Drink Wet Storage Pu-erh not healthy??

[edkrueger]

c'mon ... Texas is bigger and better than everywhere else, it gets up to 120% humidity there ....

It can't go over %100. If there is more moisture than %100 then its raining. Which it does a lot.

[MarshalN]

If you've never been to Taiwan in the middle of the summer, then you don't know what humid means.

[augie]

There are already a lot of discussions on the forum and elsewhere about storage, wet or otherwise, so have a look around.
For starters, check out Marshaln's bit on it here:
http://marshaln.xanga.com/682032582/wha ... t-storage/.

Thanks for posting these links, Wyardley. I will read through the other two later when I am more awake!

I have 2 such cakes that I suspect have been "wet stored". Not sure what to do. They both have the same characteristics:

1. brew a redish liquor.
2. are supposed to be cooked pu, but do not taste like sheng or shu. Got a funk to it. Not bad, just tastes different.
3. I guess they lack the dark brown/black color and earthy/tobacco/mushroomish flavor. Which is what I like.
4. Compact, tight compressed cake.

What does one do with her "wet stored" cake? I don't want to toss them . I keep trying every few months just to see what has happened.

Store in more humidity? concerns me . ..
I have simply tossed it into the cupboard where there is no other food stored and left it in the dark because I cannot bear to look at it. . .

[edkrueger]

If you've never been to Taiwan in the middle of the summer, then you don't know what humid means.

Humid is humid. So yes, I do.

[TIM]

If you've never been to Taiwan in the middle of the summer, then you don't know what humid means.

Humid is humid. So yes, I do.

There is Heat humid and Cool humid. Do you know the difference?

[augie]

augie

more info -
what are they "supposed" to be ? If they are supposed to be 1950's red mark you bought for $2.00 ... that would answer lots of questions.

do you have pics ? what does wrapper say ?, pic ?

Tea shop is out of biz. He said it was 20 y.o. shu (cooked pu ehr). I had a feeling it wasn't, but bought impulsively. It has a reddish liquor and an off-flavor. Brewed leaves look dark, no tell-tale signs of layers, frost, etc. Cake is packed tight.
etc. However the tag on the inside is remarkably new looking. Paid $80 bucks.

This is what a chunk broken off looks like.

it is possible they are aged - real aged tea is different then shou ...

Anything is possible. I had a mental image of what I thought it would taste like . . . dark and earthy. It has a very light hint of a rubbery or plastic flavor in the background. Otherwise, it could be weak black tea. I have tried more leaf, less leaf and every temperature.

I'll take a pix of the other when I am less tired. It was purchased from a reputable source I've purchased much pu ehr from before, but also has a "remarkably new" looking wrapper for a 3-year-old cake. Has the exact same flavor as the picture above. It is also possible they were improperly stored.

[hop_goblin]

If you've never been to Taiwan in the middle of the summer, then you don't know what humid means.

Humid is humid. So yes, I do.

There is Heat humid and Cool humid. Do you know the difference?

Nothing makes you wish that you were dead than being in east Tx in mid July when the temp is 110F and 90%RH!

[MarshalN]

Tea shop is out of biz. He said it was 20 y.o. shu (cooked pu ehr). I had a feeling it wasn't, but bought impulsively. It has a reddish liquor and an off-flavor. Brewed leaves look dark, no tell-tale signs of layers, frost, etc. Cake is packed tight.
etc. However the tag on the inside is remarkably new looking. Paid $80 bucks.

This is what a chunk broken off looks like.

it is possible they are aged - real aged tea is different then shou ...

Anything is possible. I had a mental image of what I thought it would taste like . . . dark and earthy. It has a very light hint of a rubbery or plastic flavor in the background. Otherwise, it could be weak black tea. I have tried more leaf, less leaf and every temperature.

I'll take a pix of the other when I am less tired. It was purchased from a reputable source I've purchased much pu ehr from before, but also has a "remarkably new" looking wrapper for a 3-year-old cake. Has the exact same flavor as the picture above. It is also possible they were improperly stored.

Sorry to burst your bubble.... but the cake is not 20 years old. The cake was made in 2007 (judging from what Taobao says from vendors who sell this cake). The price... I should probably save you from your grief...

Since it's 2 years old, it's not likely to be wet stored. Whatever funky taste is probably just part and parcel of the original cake.

[sp1key]

shou doesnt have much aging potential therefore it will hit its prime much much faster than a sheng and wont improve much more from there.

[Jagori]

Speaking of hot vs. cold humid - how does cold humidity work for aging tea? The basement where I live is unheated, so over the winter it was often just above freezing and probably 80-90% RH. I don't keep my tea down there for other reasons, but theoretically, would this work for aging puerh? Or is warm temperature an important factor?

[shogun89]

Speaking of hot vs. cold humid - how does cold humidity work for aging tea? The basement where I live is unheated, so over the winter it was often just above freezing and probably 80-90% RH. I don't keep my tea down there for other reasons, but theoretically, would this work for aging puerh? Or is warm temperature an important factor?

Warm temps is just as important. Your cake is a living thing, it needs warmth in order to keep everything moving. All processes speed up with warmer temps, especially with microbial actions. So if put in the cold, the fermentation process will low drastically if not completely.

[Proinsias]

shou does age, but not like sheng. Some might say even if it was 20 years old, the 20 years would not be comparable to 20 years on sheng. Not even same universe.

There is a saying about "paying your tuition", think of this as a lesson ...

I had a few ....

I was under the impression that it was speed aged and then you had to age it so it didn't seem as speed aged, my head hurts.

Aged sheng and aged shu may be in different universes, unless they end up in the same cake, but in my limited experience I've tasted old shu that was very nice and old sheng that wasn't up too much. Which universe it came from is not really the issue, having tea you can enjoy is.

I think I'd need a hell of a lot more than a humidity meter to predict what the Scottish climate and my house is going to do with my pu.