If making Pu-erh tea part of your daily drinking habit marks the beginning of understanding it, then as our love for Pu-erh deepens, we cannot avoid the question of storage — because “the older, the more fragrant” is an ultimate temptation forever teasing tea lovers, and the soul-stirring taste of aged tea is all the more mysterious and alluring in the legends of the Pu-erh world.
In the eyes of veteran tea master Huang Gang, “the storage of Pu-erh tea is the key to understanding it.” This detailed long-form article answers for tea lovers: “What is the ‘storage’ of Pu-erh tea? What is good ‘storage’? For Pu-erh enthusiasts, unlocking this question saves many detours on the road to understanding Pu-erh.”
How should we understand the “cang” (storage) of Pu-erh? Pu-erh is a post-fermented tea; whether raw or ripe, after being pressed into shape (and even as loose leaf), it goes through a process of storage and aging. We may therefore say that Pu-erh’s “cang” arises in this later process of storage and aging. What is “cang”? Literally it means the warehouse where tea is kept; by extension it has come to mean the environment and methods of tea storage.
So what is good Pu-erh storage? As mentioned, storage is an important stage in Pu-erh production — it can even be regarded as a deep-processing step after the initial manufacture. Whether natural storage or traditional storage, dry storage or wet storage, each can be seen as a different expression of character in different Pu-erh products.
Among these, traditional or wet storage can be regarded as a production method dominated by relatively complete microbial fermentation; natural or dry storage can be regarded as a method combining partial microbial fermentation with partial oxidation of tea polyphenols. What kind of storage is good storage? A storage method represents a particular ratio between microbial fermentation and polyphenol oxidation; different ratios produce different body sensations, tastes and aromas. Judging whether a tea has been “well stored” expresses a consumer’s preference among different storage products, and also their acceptance of the ratio between microbial fermentation and polyphenol oxidation in a tea.
So what are the main factors that determine the quality of Pu-erh storage? We can briefly summarize six: first, the raw material; second, the tightness of pressing; third, storage humidity; fourth, storage temperature; fifth, beneficial microbial flora in the storage environment; sixth, time.
1. On raw material. In the same environment, different materials transform at different speeds (when making ripe tea, the water added and the temperature-humidity control differ by material), so storage conditions should also be adjusted to the tea.
2. On pressing tightness. Generally speaking, loosely pressed tea favors post-fermentation, while tightly pressed tea hinders it. The common cakes, bricks and tuocha are usually pressed to a moderate tightness and limited thickness, so the post-fermentation of raw tea is predictable. But newly made iron cakes, heart-shaped tight teas, bamboo-tube teas and “qianliang teas” are pressed very tightly and thickly; without special treatment, I doubt they would taste good even after fifty years.
3. On storage temperature. The empirical figure available is an average of 26°C to 30°C. Higher temperatures may accelerate aging; too high and the tea tends to char; too low and aging slows, reducing economic efficiency.
4. On storage humidity. Empirical figures range between 60% and 80%. Excessive humidity easily degrades tea; too little likewise slows aging.
5. On beneficial microbial flora in the storage environment. Often overlooked is that the storage environment must contain abundant beneficial microbes — this is my reason for saying “no storage, no tea.” Pu-erh is a post-fermented tea; tea that has not undergone post-fermentation can only be called sun-dried maocha. Maocha is not undrinkable, but in the eyes of veteran Hong Kong tea drinkers, raw tea with fierce tea qi should not be drunk regularly — it is somewhat irritating to the stomach. Raw tea should be cellared for at least a decade before tasting. A liquor turning red and a mellow mouthfeel are probably the signs that a raw tea has transformed and can be enjoyed over the long term. The post-fermentation (aging) of Pu-erh is essentially the process by which beneficial microbes degrade water-insoluble substances in the leaves into water-soluble ones. Pu-erh is produced in Yunnan but stored in large quantities in Hong Kong, Taiwan and elsewhere. Some believe the old cellars of Hong Kong and Taiwan are vital to storing out a good tea, just as fine wine must pass through an old cellar.
6. On time. Does mastering the five factors above guarantee a good tea? Not necessarily. What is harder is that temperature, humidity and the types and quantities of beneficial microbes all play out along the axis of time. We know very little about what temperature, humidity and microbial action a good tea needs at each point in time. If we were to draw a curve for the formation of a good tea, it would run through a multi-dimensional space of temperature, humidity, flora and time. Even with our most advanced technology, we could hardly replicate a good tea completely in the real world. From this analysis we may draw a lesson: good tea is rare, and very hard to reproduce.
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Author: Lam Sam (LamSam), the Old Tea Head
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