TeaDB

Category: Storage

  • Denny’s DIY Pumidor w/ Live Data Feed

    Denny’s DIY Pumidor w/ Live Data Feed

    [This is a living document]

    Jump to Pumidor V3

    Tea Den Aging Project Goals:

    • Accurate representation of variables influencing tea aging
    • Accurate visual representation of tea aging over time
    • Subjective perspective of tea aging over time

    Creating a “Smart” Pumidor

    Materials & Tools:

      • HomeAssistant
      • Wifi Smart Socket
      • Zigbee Humidity & Temperature Sensor
      • Seedling Heating Mat
      • Boveda 65% Two-Way Humidity Control Pack, Size 320
      • Insulation
      • NodeMCU ESP32 SBC
      • SHTC3 Temperature and Humidity Sensor

    Version 1: Zigbee sensors

    I used a Zigbee-protocol humidity and temperature sensor to start (the square device in there).  While zigbee is great for household lights, zigbee devices work best in a tight mesh with amplifier or repeaters within the system.  As my pumidor is far away from other zigbee devices, the quality of the signal was iffy at best, and the sensors in this device aren’t great.

    pumidor v1

    Gotta build my own I guess.

    Version 2: ESP32 + SHTC3

    I’m using a ESP32 board (NodeMCU 38 pinout) and a SHTC3 humidity and temperature sensor.  Way way better.

    Wrap it up in blankets (insulation):

    ESPHome Code

    Here is the added logic beyond a standard ESPHome template for an ESP32 device, in case you want to build your own:

    • i2c:
      • sda: GPIO21
      • scl: GPIO22
      • scan: true
    • sensor:
      • – platform: shtcx
      • temperature:
        • name: “Pumidor Temperature”
      • humidity:
        • name: “Pumidor Humidity”
      • update_interval: 30s

    While it does require a wired power source (I mean I could run this off a portable battery but w/e), this device is way way way more accurate.

    I also moved my pumidor into the room adjacent to our furnace to reduce the burden on the heating pad and save a bit of money.  The concern in this room is the ambient humidity is extremely low, but so far so good!

    Here’s how it looks inside my HomeAssistant UI:

    Wattage reading, effectively its power cycle visualized:

    Generating Data

    Humidity and temperature updates every hour directly from my pumedor to the interactive graph below.

    Full Screen Interactive Graph Link: https://teadb.org/humidity_temperature_graph.html

    Publish It Online

    Naturally I had to figure out a way to get it online.  I’m using HomeAssistant’s API, pulling data to a spreadsheet file via an hourly cron job, which I then run some simple python on to generate the above graph.  My script also takes a screenshot and updates the featured image of this blog post hourly.

    Taking Photos: Color Accuracy Over Time

    Turns out, to do this right is hard.

    My 80/20 TLDR:

    • Taking photos at night
    • Same lighting setup
    • Take a lot of photos
    • Color match photos across time

    Materials & Tools

    • RawTherapee
    • Color Correction Card

    Lighting Setup

    White2Tea Hypnotrain

    TeaDB Episode #520: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBFJ9Hy2Nho

    URL: https://white2tea.com/products/2022-hypnotrain

    Photos taken on 1/28/25:

    VERSION 3 + MORE

    (Update May 4 2025)

    IDK why I didn’t start with this cooler:





    Full Screen Interactive Graph Link: https://teadb.org/humidity_temperature_graph.html

    Dry Storage

    Added another temp sensor to the dry, unheated storage; here’s the setup:

    This drawer is enclosed completely, including from the bottom.



    Full Screen Interactive Graph Link: https://teadb.org/humidity_temperature_graph2.html

    Graphing Both Sensors

    Full Screen Interactive Graph Link: https://teadb.org/humidity_temperature_graph3.html

    Power Data

    This data visualizes how frequently the heating element turns on and off, and for how long it’s on and off.

    The change of a suspended heating element makes a big difference overall.

    New Home Assistant Dash

     

  • The 70/70 Line & Projecting Pu’erh Storage

    A few years ago I thought it’d be interesting to try mapping certain temperature and humidity conditions to approximate a certain area’s storage. For instance, if you could maintain conditions of 55-65F/65RH in a storage setup that might approximate somewhat close to average Kunming storage. 80-85F/65-70RH might be Kuala Lumpur. After banging my head and never really getting anywhere I decided that this was a doomed exercise (or at least beyond what I’m capable of). One reason why is that while location clearly matters in storage conditions, trying to translate outside weather conditions to actual storage conditions is not easy or straightforward. In the west people will sometimes get quite excited about storage and look at their climate data and try to extrapolate. I don’t think this is a totally useless exercise but it’s pretty difficult to know what to do with these numbers. This article explores some limitations but also what I think is a shortcut to approximating your natural conditions and how they stack up with places with an actual record of pu’erh storage.

    (more…)

  • Tea and Tobacco Guest Appearance

    This is not a TeaDB episode, but a guest appearance I made on Tea and Tobacco. It was a fun conversation and we talked about a wide array of topics from pu’erh storage, how I got into tea, and a few other of my hobbies.

  • Indoor vs. Outdoor Pu’erh Storage & Aging Cigars Compares w/Aging Pu’erh [Inbetweenisode 163]

    In this episode, James is joined by recurring guest Garrett for another long conversation on pu’erh.

    The first half of the conversation involves a post written by James on Indoor vs. Outdoor Storage and some of the implications on home storage.

    Indoor vs. Outdoor Storage

    The second half of the conversation involves Aging Cigars and how the scenes compare. They discuss the different stages of cigar aging, the importance of temperature, dew point, etc.

    Dr. Joe & Aging Cigars.

  • Grams Consumed: Grams Bought. A Relatively Simple Ratio to See If You’re Buying Too Much Pu’erh

    Cakes upon cakes. Filling up fridges by the tong.. Filling up apartments by the fridge. We’ve all seen that instagram. Some may buy a pair of cakes, one for aging and one for drinking.. There’s also the stamp collector who owns 250 different cakes including the entire 2015+2016+2017 White2Tea & Crimson Lotus Tea line. The tong (+1). The two tongs (+1). For the obsessed mind, it is all too easy to buy and accumulate lots of tea. (more…)

  • Five More Things I like & Dislike. Pu’erh Vendors on YT, Seattle, Gambling on Dayi..

    Things that have been occurring in the tea world that I like and dislike.. (more…)

  • Outdoor & Indoor Pu’erh Storage in the West. Why Climate Data Only Tells a Partial Picture for Home Storage.

    A while back I crunched the numbers for climates in some eastern and western cities and compared them to Kunming. One of the takeaways from that article is that despite its reputation, Kunming’s humidity is not that much lower than places with a more humid reputation, i.e. Hong Kong or Taipei. The more significant difference is in the temperature. On a similar note, Seattle (my hometown) is similar in relative humidity but is even colder than Kunming. Hotter air holds more water content and in that article I noted the sometimes under-emphasized importance of temperature. I stand by this, but I now read the climate data a little differently, especially when it comes to the implications of home storage in the west. (more…)

  • What to Expect from Traditionally Stored Tea

    I get asked a lot about traditionally stored and wetter pu’erh. I like to drink these teas and it’s unfortunately a type that lacks a lot of the exposure in comparison with young pu’erh or ripe pu’erh. Most pu’erh focused vendors don’t offer this type of tea and the ones that do, it typically makes up a small part of their catalog.. Pu’erh offers a broad array of unfamiliar tastes to the western palate that can be different and a unique experience for new drinkers (see ripe pu’erh or young raw), but sitting atop that list is traditionally stored pu’erh. That lack of exposure isn’t the case in areas around southern China, where pu’erh has been consumed for much longer than anywhere else and traditional storage has historically been the default. (more…)

  • Pu’erh Storage with Garrett [Inbetweenisode 137]

    This episode, James is rejoined by Garrett for a discussion of pu’erh storage. Specifically covers Garrett’s own experiences storing pu’erh in Seattle with crocks and a cheap, second-hand pumidor.

    Is Like Water IG

    Dew Point Calculator

  • Simple Home Storage Solutions

    Pu’erh storage is as complicated as you want to make it. But it’s also an issue that needs to be addressed for anyone with a stash. Keeping your pu’erh in open air or close to aromas is a good way to slowly ruin it. Pumidor is a scary sounding word and can represent overly elaborate, endlessly complex solutions.. For instance there are some pu-heads that have hand-built a sealed non-aromatic wood box from scratch with multiple humidifiers and hygrometers. Or installed a fishtank heater to emulate the humidity of more humid storage. This can all be a bit intimidating for someone just getting started with a cake or two. There’s also an appeal in keeping it simple. In many ways, the more complex the solution the more points of stress or concern. Maybe you’re just tipping your toes into the water and have a couple cakes or maybe you prefer a minimalist approach to tea. Either way, it is very possible to create simple, workable solution that don’t involve adding humidity or hygrometers. (more…)