Taking a casual glance at the Hong Kong tea market one could be forgiven into thinking that HK Traditional (Wet) Storage puerh tea has maintained a healthy position despite having weathered multiple storms. In truth on the surface the seemingly abundant and varied offerings under this classic style of puerh conceals a glaring alteration that sellers do not like talking about. Some sellers will go so far as to deny and downplay the whole issue, feinting indifference that borders on dishonesty. However amongst older tea drinkers and collectors who grew up and have experience drinking the old productions (especially those from the 1990s and earlier) the situation that transpired has long been an open secret. The truth for the vast majority of puerh tea marketed as HK traditional storage today in fact comes from Chinese warehouses outside of Hong Kong. Generally speaking these are cruder versions, lacking the refinement and quality of the older genuine stock.
To better understand the tea situation that has transpired we need to go back several decades and understand Hong Kong’s transition from industry and trade to becoming a prominent financial hub for banking and investment funds. Attracting an increasing number of wealthy residents and cliental the city has also catered its services more towards entertainment and lifestyle. The enormous cash flow entering HK greatly pushed up the cost of living as well as rent and property value causing an exodus of local manufacturing industries and warehouses to China. Relocation comes with many new challenges. For HK tea warehouses the loss of experience workers would prove to be a heavy blow* made worse in the face of new environmental conditions alongside working with new and inexperience staff. Moreover the powerful shift in perception and value that has emerged in favor of natural (dry) storage together with the sudden and rapid rise in popularity of the modern style puerh tea would further divide resources. This would take away crucial funding for the operation of these Chinese warehouses. Under these challenging conditions the golden era of HK Traditional (Wet) Storage has passed.
To better understand the tea situation that has transpired we need to go back several decades and understand Hong Kong’s transition from industry and trade to becoming a prominent financial hub for banking and investment funds. Attracting an increasing number of wealthy residents and cliental the city has also catered its services more towards entertainment and lifestyle. The enormous cash flow entering HK greatly pushed up the cost of living as well as rent and property value causing an exodus of local manufacturing industries and warehouses to China. Relocation comes with many new challenges. For HK tea warehouses the loss of experience workers would prove to be a heavy blow* made worse in the face of new environmental conditions alongside working with new and inexperience staff. Moreover the powerful shift in perception and value that has emerged in favor of natural (dry) storage together with the sudden and rapid rise in popularity of the modern style puerh tea would further divide resources. This would take away crucial funding for the operation of these Chinese warehouses. Under these challenging conditions the golden era of HK Traditional (Wet) Storage has passed.
Additional Note: In assessment for my puerh collection I have over the years sampled countless productions of wet stored puerh tea coming out from Chinese warehouses and tried to better understand the situation. The teas make me feel that the process of wet storage has morphed into a chaotic and messy playground. At the same time the experience has elevated my appreciation for the old generation of workers who contributed to HK traditional (wet) storage before the change. Mastering the process of wet storage is not easy or straightforward. A long apprenticeship would be most fitting benefitting from a Master’s wisdom and presence but sadly such a route is no longer in fashion. Ideally the apprentice would be trained onsite becoming familiar with the working environment and layout. He would get to know the areas liable to accumulating moisture, be prone to fluctuations alongside other risk factors associated with the storage space. Having an understanding of the process itself is a start. That knowledge then needs to be finely tuned to the working environment to be of practical use. The handling of different variation/type of tea is learnt from direct handling and further requires being able to make adjustments alongside seasonal changes and year to year shift in conditions. These skills are honed from extensive practice over time and even then the practice of wet storage comes with many risks. Dealing with high humidity and temperature means a lot can go wrong and throwing out tea that has gone bad is par for the course. All these things add to a larger picture that requires the proper time and support to achieve a meaningful result. Unfortunately I have come to the opinion that the majority of Chinese warehouses used for wet storage operate on low budgets and the teas are rushed through the process. As a result the market for many years… decades have been flooded with lesser products. The local HK tea shops give a false sense of security and have been disappointing. There are exceptions but this generally would be reserved for the old stock of puerh tea. This is the reality that I have come to experience.