Puerh and mold

[android73]

Ok, thanks for the tips guys! It seems that there is only one cake that is particularly bad. The others only minor or not at all. It appears that the ones with tightly wrapped rice paper around them were not effected. The one that was had loosely wrapped paper. I have segregated them for now and will brush them off with a toothbrush.

[odarwin]

if i was in you place, id throw them all away...
fact that it was placed in an old dryer is for me, completely out of this world, i wouldn't do it to my cakes, it just doesn't feel right.
boxes would do....

i also live in a humid place, and have been having trouble with mold previously... but now i hope that everything was all sorted out... boxes do the trick and never open them on humid days. actually i was told its even best to just check them once a year, twice max, and just leave them be. in my experience white mold only comes out when i let the humidity reach 85% for a day or 2. so now, when the humidity go past 70% i just turn on the dehumidifier, and close all the windows... and i can sleep soundly at night.

i hope this helps...

[oldmanteapot]

HHmm... odarwin does have a point there...

How many Pu do you have there? It would be best to start off with a clean slate. The reason is that you won't know if there are any of the mold growing in your other Pu which are not noticeable to the naked eye. You won't want another cross contamination to happen to your future purchases.

Cheers!

[android73]

Well, I honestly don't care that much to even worry about it. I'm not going to throw them away. I don't have that many cakes, and I don't' think I'll be buying any more for a while, if at all. Too much work.

[TIM]

Well, I was storing it with simply a damp sponge(no hydrometer unfortunately), perhaps became too humid with not enough air flow. I had been using an old retired frontloader dryer with a stainless steel tub inside.(see pictures on post "puerh storage dilemma") Probably not the best place I know, but I simply laid a board on the inside for shelves and it seemed to work nicely. No odors, and I would open it regularly to get some of the tea out that I wanted to brew, so regular air flow was accomplished that way. The cakes were fine up until recently, because I would check them regularly for signs of mold. Anyway, I have moved them to a cardboard box for now, and will try brushing the infected cakes off with a toothbrush. Thanks all for the tips everyone!

Just curious, why are you storing pu in an enclose small area with a damp sponge? Perhaps you could let your cakes dry out in a dark and dry room for a week, see if there is any mold spreading. Then zip block bag them individually, squeezing all the air out as much as possible and continue to storage them in your drier without the sponge. Good Luck.

[braven]

Heh. An old dryer probably would have residual mold problems, since you live in a humid climate (MO).

"What are hypae? They are filamentous thread-like structuresof molds/fungi that spread horizontally on the surface of the substratum."

Unfortunately, fungal hypae also tend to penetrate into the growth substrate, too.

Removing visually contaminated surface isn't going to eradicate it. Moving to a drier location is a start.

Air movement and turnover is at issue here. With sporulating molds, induction of air turnover can spread molds to adjacent uncontaminated surfaces.

If some of your cakes aren't affected yet, segregate them from the moldy ones.

You mind speaking in English, doc?

[betta]

Heh. An old dryer probably would have residual mold problems, since you live in a humid climate (MO).

"What are hypae? They are filamentous thread-like structuresof molds/fungi that spread horizontally on the surface of the substratum."

Unfortunately, fungal hypae also tend to penetrate into the growth substrate, too.

Removing visually contaminated surface isn't going to eradicate it. Moving to a drier location is a start.

Air movement and turnover is at issue here. With sporulating molds, induction of air turnover can spread molds to adjacent uncontaminated surfaces.

If some of your cakes aren't affected yet, segregate them from the moldy ones.

You mind speaking in English, doc?

The message is: the mold has a kind of root which penetrates deep below the tea surface. In addition to that, the mold has a kind of spore (analogy to seeds of trees) which is very fine and spread over other unaffected part of the tea cake because the spores are carried by moving air during storage.
So... removing significant amount of the affected part and storing the unaffected part of the tea in a dry environment might help.

[JP]

The pictured cake looks like it has black mold which is never good! I suggest breaking off the good parts of the cake and toss the moldy center. I wouldn't even mess with a toothbrush on that.

[jackdaniel]

That is definitely "bad" mold! It will make you sick for a few days if you drink it. Don't inhale it (or smoke it). Toss the cake to be safe. Make sure the rest of your stash is unaffected.

Sorry dude, that sucks.

[TheAlchemist]

Studying biology in labs for 4 years, I'd say that sure looks alot like aspergillus ochraceus. Often times people think this grows as white or off white, but in a wet environment it becomes green Do you know where it was stored? This is a common fungi that will grow in oxygen rich environments (with typically some source of wet/humid mixture). this is similar to the stuff that might grow in a damp basement.

In this case, i'd not take a risk with it. This can be very bad for you.

here is from wikipedia:
"Aspergillosis is the group of diseases caused by Aspergillus. The most common subtype among paranasal sinus infections associated with aspergillosis is Aspergillus fumigatus.[6] The symptoms include fever, cough, chest pain or breathlessness, which also occur in many other illnesses so diagnosis can be difficult. Usually, only patients with already weakened immune systems or who suffer other lung conditions are susceptible.

[Canadiangal]

Studying biology in labs for 4 years, I'd say that sure looks alot like aspergillus ochraceus. Often times people think this grows as white or off white, but in a wet environment it becomes green Do you know where it was stored? This is a common fungi that will grow in oxygen rich environments (with typically some source of wet/humid mixture). this is similar to the stuff that might grow in a damp basement.

In this case, i'd not take a risk with it. This can be very bad for you.

here is from wikipedia:
"Aspergillosis is the group of diseases caused by Aspergillus. The most common subtype among paranasal sinus infections associated with aspergillosis is Aspergillus fumigatus.[6] The symptoms include fever, cough, chest pain or breathlessness, which also occur in many other illnesses so diagnosis can be difficult. Usually, only patients with already weakened immune systems or who suffer other lung conditions are susceptible.

The tea from what I read was stored in a damp clothes dryer that was not being used.
Along with a humid sponge and on some wooden shelves.

I'm surely not a tea expert but I always assumed that tea had to be kept somewhere "dry" to age it?
unless pu erh tea is sifferent?

I think if I get up the nerve to try any pu erh I will just buy already aged stuff and drink that,
like maybe 2 year old tea or something...

[oldmanteapot]

I think if I get up the nerve to try any pu erh I will just buy already aged stuff and drink that, like maybe 2 year old tea or something...

A 2 yearold tea is still extremely young. If you're looking for an aged drinkable Sheng, go for at least 8 years and above.

Cheers!