Hello,
I am just starting in the word of Pu-Erh, having sampled about a dozen of aged sheng and a couple of shu. Probably like many of you at the beginning, I found the aging process to be captivating and I am thinking about giving it a try at home. I would like some suggestions.
But first, here are some disclaimers. The aging conditions will certainly be sub-optimal; Eastern Canada where the summer is hot and humid, but cold and dry in the winter (a bit above 20 C inside, 50-60% humidity with an humidifier running all the time). I will not build a pumidor. I am not expecting to create a grand cru (or even something good to drink); I am more interested in the process itself and to see how the same tea batch evolves over the years.
Given the likelihood that the results will be poor, I do not want to spend too much money (I’ll keep my funds to buy sheng that has been aged well somewhere else). Still, I would like to get something that has a reasonable chance of evolving for the better. I would buy several cakes of the same tea (7 or 8?) instead of several different ones.
I was first thinking at a Menghai 7542, which seems to be a classic that has a track record of aging well. I guess that it sounds like a boring choice for many experienced drinkers here, but keep in mind that everything is new for me here, I have not had the chance to get bored by big factory teas yet! Maybe I could try the 150g boxed “gift” cakes (the box might be good to protect the cake, and smaller portions are attractive)? Where would be a good place to buy Menghai cakes at a fair price?
I was also looking at the Haiwan 7548 (which appears to be their version of 7542). I can find it cheap at Tuochatea.com, and I read a good review here: http://www.puerh.fr/en/article/haiwan_7 ... assics.htm. Could it be a good alternative?
Or would you have other suggestions for me? I’m all ears!
Thank you
Hi, I don't want to sound like I am a reference in any way but I do live in Quebec, Canada. After reading so much on storage, the conclusion I came to was that for my specific conditions, it is almost impossible to get anything to age properly. I'll most likely destroy what I am trying to age! I basically decided that I'll buy what I need for my drinking and let others worrie to age my tea!
Anyway, I wouldn't have much clue on what to try to age tho!
I bid you good luck
Paxl
Anyway, I wouldn't have much clue on what to try to age tho!
I bid you good luck
Paxl
Just buy a lot of the tea you like and try it out. There is no history of people doing this, there's just wet (warehouse) and dry storage. I am skeptical that low humidity can ruin puerh. Asian drinkers are used to traditional HK storage. That's their goal and anything dry is "ruined." It's not like there is this great tradition of home ageing tea to reference, even in Asia.
Re: Suggestions needed, first attempt at long term storage
Oh yes, low humidity can be pretty bad. At least in certain circumstances.
Re: Suggestions needed, first attempt at long term storage
+1 agreed on this.shah82 wrote:Oh yes, low humidity can be pretty bad. At least in certain circumstances.
Dec 15th, '14, 22:16
Posts: 749
Joined: May 2nd, '10, 02:03
Location: Shaker Heights, Ohio USA
Re: Suggestions needed, first attempt at long term storage
crispy herbs... look for it, try it, and then form an opinion!shah82 wrote:Oh yes, low humidity can be pretty bad. At least in certain circumstances.
Re: Suggestions needed, first attempt at long term storage
My experience with tea dry stored in a dry climate is that it tastes bland like its gone stale...
To really age pu-erh tea it does need heat and humidity. "Dry" storage from hot and humid places I quite like when I've been able to find it.
To really age pu-erh tea it does need heat and humidity. "Dry" storage from hot and humid places I quite like when I've been able to find it.
Re: Suggestions needed, first attempt at long term storage
I don't think one has to go overboard about it.
I do think it's more of a multiple factors situation.
You need plenty of moisture in order to really *ferment* tea. Nobody outside of the US SE Gulf Coast lowlands have anything like circumstances for natural HK storage, and Kunming is more humid than most of the US, cumulatively in a year. So if you're like...Kunming is horribly dry, then there isn't a point at all to storing puerh in the US or Canada. You're just very, very, unlikely to get any of that dark taste of fermented tea in any amount of time, without the use of a carefully built, regularly checked, and powerful pumidor. Tea does age with a little bit of humidity action, and four years worth of storage in Atlanta has not made any of my teas harder to drink in that scratchy feel way. Newer teas do thin in taste, and teas that were three or four years old has gotten thicker in taste at times. More tea do better in soup viscosity than not. Etc. I've always thought that the real issue with Kunming storage has to be a combination of factors, not that Kunming is dry.
Anyways, as far as I am concerned...fermentation is mostly for making cheap tea easy to drink. All tea will age, just keep them in a cabinet, put a bowl of water in it, keep that humidor humming during the winter, and make sure the tea isn't in an air-conditioned area in the summer (away from sun and any consistent drafts like hallways), and I think you'll be just fine, just pay a little attention to your tea (more than lazy merchants in Kunming). If you want brown, buy shu and already humid stored sheng.
I do think it's more of a multiple factors situation.
You need plenty of moisture in order to really *ferment* tea. Nobody outside of the US SE Gulf Coast lowlands have anything like circumstances for natural HK storage, and Kunming is more humid than most of the US, cumulatively in a year. So if you're like...Kunming is horribly dry, then there isn't a point at all to storing puerh in the US or Canada. You're just very, very, unlikely to get any of that dark taste of fermented tea in any amount of time, without the use of a carefully built, regularly checked, and powerful pumidor. Tea does age with a little bit of humidity action, and four years worth of storage in Atlanta has not made any of my teas harder to drink in that scratchy feel way. Newer teas do thin in taste, and teas that were three or four years old has gotten thicker in taste at times. More tea do better in soup viscosity than not. Etc. I've always thought that the real issue with Kunming storage has to be a combination of factors, not that Kunming is dry.
Anyways, as far as I am concerned...fermentation is mostly for making cheap tea easy to drink. All tea will age, just keep them in a cabinet, put a bowl of water in it, keep that humidor humming during the winter, and make sure the tea isn't in an air-conditioned area in the summer (away from sun and any consistent drafts like hallways), and I think you'll be just fine, just pay a little attention to your tea (more than lazy merchants in Kunming). If you want brown, buy shu and already humid stored sheng.
Re: Suggestions needed, first attempt at long term storage
Thanks for the comments everyone.
As stated before, I know my conditions are far from optimal, and that I might get poor results. I wont rely on the experiment for my everyday cup of tea. That being said, with a minimum controlled humidity of 50% and warm summers (30+°C and 80% humidity for long periods), I think at least something will happen and I want to give it a try! What I want is to experience the process.
I will certainly sample more teas before I find my favorite, but I would like some suggestions to put me on the right track. I you were in my shoes (and you can assume perfect storage conditions if you want, this is another debate) which teas would you consider for a cost-effective first attempt? 7542? 7548? Something else?
As stated before, I know my conditions are far from optimal, and that I might get poor results. I wont rely on the experiment for my everyday cup of tea. That being said, with a minimum controlled humidity of 50% and warm summers (30+°C and 80% humidity for long periods), I think at least something will happen and I want to give it a try! What I want is to experience the process.
I will certainly sample more teas before I find my favorite, but I would like some suggestions to put me on the right track. I you were in my shoes (and you can assume perfect storage conditions if you want, this is another debate) which teas would you consider for a cost-effective first attempt? 7542? 7548? Something else?
Dec 16th, '14, 03:36
Posts: 113
Joined: Jul 29th, '11, 10:48
Location: Singapore, Malaysia
Re: Suggestions needed, first attempt at long term storage
A case of bad timing on the subject of storage....
I am drinking a 20+ year ripe today from a bing that was kept in an envelope for almost 3 years+, and had never bothered to air it before brewing.
big mistake! the tea taste much like a manila envelope....
moral of the story: tea can taste good or improve over time, but it needs some work to maintain it. even in the right conditions, but in a wrong location or poorly packaged, can cause it to taste different.
I am drinking a 20+ year ripe today from a bing that was kept in an envelope for almost 3 years+, and had never bothered to air it before brewing.
big mistake! the tea taste much like a manila envelope....
moral of the story: tea can taste good or improve over time, but it needs some work to maintain it. even in the right conditions, but in a wrong location or poorly packaged, can cause it to taste different.
Re: Suggestions needed, first attempt at long term storage
entropyembrace, how do you tell the flatness/staleness of excessively dry-stored tea from tea in relatively awkward periods? I've consistently found that four to six year old puerh to be worse than what they were before and after that time frame, especially in going from being mellow to dull.