The choice of container for daily Puer Tea storage has always been a challenging issue for many tea enthusiasts.

    Clean, shaded, moisture-proof, and odorless – it needs to ensure breathability while preventing excessive oxidation. Different solutions are required for long-term and short-term storage. For those who struggle with selecting and using the right tea storage containers, this article aims to address various issues related to home Puer tea storage for novice tea enthusiasts.

    Long-Term Storage
    The first principle is to store Puer tea in a clean, shaded, moisture-proof, and stable environment.
    Temperature: The temperature for storing Puer tea should generally be around 20–30°C. Temperatures that are too high or too low are unfavorable for its aging process. Avoid altering the quality of Puer tea with air conditioners, quartz lamps, etc.
    Humidity: A relative humidity of around 65%–75% is sufficient. Excessively high or low humidity is also detrimental to the transformation of Puer tea. You can purchase a hygrometer to accurately monitor the humidity levels in the room.
    For tea enthusiasts in the north, where the climate is dry and humidity is very low, the transformation of Puer tea will slow down. Humidifiers can be used to increase air humidity appropriately, and wiping the floor with a damp towel can achieve a similar effect.
    In the south, during the plum rain season and other extremely humid periods, the relative humidity in the air is high, and the tea will absorb moisture from the room quickly, potentially leading to mold growth. Dehumidifiers should be used promptly to reduce indoor humidity.
    Ventilation: The primary purpose of ventilation is to balance the temperature and humidity inside and outside. When the indoor temperature and humidity are too high, or there is an accumulation of unpleasant odors, Puer tea should be ventilated appropriately.
    However, try not to expose the Puer tea cakes directly to strong airflow, nor leave them out on the balcony to dry, as these areas have high ventilation rates, which can reduce the tea's aroma and affect its internal transformation.

The duration of ventilation should be flexibly selected according to the season. During autumn and winter when the air humidity is low, cross-ventilation can be chosen. In summer when the temperature is high, exchange ventilation (opening only the window or door) should be used. Ventilation should also be avoided in high humidity conditions.
    Shaded: Keep Puer tea in an environment not exposed to direct sunlight to minimize the impact of strong light on its internal quality. Avoid exposing Puer tea to high temperatures, as it may lose its vitality and beneficial microorganisms may die off.
    Knowledge Extension: Don't let your good tea be ruined by a single lamp.
    Odorless: Puer tea has a strong ability to absorb odors, and once it absorbs foreign smells, it is difficult to remove them. Therefore, strive for a clean and odorless environment for storing Puer tea.
    Items such as gasoline, paint, perfume, tobacco, pets, ointments, bruise oils, electric mosquito repellents, hot pot, spicy snacks, pickles, etc., which emit strong odors, are often overlooked sources of unwanted odors in home storage environments.
    Tea enthusiasts who can afford it may set aside a separate room as an independent home storage space. Equipped with smart temperature and humidity control devices and connected via IoT to a smartphone for real-time monitoring, this can significantly reduce the complexity of storing Puer tea.

    Second Principle: Ensure Long-Term Stability of the Small Storage Environment
    Traditional Puer tea cakes are usually packaged in whole bundles with bamboo shells or entire pieces with bamboo mats. Maintaining the original packaging helps prevent water damage and provides a relatively stable internal environment for the post-fermentation of Puer tea.
    If you are storing a whole bundle without the original paper box, you can place the bamboo-shell-wrapped tea cakes in an unused paper box (to avoid odors) and seal the box with tape in a cross pattern before stacking them (do not exceed the weight limit).
    However, try not to place the paper boxes directly on the floor or against walls, as they can absorb moisture from the air, and walls and floors tend to be the dampest parts of a room.
    During the plum rain season in southern regions, the relative humidity can reach 100%, and floors may even become wet. During these special times, it is recommended to check the tea's moisture level every day to prevent mold growth.
    Therefore, paper boxes containing tea should be placed on a shelf at least 30 cm above the ground and 30 cm away from the wall in a dry location. Tea enthusiasts with large quantities of tea can choose to customize shelves for storing Puer tea.
    Third Principle: Avoid Mixing Raw and Ripe Teas, as Well as Different-Aged Raw Teas Together
    First, Puer raw tea and ripe tea are two different types of teas with distinct quality characteristics and should not be mixed together.
    In terms of aroma, Puer raw tea typically exhibits characteristics like downy, lotus, fresh, chestnut, and aged aromas; Puer ripe tea typically features ginseng, bean, aged, jujube, and camphor aromas.
    Due to the differences in aroma types, mixing Puer raw and ripe teas can lead to cross-absorption of aromatic substances, masking or altering each other, making it difficult for both to obtain pure and natural aromas.

Secondly, strictly speaking, raw teas of different ages should also be kept separate, avoiding storage together in the same paper box or tea jar. Raw teas aged over ten years and newly made raw teas have distinctly different flavors and aromas.
    Storing two types of tea in a small environment can easily cause the older tea to absorb the fresh scent of the newer tea, while the new tea may acquire an aged smell from the older tea. The aged scent absorbed by the new tea is partial and uneven, lacking purity.
    Additionally, this is also a consideration for moisture prevention. After long-term storage, older teas have lower moisture content, whereas newer teas have slightly higher moisture content. In a humid environment, storing old and new teas together may cause the older tea to absorb moisture.
    Some experienced tea drinkers store a small amount of older tea with newer tea to “inoculate” the newer tea with beneficial microorganisms from the older tea, improving the aging efficiency. This approach aligns with the concept of “tea seeds” in professional warehousing and does not conflict with the aforementioned practices.

    Daily Consumption
    For Puer tea intended for daily consumption, attention should be paid to sealing conditions to avoid excessive oxidation. For precious aged Puer teas, consider storing them in sealed aluminum foil bags. Open the bag when breaking the tea, take what you need, and then reseal the bag.
    In addition to sealed aluminum foil bags, impermeable