Puerh Cha Article - Dry Storage	Page 1 | 2

The fermentation of puerh tea under dry storage is a time consuming process that involves natural ageing through oxidation. Dry stored puerh tea exhibits a glossy shine that gives the tea leaves a unique and beautiful appearance. The vibrancy and cleanliness of its flavors are revealed and can be fully appreciated after each brew.

Dry storage has a long history in the puerh world however it was not until the early 2000s that it's popularity soared. Since the wave of commercialism in the 1950s most of the puerh tea produced was kept under wet storage conditions in big warehouses by tea merchants. The few batches of puerh tea that have undergone dry storage were mostly stored by tea connoisseurs. This situation was heavily governed by the business of selling puerh tea. Young green puerh possessing powerful and harsh characters were hard to sell and took 30+ years to fully mature. By comparison wet storage allows maturity to take place in less than half that time. Long term storage is risky business. It is also unappealing to tea merchants whose profits rely on quick turnovers and not an end product that after a lengthy period of care will be expensive and difficult to sell. As a result in old territories that have been the hub for puerh trade for the past several decades the teas offered have generally been passed through wet storage. With the recent trend it is mainly in new territories that the demand for dry stored puerh teas have come to the fore.

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