What Pu'er Are You Drinking

Puerh and other heicha
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Balthazar
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Location: Oslo, Norway

Fri May 01, 2020 7:04 am

Chadrinkincat wrote:
Fri May 01, 2020 5:59 am
Shipping is expensive since it’s lightning fast DHL. Min for US is around $50.
Thanks for the info. Should probably pick up a few cakes to justify the shipping, then... Let's see.

The 03 Zipin seems to be really good value for what it is though, I'm surprised it's still available.
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Balthazar
Posts: 706
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Location: Oslo, Norway

Fri May 01, 2020 7:27 am

Noonie wrote:
Fri May 01, 2020 6:52 am
On a slightly different topic than drinking Pu’erh I wanted to ask if anyone uses a wine fridge to store Pu’erh...as a pumidor?

I’m picking one up used locally this weekend. I have around 10 cakes, might add a couple more in the next few months but I’m not looking to significantly age the tea. Despite trying a couple other methods I can’t keep the humidity about 60 and it has been due to lids on containers and such that don’t seal well. So the bovida packs I’ve been using haven’t helped. I have a hygrometer.

Anyway, tips with the fridge? I’m going to have a good inhale of it before I buy it...
I don't have any experience with this myself, but it's been discussed on teachat and reddit (and elsewhere too, I'm sure), and seems to be a fairly popular storage option.

(James from TeaDb stores some of his tea in a wine cooler, according to this post.)

What % Boveda packs have you been using? I'm using the 72% bags with crock storage (so definitely a leaky seal), and the humidity still stays at 65-70% (the bags need to be recharged about every other month). The relative humidity in our living room is 54% right now, in winter it often drops down to 20-30%.
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mrmopu
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Location: Blacksburg Va.
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Fri May 01, 2020 7:41 am

Noonie wrote:
Fri May 01, 2020 6:52 am
On a slightly different topic than drinking Pu’erh I wanted to ask if anyone uses a wine fridge to store Pu’erh...as a pumidor?

I’m picking one up used locally this weekend. I have around 10 cakes, might add a couple more in the next few months but I’m not looking to significantly age the tea. Despite trying a couple other methods I can’t keep the humidity about 60 and it has been due to lids on containers and such that don’t seal well. So the bovida packs I’ve been using haven’t helped. I have a hygrometer.

Anyway, tips with the fridge? I’m going to have a good inhale of it before I buy it...
Make sure there is no smell. You can use a salt and water solution in there as well. But to reiterate *no smell* as it will carry over to your tea.
Noonie
Posts: 360
Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2017 12:30 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada

Fri May 01, 2020 8:31 am

mrmopu wrote:
Fri May 01, 2020 7:41 am
Noonie wrote:
Fri May 01, 2020 6:52 am
On a slightly different topic than drinking Pu’erh I wanted to ask if anyone uses a wine fridge to store Pu’erh...as a pumidor?

I’m picking one up used locally this weekend. I have around 10 cakes, might add a couple more in the next few months but I’m not looking to significantly age the tea. Despite trying a couple other methods I can’t keep the humidity about 60 and it has been due to lids on containers and such that don’t seal well. So the bovida packs I’ve been using haven’t helped. I have a hygrometer.

Anyway, tips with the fridge? I’m going to have a good inhale of it before I buy it...
Make sure there is no smell. You can use a salt and water solution in there as well. But to reiterate *no smell* as it will carry over to your tea.
I hear you, but very few things have no smell even if new. I currently use a large stainless steel stock pot. It has no smell, but doesn’t seal very well. Plastic bins and such usually have some smell.

Other thoughts or ideas before I buy this fridge this weekend?
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Balthazar
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Location: Oslo, Norway

Fri May 01, 2020 8:39 am

You probably know this already, but if it does have a noticeable smell, white vinegar is your friend.
Noonie
Posts: 360
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Location: Ontario, Canada

Fri May 01, 2020 11:47 am

Balthazar wrote:
Fri May 01, 2020 7:27 am
Noonie wrote:
Fri May 01, 2020 6:52 am
On a slightly different topic than drinking Pu’erh I wanted to ask if anyone uses a wine fridge to store Pu’erh...as a pumidor?

I’m picking one up used locally this weekend. I have around 10 cakes, might add a couple more in the next few months but I’m not looking to significantly age the tea. Despite trying a couple other methods I can’t keep the humidity about 60 and it has been due to lids on containers and such that don’t seal well. So the bovida packs I’ve been using haven’t helped. I have a hygrometer.

Anyway, tips with the fridge? I’m going to have a good inhale of it before I buy it...
I don't have any experience with this myself, but it's been discussed on teachat and reddit (and elsewhere too, I'm sure), and seems to be a fairly popular storage option.

(James from TeaDb stores some of his tea in a wine cooler, according to this post.)

What % Boveda packs have you been using? I'm using the 72% bags with crock storage (so definitely a leaky seal), and the humidity still stays at 65-70% (the bags need to be recharged about every other month). The relative humidity in our living room is 54% right now, in winter it often drops down to 20-30%.
Thanks. I was using 72% but the smaller ones (pack of 10). I would use 2-4 at a time. Early on I get in the mid 60’s but within a week it drops to 50’s
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Balthazar
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Location: Oslo, Norway

Fri May 01, 2020 12:07 pm

It's strange that the humidity would suddenly drop like that. Will the Boveda packs have dried out at the point when the humidity drops, or do they still have the gel-like feeling when you squeeze them? When I first moved my cakes to crocks, they were fairly dry and it took a couple of weeks for their internal humidity to increase. At this time the measured relative humidity in the crocks was lower, and the packs would dry up faster. Once the cakes had "re-humidified" (to the Boveda pack level) the relative humidity in the crocks increased, and the packs now last significantly longer than they used to.

My largest crock is 15 liters and holds 15-20 cakes. I use two 60 gram packs, and the only seal is a dish towel and a dinner plate (on top of which we keep bags of rice).

Image

For smaller crocks, I only use one pack.
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Balthazar
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Fri May 01, 2020 12:34 pm

... as for what puer I'm drinking, today's sheng is the 2003 Keyi Xing. I'd say both "keyi" and "xing" are understatements, this remains one of the best value-for-money-teas white2tea has ever offered IMO (though I haven't ordered from them in the last few years). Anyone know what happened to the Keyi Xing brand?
Noonie
Posts: 360
Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2017 12:30 pm
Location: Ontario, Canada

Fri May 01, 2020 1:05 pm

Balthazar wrote:
Fri May 01, 2020 12:07 pm
.
My largest crock is 15 liters and holds 15-20 cakes. I use two 60 gram packs, and the only seal is a dish towel and a dinner plate (on top of which we keep bags of rice).

Image

For smaller crocks, I only use one pack.
I think that’s my problem...I’m using 8g packs and only a handful of them. I’ll order the larger ones and see how it goes. Cheers!
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mrmopu
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Fri May 01, 2020 3:18 pm

Noonie just clean it well and as stated white vinegar can do a lot. If you let the fridge heat up in the sun it will give you the best indicator on what it can smell like.
Proinsias
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Joined: Sun Apr 15, 2018 5:33 am
Location: Scotland

Fri May 01, 2020 5:33 pm

Put ~25gr of 2008 bamboo stuffed sheng into glazed kyusu. I think that was two days ago, and suspect another overnight steep will do breakfast.
oolongfan
Posts: 156
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Location: Indiana, USA

Sat May 02, 2020 3:33 pm

Proinsias wrote:
Fri May 01, 2020 5:33 pm
Put ~25gr of 2008 bamboo stuffed sheng into glazed kyusu. I think that was two days ago, and suspect another overnight steep will do breakfast.
Great minds think alike. I just finished Essence of Tea's lovely 2018 Spring Bamboo Packed Puerh. Roasted bamboo and butternut squash notes, char, soft herbal notes, and parchment. This tea shares similar savory vegetable and herbal qualities of both the 2018 Fall Gaufengzhai and the 2017 Nancai, but is much sweeter ..in a roasted bamboo-winter squash kinda way. The texture is medium thick and has a nice glycerol quality. Drinks like a tea easly twice the price - an absolute steal.
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pantry
Posts: 389
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2019 10:34 am
Location: US East Coast

Sat May 02, 2020 4:08 pm

Had Gaoshanzhai tea from spring 2019 this morning. It wasn’t as fragrant as I remember. Now enjoying EoT Bulang from 2012.
oolongfan
Posts: 156
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Location: Indiana, USA

Sat May 02, 2020 6:53 pm

pantry wrote:
Sat May 02, 2020 4:08 pm
Had Gaoshanzhai tea from spring 2019 this morning. It wasn’t as fragrant as I remember. Now enjoying EoT Bulang from 2012.


I would love to hear about EOT's 2012 Bulang as I have not yet had a chance to try it.
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pantry
Posts: 389
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Location: US East Coast

Sat May 02, 2020 9:55 pm

oolongfan wrote:
Sat May 02, 2020 6:53 pm
pantry wrote:
Sat May 02, 2020 4:08 pm
Had Gaoshanzhai tea from spring 2019 this morning. It wasn’t as fragrant as I remember. Now enjoying EoT Bulang from 2012.


I would love to hear about EOT's 2012 Bulang as I have not yet had a chance to try it.
It's a good tasting tea with a very strong, noticeable energy. There are other teas with more complex flavor, but this one could be a reliable daily.
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