My New Humidor For Puerh

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


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Dec 22nd, '08, 01:56
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by tony shlongini » Dec 22nd, '08, 01:56

netsurfr wrote:Now that is just totally aaaaawesome! :shock: :D
Hey, I know that dude. :lol:

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Jan 1st, '09, 12:01
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by Drax » Jan 1st, '09, 12:01

CDS wrote:
Wesli wrote: Just be sure to open it up every day for air exchange. Don't make the same mistake I did.
Yes. This is my biggest fear. I knew this when I started dreaming it up, but it is very hard to have both. I surely needed something as my house is extremely dry for around 6 months a year. I will always be in there fondling my cakes, so I am hoping this is going to be sufficient.
Thanks everyone for all the nice comments!
I forgot to ask -- what's the danger of not opening the cabinet occasionally for air exchange?

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Jan 1st, '09, 12:29
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by thanks » Jan 1st, '09, 12:29

Drax wrote:
CDS wrote:
Wesli wrote: Just be sure to open it up every day for air exchange. Don't make the same mistake I did.
Yes. This is my biggest fear. I knew this when I started dreaming it up, but it is very hard to have both. I surely needed something as my house is extremely dry for around 6 months a year. I will always be in there fondling my cakes, so I am hoping this is going to be sufficient.
Thanks everyone for all the nice comments!
I forgot to ask -- what's the danger of not opening the cabinet occasionally for air exchange?
Mold, and mold is extremely dangerous. Yellow mold (which is sometimes found on Pu-erh that is neglected through humid storage) is an extremely potent naturally occurring hepatocarcinogen (basically a cause for liver cancer) and mycotoxin. Touching, inhalation, or ingestion of yellow mold spores can lead to all sorts of nastiness, including death. You'll want to be very careful with any such storage device, and proper airflow is one thing you can do to make sure everything stays fine. Another is just plain paying attention.

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Feb 13th, '09, 17:14
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by Drax » Feb 13th, '09, 17:14

Woo hoo! Well I ordered my own pumidor a few weeks ago, and it arrived today!

It's acclimatizing as I type. Or whatever the right term is.

In a couple days, I will stick my pu-erh in there and take some pictures to share. I went with a shorter model, but slightly wider (2-door). It probably has about a 20-tong capacity.

And once my wallet recovers... time to get a tong or two to go along with everything else....

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Feb 13th, '09, 17:47
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by CDS » Feb 13th, '09, 17:47

Can't wait to see the photos! Bob is a great guy to deal with.

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Feb 13th, '09, 20:59
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by MarshalN » Feb 13th, '09, 20:59

Guys.... the wood smell will infiltrate your tea. Air it out VERY THOROUGHLY before you put any tea in it. I put some tea in a wood cabinet before... it smelled.

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by Drax » Feb 13th, '09, 21:18

MarshalN wrote:Guys.... the wood smell will infiltrate your tea. Air it out VERY THOROUGHLY before you put any tea in it. I put some tea in a wood cabinet before... it smelled.
This was a definitely concern, but we both went with a mahogany interior instead of the normal spanish cedar (i.e. highly odored) wood. It has a light woody smell, but even cardboard has an odor (and especially when it gets moist).

The cabinet goes through a very thorough break-in period (empty), which will help to drop any wood/packing odors. I'm not putting tea in it until Sunday or Monday....

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Feb 13th, '09, 21:42
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by MarshalN » Feb 13th, '09, 21:42

I'd recommend taking at least a month to air the thing out. I know, it's hard to wait that long, but I'd strongly recommend it. What you should do is to air it out for a week or so, close the door for three days, open it again, and sniff -- if you still smell wood that is fairly strong (I think you will, especially given the moisture in there) keep it open.

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Feb 14th, '09, 06:30
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by CDS » Feb 14th, '09, 06:30

Marshal,
What type of wood was in the cabinet that you stored your tea in? Also, how long did it take before your tea took on that smell?
Thanks for any response!
Chris

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Oct 22nd, '09, 10:30
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Re: My New Humidor For Puerh

by jackdaniel » Oct 22nd, '09, 10:30

I'll second airing it out for a month if not longer. Wood holds lots of moisture, thus odor. And from what I've read, ANY odor will contaminate tea. Please be careful with your statsh!

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Oct 22nd, '09, 11:01
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Re: My New Humidor For Puerh

by wyardley » Oct 22nd, '09, 11:01

I got one of the cabinets from Staebell, and aired it out for more than a month, plus left bamboo charcoal inside, plus put the shelves outside in the sun for a couple days. Still had somewhat of a wood smell.

Then I started moving my tea in in stages, putting some cheaper / younger stuff in first.

However, I will say that, like with my old cabinet, once all the tea was inside, the fragrance of all the tea dominates the wood smell. It's not a non-issue now, but I think it will be Ok with time.

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Oct 23rd, '09, 12:43
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Re: My New Humidor For Puerh

by jackdaniel » Oct 23rd, '09, 12:43

Time will tell...

I'm sticking to my plain cardboard shipping cartons.

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Oct 23rd, '09, 21:21
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Re: My New Humidor For Puerh

by oldmanteapot » Oct 23rd, '09, 21:21

jackdaniel wrote:Time will tell...

I'm sticking to my plain cardboard shipping cartons.
That would suffice. If you don't intend to open the box often, puncture a small hole on the side wall of the box. That will allow some moisture and air to seep in. I puncture my cardboxes with a screwdriver at both ends of the boxes (inlet and outlet). Do try to raise your boxes about 6inches above the ground. I place my cartons above cabinets and racks. The reason for doing so is very simple. This is to avoid accidental spills from falling on to your Pu. For more humid environment, walls and floors will retain moisture, therefore, we keep it away from both surfaces to avoid damaging our Beeng.

Cheers! :mrgreen:

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Oct 29th, '09, 12:44
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Re: My New Humidor For Puerh

by nonc_ron » Oct 29th, '09, 12:44

jackdaniel wrote:Time will tell...

I'm sticking to my plain cardboard shipping cartons.

Here is where I bought mine: http://www.uline.com/BL_6656/Uline-Econ ... s-with-Lid Boxs that is.

Image

A big stack makes a "beautiful" sight
1. Having qualities that delight the senses, especially the sense of sight. 2. Exciting intellectual or emotional admiration.

Especially when you know what you have stored inside.Image

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Oct 30th, '09, 00:16
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Re: My New Humidor For Puerh

by oldmanteapot » Oct 30th, '09, 00:16

nonc_ron wrote:
jackdaniel wrote:Time will tell...

I'm sticking to my plain cardboard shipping cartons.

Here is where I bought mine: http://www.uline.com/BL_6656/Uline-Econ ... s-with-Lid Boxs that is.

Image

A big stack makes a "beautiful" sight
1. Having qualities that delight the senses, especially the sense of sight. 2. Exciting intellectual or emotional admiration.

Especially when you know what you have stored inside.Image
+1 :mrgreen:

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