Pumadore and RH / Temp

One of the intentionally aged teas, Pu-Erh has a loyal following.


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May 1st, '09, 23:33
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Pumadore and RH / Temp

by coloradopu » May 1st, '09, 23:33

for you who have gone this rout

what are your readings at this time and what have you noticed with higher #'s

what is the lowest you get and the highest you go.

do you use a hemostat

do you use a mister

just want to help set a base line for any one getting ready to do this

my stats";:

RH high :52 low 43
temp : constant 74 deg F
fan on 24/7
2 misting one high small one low large " fan moves mist everywhere tell you can't see it"

tea looks greeeat!

some cakes even have a shine "not wet just shinny like polished"

Please post you #'s
it will help us all trying to do this and if you can how” long you have been up and running at the #'s”


o.k. it sounds like a lot but if you do this it is all critical and you know off hand. :roll:

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May 2nd, '09, 17:47
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by JAS-eTea Guy » May 2nd, '09, 17:47

Cool! Looking forward to hearing the replies to this post. Have not started doing this yet.
Last edited by JAS-eTea Guy on May 2nd, '09, 21:38, edited 1 time in total.

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May 2nd, '09, 18:15
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by teaskeptic » May 2nd, '09, 18:15

My numbers are pretty much the same as yours, coloradopu.

According to google:

Hong Kong: 18°C , RH 77%
Taipei: 22°C, RH 69%
Kunming: 14°C, RH 60%

Of course, those are the conditions outside.

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May 2nd, '09, 23:37
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by heatwaves » May 2nd, '09, 23:37

I'd be a little bit cautious about using a mister. If used incorrectly (or sometimes even when used correctly), it can encourage the growth of mold.

Here's my pumidor stats:

Humidity: I'm able to get it up as high as 62% using two baking pans lined with wet towels (replaced and cleaned each week to prevent mold). If I don't keep up with it, it could drop as low as 50%. I'd love to ratch it up to 70%, but no method has worked (medusa/octapus method or Hydra cigar humidifier). I monitor the humidity using two digital humidity/temp. readers.

Temperature: Room Temperature :lol: (Year-round between 68-78 F)

No fan. I feel that it would dry out my cakes. I do, however, open up the door to my pumidor and "air it out" overnight every four to five days.

I've stored my pu in a storage area underneath the stairs of my home (see pic) for about 18 months. I had them in dresser drawers for the two years prior to that.

Image
Image

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May 4th, '09, 13:01
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by Dizzwave » May 4th, '09, 13:01

I don't use a mister either. I use a couple of those green sponges that florists use (they're super cheap, at a flower shop, and they hold tons of water). I only use distilled water -- I've heard that there's less chance of mold that way.

For the past couple weeks I've been at around 55%.
A couple of months ago I had been keeping it around 70%+ for awhile, then I took out the sponges and let it dry out (i.e. back down to ~50%) for a few weeks. (Another thing I've "heard" I should do once in a while.)

Temp is pretty constant room temp, 65-70F.

I leave the cabinet shut. It's not airtight. I open it whenever I make tea at home, about 1x/day, and let some air flow.

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May 4th, '09, 13:41
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by coloradopu » May 4th, '09, 13:41

a couple of you guys have said that you open her up and bring the RH back down.

what is this RH you go down to is it a big swing from current numbers or do you have high RH in your house.

i have an increase in temp right now and my in house RH is 32% which is high it goes to 20% often.

78 deg F
and RH is up to 51 % and range down to 40%
the misters do not stay on 24/7 they are controlled by a humostat with what looks like a 10% + or - range. i am looking at getting one that is digital with + or- 4% which is somewhat better.

There is a fan on 24/7 which provides a great deal of circulation.

the misters need refill every 10 days @ 49% RH and lasts longer when i drop humostat to a range of 35-45%rh

temp is up because of light bulb it will increase temp by 4 deg F if left on

observations:

if temp is increased odor increases " tea smell"
if RH increases astringency decreases
tea has a shine/glow to it if RH is up it seems to dull on lower RH’s


also in update i would like to include the new use of lunch bags thanks you know who you are.

more info we need more info on the stats and a few observations.

thanks guy's for helping with this
:D

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May 5th, '09, 09:16
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by tsverrir » May 5th, '09, 09:16

High: 85%
Low: ~65%
Temp about 18-22°c
No fan
No mister

Using a twist on the Medusa method where I use a paper towel in a ceramic flower pot held up by a bracket made of aluminum wire so dripping is not a problem.

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May 5th, '09, 17:46
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by Drax » May 5th, '09, 17:46

I think mine oscillates between RH 66-72%.

Temperature is room temperature, which is anywhere from 65-80F. When summer really kicks in, I will turn on the AC and hover around 70F.

I have a custom made pumidor. It uses a dual-humidifier system with small fans to circulate the air (and water vapor) throughout the box. The system only turns on when it reaches a low point.

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May 5th, '09, 22:05
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by coloradopu » May 5th, '09, 22:05

looking good guys now how about the cakes do you get the shine or are they dull? do you notice any sort of lag time for new stuff. are the one that have been in longer doing better or tasting less like you thought.
also when you pull out a sample do you let air for a day/week/2week
in dong so do you notice a difference.

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Jul 29th, '09, 03:05
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update

by coloradopu » Jul 29th, '09, 03:05

its summer now and temp is 75 deg f and Rh is 45%

not filling the humidifiers as much at all weather is funky

tea is doing very well

taste and small great looks good too

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Jul 29th, '09, 05:57
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Re: Pumadore and RH / Temp

by JAS-eTea Guy » Jul 29th, '09, 05:57

I keep all of my tea in the basement. It turns out to be a pretty ideal environment. The temperature is a constant 70 degrees F. The humidity is maintained at about 70%. Would you believe that I have to run 2 dehumidifiers to keep the RH at 70%. These generally have to be emptied daily of about a gallon of water. The tea seems to be thriving.

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Aug 7th, '09, 19:12
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Re: Pumadore and RH / Temp

by hop_goblin » Aug 7th, '09, 19:12

RH has been roughly 80% in my neck of the woods for the past 2 weeks. I've opened my pu closets and boxes during the day with the windows open. Its soaking up the goodness. Gives me time to wash my humidification system.

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Aug 10th, '09, 16:00
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Re: Pumadore and RH / Temp

by JP » Aug 10th, '09, 16:00

coloradopu wrote: RH high :52 low 43
temp : constant 74 deg F
fan on 24/7
2 misting one high small one low large " fan moves mist everywhere tell you can't see it"

tea looks greeeat!

some cakes even have a shine "not wet just shinny like polished"
I hope that the misting is set up so that it doesn't spray or blow directly on the tea. I don't think that it's a good idea to wet the tea.

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Aug 10th, '09, 18:27
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Re: Pumadore and RH / Temp

by coloradopu » Aug 10th, '09, 18:27

temp up to 78F Rh down to 32 %

opened the door for the day and left fan running but mister is off

and no the mist is dispersed by the fan quickly before it hits any cakes.

with Rh so low up here the mist doesn't stand a chance.

by the way this is the first time i have opened the door and turned everything off except the fan.

i had a heater running to keep the temp near 80F for a week but it sucked so much water from the mister i could not keep it full.

i will run the heater again but on a 3 day basis / month to get to the higher temps and Rh%'s

the smell the smell!!!!!!

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Aug 11th, '09, 09:21
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Re: Pumadore and RH / Temp

by tony shlongini » Aug 11th, '09, 09:21

hop_goblin wrote:RH has been roughly 80% in my neck of the woods for the past 2 weeks. I've opened my pu closets and boxes during the day with the windows open. Its soaking up the goodness. Gives me time to wash my humidification system.

The dreadlocks? :lol:

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