahogany is a good one to keep in mind. CDS -- I will be extremely interested to hear (and see?) how your custom humidor turns out (and maybe find out who did it, if it turns out well!).
I would expect cardboard boxes would be a bad idea in the case of high humidity storing like that. They probably would soak up a lot of the water which would be bad for the cakes inside there (i would imagine anyway.) My box is safely under my bed out of the sun or heat. I open it atleast once a week, but usually every other day or couple of days. As far as I can tell they are doing find in there, all i can smell on the inside of the box is the scent of puDrax wrote:Huh, that second link was quite useful! The first one... well, just another example of somebody taking stabs in the dark at possible scientific explanations with no evidence either way.
In any case, I'm not sure I've run into many cardboards that *don't* have a smell, to be honest. Granted, some of them are much fainter than others, but they always seem to have some sort of odor (and especially as they age... I'd wonder how easily a cardboard molds in 70-80% humidity?)
Meanwhile, thanks everybody for the thoughts. Mahogany is a good one to keep in mind. CDS -- I will be extremely interested to hear (and see?) how your custom humidor turns out (and maybe find out who did it, if it turns out well!).
I meant more the comments than the actual post itself.Drax wrote:Huh, that second link was quite useful! The first one... well, just another example of somebody taking stabs in the dark at possible scientific explanations with no evidence either way.
I imagine you'd be looking for boxes designed for hobbyists. I think it's possible to find ones which have very little odor. Plus, if you're keeping tea in them, they'll pick up the scent of the tea pretty quickly. Cardboard boxes are cheap, so you could always replace it if it smells funny or picks up too much humidity.Drax wrote: In any case, I'm not sure I've run into many cardboards that *don't* have a smell, to be honest. Granted, some of them are much fainter than others, but they always seem to have some sort of odor(and especially as they age...
There are actually some boxes built specifically for tea storage too... they might be a rip-off, but presumably they'd be designed not to have any unpleasant odor.
BTW, a lot of tongs are wrapped in paper bags instead of bamboo leaves, and have for quite some time... and I believe they are packed in cardboard boxes as well. This is how they're typically stored in warehouses, as I understand it.