Smart Storage of Puerh

[theredbaron]

So, I live in a humid environment (central Florida).

I can't put my cakes in a cabinet because the only cabinet space I have is in the kitchen, and I don't want the added moisture from that environment.

So I'm down to basically two kinds of storage options:

plastic bins, or ohio stoneware crocs.

Of the above, and considering I'm in a humid climate, which is better? One thing I never want to contend with is mold.

Just put them on a bookshelf or similar, in their original wrapper and let them age. A hot and humid climate is the best possible climate for natural Pu Erh storage. You won't need to do anything at all, they age by themselves.
I live in a hot and humid climate and that is what i have done the past 15 years with my Pu Erh's: Let them sit and age. That's it. No mold, no off taste or smells (other than one or two cakes i have forgotten in a stuffy box), just lovely aged Pu Erh's.
It could not be any simpler.

[bambooforest]

Just put them on a bookshelf or similar, in their original wrapper and let them age.

I'm leaning toward this now. It's just that people seem to always put their puerh in a cabinet, or in cardboard boxes, or in plastic bags, or porcelain/clay/ceramic vessels, you just don't hear about people putting their puerh cakes out in the open on a shelf very often, and that is why I was hesitant to do so. I'm worried that so much air exposure would lead to flavor loss.

Anyways, I have my puerh in a closet with no door, on the top shelf, and out in the open with no container at this point.

[theredbaron]

Just put them on a bookshelf or similar, in their original wrapper and let them age.

I'm leaning toward this now. It's just that people seem to always put their puerh in a cabinet, or in cardboard boxes, or in plastic bags, or porcelain/clay/ceramic vessels, you just don't hear about people putting their puerh cakes out in the open on a shelf very often, and that is why I was hesitant to do so. I'm worried that so much air exposure would lead to flavor loss.

Anyways, I have my puerh in a closet with no door, on the top shelf, and out in the open with no container at this point.

The debate on how to store Pu Erh is endless and bitter
Often people living in places with a dry climate try to recreate humid conditions, so they build all sorts of so called pumidors - cabinets with artificially increased humidity. I find this quite dangerous as a small mistake can ruin the tea.
It really depends also on the climate you are living in, and also the micro-climate in your house or apartment. In a very humid climate cardboard boxes may be too stuffy and could possibly trap moisture, while in a more normal climate they may be a good way to store Pu Erh.
When i started, i was told the best way is not to make too much of a fuzz about it, and just let nature take its course. As i live in a hot and humid climate, i was told to just avoid too much moisture and direct sunlight. So far, after almost 15 years, it has worked for me very well and i don't see any reason why it should not work for you as well.
Soon i will move to Europe, and will be faced with different conditions, and will then see how my teas fare over there. Most of my teas have several years of storage here, and are already aged or semi-aged, and a few cakes are fresh, where i can see then how they develop over there.

It is all a trial and error thing. Home storing Pu Erh is a relatively new thing, only the past maybe 20 years or so this has taken off, and even less in the west.

[Tead Off]

Anyways, I have my puerh in a closet with no door, on the top shelf, and out in the open with no container at this point.

The basic reason you put the cakes into a container of some sort is to avoid the cakes absorbing smells. It is a practical application and does nothing more than protect the cakes. Cardboard would have to absorb an awful lot of moisture before humidity could overpower the cakes themselves. I speak from experience having stored my cakes in boxes in a humid setting. Never a problem. Leaving your cakes exposed to your environment can lead to problems. This is why you want to avoid a kitchen where cooking smells are always in the air. Different rooms can carry many odors.

[Cwyn]

Doesn't Hobbes have his all stacked on built in shelves? Seems like I saw a photo of this. But he lives in England of course. In China, tea is stacked on shelves and in warehouses.

My climate is dry in the winter which is why I use glazed crocks to create a microclimate and and an old fridge. The old fridge is still too dry even with water added, the crocks are better, and these are what people did here traditionally on farms to store vegetables and fruit preserves before refrigeration, after which crock storage faded. And we have forgotten how to use it.

If I lived in Florida I could use open air or get a dresser with drawers and just open it for circulation. I can't recommend cardboard if it is corrugated, I tried that with shou and it absorbed a cardboard taste that I had to air out. I would be wary of plastics for the same reason.

[bellmont]

I could see a dresser working out in your climate too...just make sure you smell out the drawers for mold or any general stale smell before storing. I have run into funky pu storage with a desk drawers, the desk was stored in a damp environment before I put puerh in... I was not happy with the outcome. Along with a hydrometer your nose is the second best tool for pu storage.

Check your local thrift store for Ohio Stoneware crocks before shelling out big bucks for any shipping from a website. If you can find one on the cheap (that again doesn't smell funky...like it had candles or something dead stored in it) then you could experiment with crock storage. While crocks do create a mircoclimate, I have found they also help to slow fluctuations in humidity. Just keep in mind if you get over 75 r.h. you'll find yourself in a real Kenny Loggins situation (highway to the...) with wet storage.

[bambooforest]

I decided against the crock pot idea because my research has led me to believe that moisture can collect in it. And with my climate I want to protect the tea from moisture, and not try to increase it.

Cardboard boxes sound intriguing, but some contend that they impart a taste to the tea, while others counter this by explaining that retailers often keep their pu-erh in cardboard boxes before shipping them to customers.

Contradictory information is rife with pu-erh, and that's unfortunate.

So, as of now, I'm just keeping my pu-erh in my closet, on the very highest shelf. This closet has no door, so there is tons of air flow. The air flow concerns me a little, but someone said that the only reason you put pu-erh in something like a cardboard box is to protect it from picking up odors. I'm, however, not worried about this because my closet is a walk in closet, and I don't detect any odors. I just hope the very open air environment doesn't somehow lead to the few cakes I have losing their vibrant taste.

Thanks to everyone who gave me their advice.

I will continue to think about other ways of storing my cakes, such as putting them in paper grocery bags.

[theredbaron]

I just hope the very open air environment doesn't somehow lead to the few cakes I have losing their vibrant taste.

Unless you have a fan blowing on the cakes they won't lose taste, but will continue to transform and develop.

[Tead Off]

I just hope the very open air environment doesn't somehow lead to the few cakes I have losing their vibrant taste.

Unless you have a fan blowing on the cakes they won't lose taste, but will continue to transform and develop.

Would you keep your other teas out in the open environment? It's a classic rule to keep tea from a random environment unless that room is not subject to any randomness. Not only does oxidation continue unimpeded, it is subject to dust and odors. The paper wrappers offer no protection. As someone who has experienced degradation from the environment early on, with flavor and aroma loss, I always keep my cakes protected with food grade plastic zips and bags and put into a storage box of some sort. Nothing is perfect but some kind of protection seems necessary.

[theredbaron]

Would you keep your other teas out in the open environment? It's a classic rule to keep tea from a random environment unless that room is not subject to any randomness. Not only does oxidation continue unimpeded, it is subject to dust and odors. The paper wrappers offer no protection. As someone who has experienced degradation from the environment early on, with flavor and aroma loss, I always keep my cakes protected with food grade plastic zips and bags and put into a storage box of some sort. Nothing is perfect but some kind of protection seems necessary.

I would not keep any lose teas out in the open, Pu Erh or otherwise. Lets not forget though - Pu Erh teas are pressed, and only the outer layer of leaves has some direct exposure to the environment, which is also limited by wrappers and stacking them as well. I find that *some* exposure to the environment is necessary for the aging process, and *some* airflow in a humid environment will help with humidity traps. Some of my cakes which i forgot in an enclosed space for several years were spoiled, and got that nasty wet storage taste.
I do live close to ground in a wooden house, so i have to be more careful with humidity here. I found that my cakes stored that way over almost 15 years have aged extremely well, and i enjoy them tremendously.

[jayinhk]

I'm about to buy a glass cabinet exclusively for tea. One shelf will be for pu erh and other Chinese black teas, like liu bao, liu an and fu zhuan. I live in Hong Kong--the humidity is really high for much of the year, but very low for a few months a year.

[bambooforest]

Another question, that I don't see discussed much, is light.

I'm not talking about direct sunlight, but just general light.

Will light degrade pu-erh?

[Tead Off]

Another question, that I don't see discussed much, is light.

I'm not talking about direct sunlight, but just general light.

Will light degrade pu-erh?

Not sure.

[shah82]

Yes, light damages tea leaves in general.

[BW85]

Another question, that I don't see discussed much, is light.

I'm not talking about direct sunlight, but just general light.

Will light degrade pu-erh?

Not sure.

I want to say yes. I work at a shop that sells a wide variety of Chinese and Taiwanese teas. The teas are kept on display shelves in stainless steel canisters, with a small glass jar filled with the same tea next to it (the small glass jar of tea being to make visual inspection easier). Where as the teas in the steel canisters are very aromatic, if you open up one of the glass jars you will smell absolutely nothing. I've also brewed tea out of one of the jars and it was nearly tasteless. These teas aren't exposed to sunlight, only our stores interior lighting.

I don't see why pu'erh would be any different, other than only the outside layer of leaves is exposed