"Tea Talk on Paper" No. 8: Teach You to Build a Smart Tea Warehouse

Pu-erh tea gets more fragrant with age and is known as a drinkable antique. Good tea stored properly will become better. Today, let's explore how to build a smart Pu-erh tea warehouse. Those wealthy people who can afford constant temperature and humidity equipment and don't mind electricity bills can skip this article. Small and medium-sized practitioners in the Pu-erh tea industry, especially bosses, please read carefully; it might be of great help.

The most important factors for storing Pu-erh tea are humidity and temperature. Personally, I think temperature changes won't have a negative impact on Pu-erh tea; it's just a matter of aging speed. But humidity is critical. The industry generally believes that the humidity in a Pu-erh tea warehouse should not exceed 65-70%. Taking Guangdong as an example, there are many Pu-erh tea practitioners and various warehouses. Guangdong's high temperatures are very suitable for storing Pu-erh tea, but the humidity in Guangdong is also notorious (see figure below), sometimes reaching 100%. Controlling the humidity in the warehouse is crucial.

Online data: In 2013, the average humidity in Guangzhou was 81, and in Kunming it was 68.

Humidity in many places in Guangdong reaches 100%

Today, I will mainly discuss how to intelligently control the temperature and humidity of a warehouse. Other related aspects, such as warehouse ventilation and how to arrange the tea, I will explain in detail in another article later.

For small warehouses, you can directly buy a machine that automatically detects humidity and dehumidifies; on Taobao, there are options for just over a thousand yuan.

For larger warehouses that require multiple dehumidification and temperature control devices, please look here.

It is very simple, just the following steps:

1. Use smart temperature and humidity detection devices to monitor the warehouse temperature and humidity at any time;
2. When temperature and humidity exceed the threshold, link to the gateway;
3. The gateway then sends commands to smart sockets; smart sockets automatically dehumidify and control temperature.

The advantage of this approach is that the detector can be placed in the center of the warehouse, while the devices are around the warehouse, so the detection equipment is not affected, and control is more precise. Many brands have such devices. All of the above are available from Xiaomi, costing just a few hundred yuan (excluding temperature control and dehumidification equipment).

Generally speaking, based on the principle of not wasting, I think controlling humidity is enough; you just need a dehumidifier. If the tea is very good and you think it is necessary to adjust the temperature, you can add a temperature control device in the same way.

After writing this article, I had many exchanges with peers. The main concern everyone has is actually how to store the tea to make it better. I consulted Mr. Li from Hong Kong Tong'an Tea Company. His family has been in the tea business for over a hundred years and has multiple professional warehouses in Hong Kong and mainland China, with rich experience. His suggestions are as follows:

1. For new tea in the current year, the storage humidity and temperature can be slightly higher. Recommended humidity is 70%, temperature 37-40 degrees Celsius, and this storage should not exceed two years. Note that high humidity must be accompanied by high temperature; otherwise, the tea may become moldy. This humidity is still dry storage, not wet storage.

1. After two years, the storage humidity should be controlled at around 60%, with a temperature of 30-35 degrees Celsius, and can be stored indefinitely.

1. Different origins require different storage methods, mainly based on the characteristics of the tea. Teas from the Menghai tea area, such as Bulang Mountain, are thick and heavy; Menghai tea area can be stored with slightly higher humidity and for a longer time. Teas from the Yiwu tea area, which are less intense in flavor, and teas from other expensive tea areas, can be stored more conservatively.

\"Aged and more fragrant\" means that good tea will become better under proper storage. First, the tea must be good; second, the storage must be proper. Inferior tea cannot be expected to become more fragrant with age. Good tea must also be stored well. Storage is a major subject; this is why the same tea can fetch a sky-high price or be unwanted depending on the storage conditions.

Article original, some images from the internet, author: Lü Jianfeng, WeChat: ynwuse, working at 51 Pu-erh Net, initiator of Houyue Crowdfunding Tea.