Replicating Puerh Brewing Results

Replicating Puerh Brewing Results extends a conversation regarding Drury Lane at the end of June ’22.  In late Aug of the same year, Puerh Junky endeavored to replicate the splendid results.  The upshot?  Setting the brick out for a few days before brewing reproduced the desired results.

Although it would be nice to just grab from the stash and brew something up, each treasure has its own personality that will be greatly influenced by storage conditions and season.  Only you know your storage and climactic conditions.  Relating my own only demonstrates that there are no hard and fast rules and you’re only going to find what’s right for you through experimentation.

This time Drury Lane sat out for about three days before being brewed.  The results were superb.  It’s fair to say that any brewing without sitting out a few days would be a waste.  One caveat: so long as it remains in the same storage space, the fridge.

Since April ’22, the fridge has become a power-storage space.  Whereas previously, some humidifiers were placed here and there in the fridge, the current setup has a shelf where a tray of humidification resides.  It consists of a simple large plastic take-out food container with two florist sponges about an inch thick.  The tray is filled with water mixed with perhaps 1/8th, maybe less, of food-grade propylene glycol, used to discourage mold.  If I see mold growing on the sponges, then I add a more concentrated mixture.  I don’t just pour the pg into the tray.  It needs to be mixed.

Precision Humefaction

The tray sits uncovered because there is no risk of spillage and because it diffuses faster than if it were covered.  Most all the other storage containers have a similar setup but with lids that have numerous holes melted into them.  I heated a big screw with a kitchen torch to make them without cracking the plastic.  Two of the very big containers have one-gallon jugs cut to accommodate a big sponge and a good amount of water.  Both containers are accessed frequently and allow more airflow than the fridge, so this seemed to be the best way to get lotsa humidity into the containers.

Dodger tape optional

One such container holds ripes.  The morning of Sept 2nd, ’22 occasioned its opening to sample Snake.  The blast of air upon opening promised good “juice-ification” for the treasures therein.  It’s been hot and humid these past few days.  This setup makes for power humidity, enlivening the ripes, making them richer and sweeter.  Right now it’s ultra primo storage, as the air flow and heat is much greater than the fridge.

Already, 2022 has been the Snake‘s best year, so checking in on it was simply to determine whether it would also require a few day’s airing given the difference in storage.  Findings?  No airing necessary.   The plastic container provides nearly ideal conditions with this humidifier during the hot season.

The most current stint of heat has been quite humid so the amount of water that the fridge has been drinking is actually less than June and July.  It could also be that the tea has reached a certain saturation level, but I’m guessing that it has more to do with ambient humidity.

In general, I’m not worried about mold.  It’s never been a problem and the returns are huge in terms of how happy it makes the puerh.  This applies to both raw and ripes.  From mid-Nov to the beginning of July, temperatures will normally only get into the 90s (27c?) maybe a total of 15 days.  September and October will be burners, but usually the humidity will be quite super low.  Perhaps this newly outfitted humidifiers will work with the dry heat to keep up a juicy cooking, but the main purpose is to prevent excessive drying.

Much could be said on these seasonal changes, but the focus here is on reproducing the same effects for an excellent ripe which had started to drop off from excessive dryness and didn’t impress after conditions had switched to greater humidity.  It turns out, the original charm blossomed after sitting out for a few days.  Visiting the Snake confirmed some of the weaknesses of storage in the fridge.  As an aside, it should be noted that there are other items stored in the fridge that don’t seem to need any airing.  Again, each production has its own personality, shaped by material, compression, and mysterious variables necessitating constant fiddling to bring out the best from each.  Don’t be afraid to experiment.  Puerh is super forgiving.