10 Steps to Start Aging Your Own Pu-erh Tea at Home

You can age raw pu-erh at home with a quiet, dark spot, a simple container and patience. The aim is steady conditions: about 20–25°C (68–77°F), 60–70% relative humidity, no light, no strong smells and a little airflow. The only tool you need is a cheap hygrometer to check the humidity. Here are the ten steps we suggest.

1) Choose Raw Pu-erh Cakes

Start with raw pu-erh (sheng), not ripe. Raw tea changes the most over the years; ripe pu-erh mellows for a few years and then changes slowly. Choose pressed cakes rather than loose leaf: compression slows the changes and helps the tea age evenly.

Look for cakes with a fresh, clean aroma and plump and sturdy leaves. Avoid tea that smells musty or sour. Leaf from old-arbor trees and well-known mountains tends to give the most interesting results over time. Try a sample first so you know you like the tea young; you will be drinking it for years. Browse our raw pu-erh collection, or start with the Raw Pu-erh Tasting Flight.

2) Keep the Paper Wrappers On

Leave each cake in its original paper wrapper. The paper shields the tea from light and dust, softens changes in humidity and lets the tea breathe. It also keeps the production details with the cake. Don't seal cakes in plastic bags or airtight containers for long-term aging: pu-erh needs a little air to keep changing.

3) Choose a Container

Any of these works well:

• A cardboard box. Clean, odor-free and cheap. Stack wrapped cakes inside with a little space around them.
• A bamboo basket or bamboo wrapping (tong). Use natural, untreated bamboo with no strong smell.
• An unglazed clay jar with a loose-fitting lid. It keeps out dust and smells but still lets in a little air. Rinse a new jar with hot water and let it dry completely before use.

Avoid plastic, which can pass on smells, and avoid anything sealed airtight. Don't pack the container tight; leave some room for air. A sealed tin is fine for the small portion of tea you are drinking now, just not for the cakes you are aging.

4) Find a Dark, Clean Spot

Put the container in a closet, cupboard or shelf away from windows. Light, and especially direct sun, heats the tea and dries it unevenly. Keep the tea off the floor and away from outside walls, where moisture can collect. Avoid the kitchen, bathroom and laundry area because of steam and smells.

5) Keep Different Teas Apart

Pu-erh picks up smells easily, including from other tea. Store young raw pu-erh separately from strongly scented teas such as ripe pu-erh, chen pi (tangerine peel) pu-erh, jasmine or smoked teas. A separate box or jar for each type is enough. Keep the storage area away from perfume, cleaning products, spices and cooking smells too.

6) Watch the Humidity

Aim for 60–70% relative humidity. Too dry, and the tea changes very slowly and can taste flat. Too damp, and you risk mold. Place a hygrometer next to your tea and check it every week or two at first, then whenever the seasons change.

In a dry home, keeping cakes together in a closed cardboard box or clay jar helps hold moisture around the tea. In a very humid home, run a dehumidifier in the room. Don't use silica gel packs: they dry the tea too much.

7) Keep the Temperature Steady

About 20–25°C (68–77°F) suits pu-erh, and steady matters more than exact. Choose the most stable spot in your home, such as an interior closet. Keep tea away from heaters, radiators and sunny walls, since dry heat damages it. Don't use a fridge or wine cooler: both are too cold and dry, and condensation forms when you take the tea out. In a cool winter the tea simply changes more slowly, and that is fine.

8) Check and Turn Every Few Months

Every two or three months, open the container, gently turn the cakes and look them over. Handle them with clean, dry hands. A good cake should smell clean, and over time you will notice an aged aroma starting to develop. Fuzzy or colored spots or a musty smell mean mold: set that cake aside and don't drink it.

9) Keep Simple Notes

Write down what you store, when you bought it and where it is kept. Once a year, note the humidity range, the color of the liquor and how the bitterness, aroma and huigan have changed. A photo of the dry leaf and the liquor helps. Our pu-erh tasting vocabulary gives you words for what you taste.

10) Be Patient

Raw pu-erh changes slowly. In a stable home, you will notice the first changes after two or three years, and the tea keeps developing for decades: bitterness softens, the liquor moves from yellow toward orange-red, and an aged aroma develops. Every tea and every home is different, so there are no guaranteed results. Taste a small piece once a year rather than every few weeks.

If you buy several cakes of the same tea, drink one while young and keep the rest. Comparing them over the years is the best way to learn how your storage shapes the tea.

For more detail, read how to store pu-erh tea and how time changes pu-erh.

This article is general information about tea, not medical advice. If you're pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medication or managing a health condition, please talk to your doctor before changing what you drink.