Tuicang: Airing Out Storage Taste
Tea that comes out of a damp warehouse, or that has sat stuffy at home for a season, often smells damp and closed. Leaving it somewhere dry for a while so that smell can dissipate is what the tea world calls "tuicang" (leaving storage).
What Is Tuicang?
Tuicang is a process of "giving tea a change of scene and a chance to breathe": taking it out of a damp, hot, or sealed place and putting it somewhere dry, ventilated, and odor-free, so the surface dampness and storage taste slowly dissipate and the tea's aroma becomes clean again. It's not a processing step and needs no special equipment; it relies on time and environment.
What Does "Enter Storage in Hong Kong, Leave Storage in Taiwan" Mean?
It's a saying from tea-world experience. In the early days, most aged tea in Hong Kong had been through entering storage, changing quickly in hot, humid storerooms and picking up an obvious storage taste. Around the 1990s, large amounts of aged tea flowed from Hong Kong to Taiwan, where tea people kept it in relatively dry, well-tended environments. After a few years, the storage taste faded, the liquor brightened, and the tea drank much cleaner. This history is covered in Pu'er and Taiwan and Taiwan Storage.
How to Air Out Tea
- Remove the outer box, keep the cotton paper: take the tea out of its cardboard box or plastic bag, but keep the cotton paper on to protect it from dust and light.
- Find the right spot: dry, ventilated, dark, and odor-free, such as the top shelf of a bookcase, a bamboo basket, or an open shelf.
- Control humidity: keep relative humidity at 55%–70%, ideally no higher than 70%; in Taiwan's spring and summer, you'll need a dehumidifier or moisture absorbers. For humidity figures, see Temperature and Humidity for Storing Pu'er.
- No sun, no direct airflow: direct sunlight makes the temperature swing, and air conditioning or a fan blowing directly on it makes the aroma dissipate too fast.
- Keep it separate: give tea being aired out its own area, away from new tea and ripe tea, so smells don't transfer.
- Smell it regularly: pick it up and smell it every week or two, and note the changes.
How Long Does It Take?
It depends on how strong the storage taste is:
| Condition | Approximate time (experience-based) |
|---|---|
| Packaging was closed too long, only surface dampness | A few days to a few weeks |
| Mild storage taste | A few weeks to a few months |
| Wet-stored tea with an obvious storage taste | Six months to 1–2 years |
| Heavily wet-stored aged tea | Possibly several years, and it may never fully clear |
Longer isn't always better. Once the storage taste has faded enough not to interfere with the tea's aroma, you can move it to your regular storage.
Can Airing Out Remove a Moldy Smell?
No. Storage taste is a smell picked up from the environment that mostly sits on the surface and slowly dissipates in a dry place. A moldy smell comes from the leaves actually molding; once mold has grown on the leaves, the smell stays no matter how long you air it, dry it, or brew it extra times. If the tea's surface has white fuzz, colored spots, or a pungent moldy smell, it's best not to drink it. How to recognize mold is covered in How to Identify Mold.
A "Mini Airing" When You Brew
With tea that has a mild storage taste, before brewing you can:
- Pry it apart and let it rest in a ceramic jar for a few days so the pieces can breathe.
- Do a quick rinse with boiling water and pour it off; rinse twice if needed.
- Use a gaiwan rather than a closed pot, so you can smell clearly and control the pour.
Rinsing and resting tea are covered in Rinsing and Awakening Tea.
When Is a Good Time to Air Out Tea?
In Taiwan, October through January is relatively dry and a good time to air out tea and tidy your tea cabinet. During the spring rains and plum rain season from February to May, humidity is high and tea being aired out can easily absorb moisture again, so put tea away and run the dehumidifier during this period.
FAQ
What is tuicang? Putting tea with a storage taste or dampness somewhere dry, ventilated, and odor-free so the smell dissipates and the aroma becomes clean.
How long does it take? A few weeks to a few months for mild cases; heavily wet-stored tea may take 1–2 years or longer.
How do you air out tea? Remove the outer box, keep the cotton paper, store it somewhere dry, ventilated, and dark at below 70% humidity, and smell it regularly.
Can airing out remove a moldy smell? No. A moldy smell comes from mold, and airing out only clears storage taste. Moldy tea isn't recommended for drinking.
What does "enter storage in Hong Kong, leave storage in Taiwan" mean? Aged tea from Hong Kong changed in hot, humid storerooms, then lost its storage taste in drier environments after reaching Taiwan. It's a saying based on tea-world experience.