need some advice on a humidor/pumidor

[zipflint]

I know there are threads on this, but I'm having a hard time sifting through the wealth of information. I have absolutely zero woodworking skills, so I need to buy a finished product. I just want to make sure I'm not wasting my cash.

I don't need anything fancy. I have no clue what the humidity in my place is. I live in the upstate region of South Carolina, and it gets quite humid in the summer, but nothing like, say, South Florida or Atlanta, GA. Is that even an issue if you're using a humidor? Can't I control the humidity within the box? What should the humidity be set at? Is it okay to store several different sheng cakes (I'll probably never have more than 7-10 cakes at any one time) in one humidor?

Right now, I'm eyeballing this item:
http://www.cheaphumidors.com/Merchant2/ ... ct_Count=1

What else would I need? Anyone got any other suggestions in the same price range?

[Drax]

Hm, I see a couple of issues with that humidor that you've linked.

First, it has a spanish cedar interior. Cigar owners buy humidors with spanish cedar lining because the wood has a strong odor and imparts this odor to cigars (which is considered a good thing by many). This is not good for pu-erh.

Second, it has a divider. Maybe you can remove it or knock it out, but even then, the dimensions might not be big enough to actually hold a beeng -- they usually run 7-8" in diameter. This box has (exterior dimension) a depth of 8.75", so it'd be cutting it really closely.

Third, you'd still need something to control the humidity. People have posted about humidity beads in other threads. You can control the humidity by the type of bead. I think most people have discussed keeping the humidity around 65%.

I looked around a bit for something suitable, and really couldn't find anything of the size I was wanting. So I went with the vendor that CDS picked and got a customer pumidor. Actually just found out today that it shipped, so I should have it by the end of the week! That info doesn't help you out, though... sorry! (well, other than I went through similar questions... but I was looking for something much bigger, so maybe you can find something feasible).

[zipflint]

Thank you very much for the information! You just kept me from buying something that would probably be mostly useless to me!


From what I've gathered in the other threads, I guess I need to look for a simple pine box? And I need to actually pay attention to the dimensions. And then I can just control the humidity with the beads, and maybe get a hygrometer to monitor the humidity. Anything else I'm overlooking?

[shogun89]

When I was making my pumidor I remember reading on a cigar forum that there is no such thing as a cheap humidor. If it is not made with the right wood and not made correctly it will simply warp and get destroyed.

[Drax]

I'm not sure pine is the right answer. It might work? The humidor maker that CDS and I used went with a honduran mahogany (which is probably just normal mahogany), which has a light odor, as most woods do, but will be scent-neutral over the long term.

Shogun brings up a good point about warping and such. You're going to be subjecting this stuff to medium-high humidity, so that's something to watch out for. Unfortunately, I'm not an expert in wood properties...!

I'd almost recommend going to a cigar store and seeing what they have, but it might be really hard to get a good "whiff" of the humidor interiors if all you can smell is tobacco....

[shogun89]

You do not want to use pine. Pine is a soft wood and will not only grow mold on it quicker as it is porous but will soak up much more moisture causing warping.

[wyardley]

I would think humidity where you live would be sufficient without artificially humidifying. Do you have a dark closed closet or other place like that that you can store your tea? You can use cardboard boxes (the non-smelly ones) for more separation / isolation from temperature and humidity fluctuations if you like.

[zipflint]

Thank you all very much for the information. It is proving to be vital!
This seems almost silly to ask, but I can't help but wonder.....
Could I maybe just use a large tupperware-type container? I know that plastic can do weird things to the taste of food....but I honestly don't know how/if that would translate to pu'erh storage.

Or, if I'm following wyardley correctly, maybe I really could just use simple odor-free cardboard boxes. I have several closets that are fairly cool and out of all light.

[wyardley]

Could I maybe just use a large tupperware-type container? I know that plastic can do weird things to the taste of food....but I honestly don't know how/if that would translate to pu'erh storage.

I recently read this old post of Tim's recommending using one of those containers, lined with bamboo bark / husk, for short term (3 years) humid storage.

http://themandarinstea.blogspot.com/200 ... orage.html

I think overall, though, for long term storage, you want something that breathes at least a little, and I don't think you want quite so strong a plastic smell

Or, if I'm following wyardley correctly, maybe I really could just use simple odor-free cardboard boxes. I have several closets that are fairly cool and out of all light.

Sorry to point you again in the direction of some old posts, but I'd suggest having a read of:
http://community.livejournal.com/puerh_tea/226558.html
http://www.cloudsteacollection.com/html ... 017_e.html
http://www.teadrunk.org/viewtopic.php?id=6

The hard part is finding boxes that are really good for this purpose. I haven't tried them yet, but you could look into boxes designed for comic books or other collectibles.

If the closet is already dark and you can separate different types of tea well enough, you might just put the tea on small wire or wood shelves inside the closet. That's what I do. Keeping the tea is a little more conservative and should help protect it from certain storage problems, but might also slow down the aging process a little.

[zipflint]

Thanks very much for the links. I will absolutely check them out. One can never be too informed! And it's great folks like yourself that help people like me to digest all that information and provide clarification!

[snafu]

Correct me if I'm wrong (I'm pretty new to pu erh), but I've read a few times that seasonal variation in humidity is an important part of the aging process(?). Would sticking your tea in a constant environment such as a humidor affect how the tea ages in a negative way? Or are you guys manually adjusting the humidity at different points in the year? Do we even know enough about aging tea in a humidor to answser these questions?

[Salsero]

Do we even know enough about aging tea in a humidor to answer these questions?

No.

If you can handle the enormous irritation of reading an awkward PDF file, you might enjoy Parts 1 and 3 of this recent article about aging tea. In it, Aaron Fisher pretty much sums up the state of our ignorance and provides one anecdotal reference to suggest that dry, heated homes in cold winters may kill off the agents of aging. Course, he also suggests that aging as we know it may only occur in select geographical areas like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Malaysia.

The ultimate irony here is that many of us (myself included) who are enthusiastically shepherding our tea along in humidors have tasted very little old tea and may prefer it young!

[zipflint]

Y'know, I just realized that humidity has an impact on several of my hobbies, but I have never checked to see what the actual humidity IS in my place. I play guitar and bass, I raise orchids (or, I try to), and now I'm looking into long-term tea storage! I also have problems with dry skin due to chemotherapy.....

It occurs to me that if the ambient humidity in here is acceptable, I will indeed be just fine with storing my pu'erh in a dark cupboard. I have a tendency to overcomplicate things for myself.

Thanks again to everyone for all the information. Keep it coming!