On Wed, 04 Jan 2006 04:53:39 +0000, oleg shteynbuk wrote:

> I am about to order puerh and shipping could take 4 or 8 weeks, and can
> get some savings on shipping by ordering several items. I would prefer to
> order different types that the vendor is offering, most likely even all
> types, not all brands Puerh supposed to be kept in odor free place and
> the question is will say black puerh affect green one and is it a good
> idea to combine in one shipment different types of puerh green, black,
> loose, ready to drink and for aging; vendor said that he can wrap them
> them separate in plastic, but puerh supposed to breathe so wrapping in
> plastic is probably not a good idea, and if type of shipping doesn't
> matter i will take the cheapest one that will be the longest one.
>
> Also to store puerh should each type has its dedicated place or I can just
> put all of them on the shelf in a closet built in the wall of my
> apartment, where I keep some clothes too. OTOH maybe I am just paranoid
> as read that about eight or nine hundreds years ago puerh was used as a
> currency and was carried around and probably kept in different conditions
> but then there were no pollution and no need for organic certifications.
>
> Thanks for any suggestions,
>
> Oleg

What I did is this:

I went to the local home improvement / gardening store and got some of
those red clay 14 inch stubby flower pots - the short ones, not the
regular ones - with the corresponding size dish underneath - except the
dish goes on top in my case. This was in the middle of the hot summer,
when they have lots of inventory there, but also what I did was I gave the
flower pots a good washing with some non-toxic health-food-store-type
dishwashing detergent - unscented, or very nearly close to it - and then
I set them out into the hot sun to dry thoroughly for a day or two. I also
inspected them closely before I bought them to make sure they weren't
moldy or smelled bad or left over from last year, etc...

Then, I went to the local fabric store, and picked out some nice patterns
in 100% cotton - 2 yards - the normal width works perfectly for the 14
inch flower pots. I washed the fabric in fragrance-free laundry detergent
and then line dried it.

Then I fold the fabric over in half, the long way - I bought 2 yards, I
make that effectively 1 yard now - I put the 14 inch pot in the middle,
bring the two cut ends and the one folded end together where they don't
quite reach, put the dish on top, and then fold the other two ends over to
cover up the dish.

I tried this just as an experiment, but the 14 inch stubby flower pot and
two yards of cloth seem to be made for one another. I figure that as long
as the flower pots are fresh inventory and haven't been sitting around and
molding, and if the cloth is 100% cotton, it's a winning combination. It's
a good size for beeng chas, and I put the tuo chas on the bottom. But
there are probably lots of ways to arrange the tea.

Overall, the cost was around $8 for the pot and dish, and the fabric that
depends on how nice you want it, but under $10 shouldn't be a problem on
that either. I'm happy with it. If you get nice fabric and keep it
folded neatly you can put it on your bookshelf or whatever and it doesn't
look all that bad.