Today, I've transfered close to 1 jin (600 grams) Lishan Oolong from a vacuum sealed pack to this white glazed tea jar. I've also followed Menglin's advice to put some (bamboo) charcoal at the bottom of the jar. I think it makes a lot of sense. Active charcoal should help trap bad smells and humidity.This Lishan Oolong is just lightly roasted to preserve the High Mountain freshness of this tea. At the same time, it brings warmth and sweetness from the roasting. (It's quite similar to the 2650m Da Yu Ling I once purchased). I like it very much and think it has a lot of potential to age well.
In September 2006, I wrote an article on jars for aging Oolong. I'm using a different jar for this Oolong, because its roasting isn't as strong as traditional roast. Thus, this Lishan Oolong contains should be completely sealed against moisture and air. That's why I use a completely glazed jar and put wax around the lid. I included a thread in the wax to open it more easily. Now, I intend to keep it closed for at least 4 years before opening it again.
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16 comments:
ca me rappel ma petite experience , c'est trés similaire .le coup du charbon , c'est bien vu : j'avais mis des mini absorbeurs d'humidité ( le charbon c'est mieux je pense ) , par contre l'idée de la ficelle où on à plus qu'a tirer pour ouvrir est excellente : on vois la touche du " maître " ;-) .
sinon le rendu du bleu et du blanc ca fait sympa comme rendu .
hey whats up, great blog! I never seen so much tea info in once place, lol…anyways was curious as to what you know about Wulong tea, I think it also goes by oolong tea. I ordered some from http://www.wulongforlife.com based on what its health benefits are. Are all those things true, that it clears skin, helps teeth, helps with weight loss and hair loss???
I think it is better to do this sealing test prior to storing tea in the jar. Hydrocarbon wax tends to give unpleasant smell and the activated coal speeds up the diffusion of the smell into inner jar as wax won't be sufficient to seal up to vacuum condition or at least not for a long time.
It is better to keep an additional layer of high density polypropylene at the rim between the jar and the lid for extra precaution
I agree with the previous poster somewhat- you may have trouble with the paraffin wax as a sealer- candle paraffin will crack and craze with time and temperature change- it is unlikely to form a good seal for anything with a longer storage life than a jar of jelly.
Consider real sealing wax or beeswax, if you cannot find real sealing wax. Sealing wax is a mixture of beeswax and resins that is much more durable than most waxes, while beeswax is uniquely stable and long lasting- it remains flexible and unchanged over very very long periods of time.
Thanks for the last 2 advice. As for smell, I think it should be OK. The wax didn't have any. It wasn't one of those scented candles!
The temperature in my house is quite stable, so I don't expect cracks to form in the short term. This should give me the time to find sealing wax or beeswax Eanglin recommends.
Hi Stepahne, yes the bamboo really does help, I use it like this too, I also have a little piece in my kettle, my coffee machine, and also our chilled water, and we notice how clean the water is, great invention ativated charcoal
happy new year Stephane, im almost out of tea will have to prder some more soon
Cette jare est très sobre et élégante, néanmoins n'est il pas préferable de conserver le thé dans son emballage sous vide ?
Jeancarmet,
Sous vide, ce thé devrait moins changer que dans une jarre scellée. En effet, un peu d'air et d'oxygène sont nécessaires pour la lente évolution du thé. Mais pas trop non plus. Si tu le conserves pour garder ses attributs actuels, l'emballage sous-vide dans un endroit sec et frais est idéal. Mais si tu veux le conserver pour de très nombreuses années en vue de l'affiner, alors la jarre est recommandée.
Il me reste encore un peu de ce thé. Tu me donnes l'idée d'en remettre une partie dans un emballage sous vide afin de pouvoir comparer ces 2 méthodes de conservation dans quelques années.
Salut Stéphane
Je t'enverrai de la cire de sculpteur.
Sinon ton dentiste doit avoir ce qu'il te faut.
C'est peu etre mieux que la bougie.
michel , je suis interessé par cette cire de sculteur : elle consiste en quoi ?
Sinon il existe aussi de la cire blanche de palme 100% naturelle :
http://www.satoriz.fr/content.php?page=infoproduits&rub=34&numsubrub=483&scrl=on
Hi Stephane,
The jar you are using, do you sell these or can you source them? It looks very nice.
Regards
Elton
Merci Michel!
Elton,
I can source this jar, if you're interested. There is also a smaller version (for 150 grams of Oolong) in the same white but a slightly different design for the cover.
Wow, thanks for the info. I'm new to the "tea" market and didn't know that I could seal it away with wax. I'll have to try it, thanks!
Hi Stephane,
now nearly 4 years are gone - did you open the jar meanwhile? Did the plan work? How does the tea taste?
Teafriendly regards,
Stephan
Hallo Teefreund,
Danke für Dein Kommentar!
I opened the jar over a year ago and realized that the fragrances were 'off', not as natural as they should be. So, I removed the plastic foil below the cover. It was glue to the porcelain to make the jar air tight. However, this plastic and glue didn't interact well with the tea.
Since then, the cover is on the jar, but not completely air tight. Today, I tasted this tea again, in order to answer you. I find that the smells are more natural and evolving in the right direction. But it's a slow change and this tea still feels very young and full of fire.
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