Mei Leaf / Chinalife - 1600 Year old Pu-erh

Thanks TeaLife!
Great link! Really helps to put it into perspective how rare these trees really are!

2,700 year old tea tree! Are we accepting the age of this tree?

Even older trees described on wiki
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tea
“Fengqing County in the Lincang City Prefecture of Yunnan Province in China is said to be home to the world’s oldest cultivated tea tree, some 3,200 years old”

I read your post about storing in cardboard. What I don’t get is why companies like Yunnan Sourcing can store in cardboard without issue but you had major issues?

Hello Cwyn. I’d be interested to hear about your storage thoughts. I too stored my puerh in cardboard for a few months, but it didn’t seem right. I could smell it too much so I thought the oils and aromatics were escaping from the tea too much. Currently I am in plastic storage boxes (which have been allowed to air out to remove the chemical smell). I’m buying up too much puerh and so I know I need to get my storage as good as possible. Any tips or traps to avoid?

It entirely depends on your climate indoors. Scott is storing tea in Kunming where there is no air conditioning or heat indoors. It’s a very mild climate. Tea ages very delicately there, and sometimes at a crawl depending on the warehouse. In the industry everyone uses cardboard. I can use cardboard but I have a great natural environment for rapid aging indoors. Most American homes have central air-conditioning and heat so your pu would go crispy without a pumidor

I live in the northern US, in Wisconsin. Our winter weather lately is -10 to -40C over the past six weeks. With heating, my house RH is about 26%. This is desert dry. Using a room humidifier in the lower part of the house I can get 33% when the device is on. This is far too dry for puerh stored in cardboard. After about five years in cardboard my teas lost flavor and had faded. I found this advice to store in cardboard in the Internet. Even Cloud recommended it. But of course he lives in China.

This mistake got me thinking about how people here stored vegetables and preserved fruits etc. prior to refrigeration and “shelf stable” chemicals. And how people ferment foods here traditionally. The way is thick crocks. These are still used to ferment vegetables today, but not a widespread hobby anymore here because we can get Vitamin C year round, which was the reason cabbage was fermented to sauerkraut and why Wisconsin is known for beer and sausages with sauerkraut, preserved meat and fermented vegetables like sauerkraut and pickles. I find crocks keep tea in good condition.

Crocks are all over the vintage markets and thrift stores. You can buy new and they are less expensive than “puerh jars.” This last year I found a really thick vintage 10 gallon crock with a lid and moved most of my tea into it. I have other teas and experiments broken up in smaller crocks as well.

Oh I see, so the issue wasn’t so much cardboard as it was the RH. The RH in my room here in China seems to hover around 50-65% in the winter (I use a humidifier but it rarely goes near 50% even without it). We have a different type of heating here in Northeast China. It’s also -16C outside here right now :)

So it seems given an acceptable RH the cardboard isn’t an issue? Right?

Might be fine for storage for you. The only issue is cardboard odor. Recycled cardboard has more odor, I find. But the paper boxes used for puerh are fine.

I love the way you worded this! Your writing is fun to read, even when it’s not on your blog. Keep it up :)

Thanks. Excellent article. You know… I think she’s correct in saying that crockery / stoneware is the way to go. I’ve looked at clay storage options and they are rather expensive, but her idea of using old and used pieces is an interesting point. Cheers

Thanks for posting that link!

Fascinating Blog Cwyn. Thanks for making life easier for people storing long term. I was wondering if you might have some suggestions for tea storage on the west coast? I noticed you recommended Edith Heath Ceramics for humid climates Closer to the ocean, but wouldn’t know where to start with more desert like conditions here in Redding, CA. Our summers get up to 115 Degrees and we don’t get much rain except for around winter, I would say it’s not quite a desert environment but it’s close. What are some brands and types of crocks you would recommend for a large variety of Puers? Thanks again for all the informative Articles!

Clay pots are also used in China for aging pu erh quicker; if I remember correctly, sometimes a damp towel is thrown over the pot and it replicates traditional storage

wow, Paul’s trees are so young… ;-)

Excellent Article! Thanks for sharing!

+1, thanks a lot.

thanks for the post. i liked that read.

That was a very interesting article.

This is what I found to be most inspirational:

“So I said I had to follow the right path. Everyone must take a step, even if it seems small, to protect our planet. It’s a need. That’s when I began a profound questions about what I should do after oil. I read so many books to find an answer that this research has started to become a real hobby.”

Another wonderful point that was highlighted:

“Yes. It’s also because I had the right of this ancient tree between 2002 and 2006. Each year, it would not produce more than 45 cakes. 40 to 45 pancakes. Very limited production. Of course, I asked why they could not produce more tea for me? And then they donnairent me a very nice explanation, but very true: The tree was too old, so the buds come once a year in early spring. And then the tree has enough energy to produce new young leaves.”

Truly old trees can only produce so much tea. This is something more people need to realize.

Excellent read—thanks! Looks like he encountered some pretty shady wet storage operations. :o Traditional storage is never that bad. It’s a good thing he encountered some really wet-style storage, though, because his decision to store his tea in normal HK conditions changed the pu erh game forever!

Not really, no.

It’s a nice book, it’s just too general to focus on pu’er, and it also isn’t written about tea history, culture or conflict (such as the rampant fraudulence in the pu’er industry, more relevant to the discussion above). The chemistry doesn’t delve into fermentation or aging in tea either, iir; granted I haven’t gotten a chance to read it cover to cover yet.

Po-Yi Hung’s Tea Production and Jinghong Zhang’s Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic would give you a better idea of the economy and culture. As for the science, there are a number of papers in English (some on bacterial growth, and a few on different biochemical production with age); I access those through a university subscription to a number of journals, but if you’re a member of a larger public library, sometimes they have subscriptions as well so you don’t have to pay.

Useful Information AJ! I’ll have to put this particular book on the back burner then. It seems like you said, a good general sweep of the subject but nothing too in depth. That would make sense to check library or local University for Scientific Journals, appreciate the leads!

I’m making a youtube video series on tea agriculture In Jingmai Mountain, Yunnan. I hope you can get useful information there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMFu5cNdlp0&list=PL8RADat1kyMkgypTgIJWwdGkiZqRlDHHO

Great YouTube Channel William. As more and more people get turned on to Puer tea, I think channels like yours, that are researching the Agricultural practices in the industry will become invaluable. Keep it up! Love the passion!

Fascinating videos William. Just watched all four.

Dangit – I’m intrigued. But that’s wayyy to much to drop on a cake for me. I’d be interested in a split if someone else was down.

Edit: Looks like he’s gonna start selling samples soon so I may just go that route

Did anyone got this from the first batch? I am really interested of getting some when Don gets more of this.

I was too slow. But I’m totally down for splitting a cake if you were ever interested in the next batch.

This tea was sold out recently, anyone tried it?
I see it is now back in stock and on offer!

Interesting review TeaLife.HK… I feel this way about most of their teas frankly. Their just sort of underwhelming. For how much he boasts about the Quality of His teas, they hit a flat note with me.

I can’t comment on the rest of their offerings, but this tea was alright. I quite enjoyed the rustic stone pressing. Might be decent in a few years, given appropriate storage.