Steepster and Tea Organization

Today marks one year on the tea lover's haven, Steepster. I have to say it is one of the more awesome discoveries of the year while also being the most cruel. I have spent a lot on tea, and my stash is nuts thanks to exposure to more high quality brands that are often small and not very well known. In that time, I have completed 423 tasting notes in that year, though admittedly a solid chunk are compiled from other records I have from tea reviews past (mostly Adagio). I am excited to see where this next year takes me.

I am also checking in about my tea pare-down goals I introduced at the end of last summer. At that time, I had 80 samples and 68 tins. The goal was 20 sample sizes and 30 full tins. I currently still have 68 full sized tins, but only have 43 samples. I take this as decent news - it means that knowing I bought a TON of tea, I was drinking it and/or rehoming the things I didn't like at the same speed as I purchased it. And more, I am drinking samples far faster than I am acquiring them. With some mindfulness, I am confident this year will show progress in reducing even more.

In the spirit of the new year, I reorganized some things. I also got my first little teapot. It has a mesh strainer inside it, is a pretty jade green color, and holds two mugs worth of tea. This has revolutionized my tea drinking as I am now able to steep loose leaf tea easily while I am dog sitting (I have been house and dog sitting for the past 3 weeks straight), and able to make a big pot and sit and do other things. Overall it cuts down time brewing.

I redid my cabinets. Right now as they stand, they house nearly all of the tins I have. It is organized in a specific way, and about 2/3 of the way full. The organizational system doesn't work as effectively if it is any more full, so I think what is inside is my real goal for knowing I have just enough.

The bottom shelf are all teas I prefer to make iced - many tins are on their sides. On the right, there are older teas I need to use up first. The pink box in the middle hold all of the tea samples I have tasted and am keeping. The left side holds the iced teas that are newer. The top shelf holds my hot teas. The ones on the right are ones that are full sized that I haven't tasted yet. The ones on the left are ones I have. The ones in the middle are my favorite teas so I can find them easily. The whole top shelf is also organized by having the newer teas in the back in their sections, and the older ones in the front.

I keep a small stash on my countertop of things I am trying to finish. There are usually a couple samples here too. Right now, I have some lavender honey I am trying to finish. Yes, I also have a small excess of honey.

I have an excess that I am trying to cut down on. This small box holds all the teas that I am not going to bother rehoming in a tin - there isn't enough to warrant it, and many are Butiki and are going out of business. These will be consumed long before they go stale. Many of these are night in light-proof packaging, also requiring that they be consumed sooner rather than later.

This is the true overstock. The large box on the left are samples. Since this picture was taken, I received my golden tips subscription so there are more now. The small Adagio box holds samples that I know I enjoy, but that aren't open yet. I really try to make sure teas not living in tins, or open samples exposed to air get priority. The box on the right contains all of the sealed, airtight teas that are waiting for tin space in the cabinet. It is a medium sized box. The giant bag in the middle is a huge amount of Blood Orange tisane from Adagio, one of my favorite iced teas, waiting for tin space.

I am feeling great about the start to this year, tea included.

Tea Drink Down and Cup of The Day

So I am failing pretty badly at the tea no-buy. I am "down" to 58 samples and 63 tins. And when I began I had less. Even though I am drinking a ton. Is it my fault that there were 5 French teas at Marshall's that are typically very hard to get ahold of in the US? And that a few people were offering unbelievable sample sets for super cheap moneys on Steepster?

Whatever. I still hold that it is a good problem to have. And actually, I am making really decent headway on the iced tea collection - it definitely all fits in it's half of the cabinet now. But thanks to the Golden Tips Tea Subscription, I have a TON of hot tea to drink. Luckily, the weather is getting cooler.

Last night I drank a Teavana Rooibos Chai. It has lemongrass in it and makes me feel like I am drinking dessert even though I usually only put a single drop of agave in it. Mmm.

Gilmore Girls and Cup of the Day

My quality of life just got several notches higher.

My favorite show of all time, Gilmore Girls, is now on Netflix to watch instantly. I remember when it came on, I was the same age as Rory. And even now so many years later it is my go-to show to pick me up when I am sad, or make me even happier when I am happy.

Plus, wearing my Luke's sweatshirt helps me identify awesome people when they recognize where the logo is from.

My happy place is much easier to reach now. :-)

It is the first real day of fall, it barely hit 60 degrees today. I put on a sweatshirt to go outside for the first time in over six months. Today I am drinking a Tealux oolong called Gui Hua that has Osmanthus flowers in it and it tastes so amazing.

Sugary, peachy, and floral all in one. Super super awesome.

Here's to fall. 

Tea Drink-Down

Anyone who knows me even reasonably well knows how much I have come to love tea. It is funny actually, five years ago I had only had it a couple of times. It was a slow transition, and I realized at some point, through a single Teavana tin of loose leaf tea, that the plain Lipton bags were what I didn't like, and there was a whole other world out there I had no clue about.

Fast forward a couple years, and you have a girl who now drinks almost exclusively tea or tisanes. I am not a fan of water most of the time, I prefer my liquid to have flavor. I have also stopped buying juices or soda (diet or regular) to keep in the house, and only order them occasionally when I am out at dinner as a treat. I can honestly say I feel a lot better for it. That said, I try to keep my caffeine intake stable, and less than what would amount to a couple cups of coffee per day. This isn't so hard to do - I stick to black tea in the morning, oolong and green tea midday, and white or herbal tisanes in the evening. I make my own iced tea and it is largely unsweetened.

I should state first that I am TOTALLY comfortable having a large tea stash. It is a fairly healthy vice, and compared to most other drinks is also cheaper. But between a few monthly subscription boxes and a few boxes of samples from people on Steepster looking to pare down their collections, I have more than I can handle. So a few months ago, I instituted a goal. I count all of my teas on Sundays, and currently have 59 tins of tea (ranging from 1oz-10oz), and 45 samples (anything under an ounce). It doesn't fit in my tea cabinet in full, which to me is my main issue. So, my goal is to have less than 20 samples, and 30 tins full. That way, hopefully about half will be hot tea, and half will be iced. But really, I would be happy if it all fit in the cabinet, which would work at 40 tins too.

Making iced tea often means I drink those very fast, but hot teas take less leaf, so I usually keep drinking them in the mornings and evenings through the summer. Not too hard a feat, given how mild this summer has been.

Adagio, Rwanda Rukeri: Adagio is the first brand I ever bought from, and still one of my favorites. They have the best rewards system I have ever seen - I find between reviewing and sharing my daily cup on Facebook that about 25% of all the tea I purchase from them is free, often more. I started out being very into black tea, but now I often find it to be a bit too strong. This tea is good, very bold, but I have to be careful not to overleaf or overbrew.

Harney and Sons, Florence: This is very much a chocolate tea. It is a sample I got from a box of samples I purchased from a person on Steepster (damn my need to try a little of everything combined with a good deal!). It is chocolatey, with a hint of roastiness that I believe is hazelnut flavor. It was ok on its own, but I plan to add a bit of almond milk and turn it into more of a creamy dessert. Chocolate teas usually just make me want real chocolate, so brewing it stronger and with milk, like a chai, should quell the craving.

Adagio, Hojicha: If you like strong black teas, but want to branch out a little, this roasted green is the way to go. Roasty all the way, and I like to drink it in the evenings.

Chameleon Teas, Peppermint Cinnamon tea: This one is also green, and also spicy and relaxing and perfect for evening. As you can see, I am well on my way to finishing this one.

After I drink a tea, I rate it and review it on Steepster so I can remember which ones I liked best, and see what others think. Sometimes I find I am brewing a tea incorrectly. Other times, it just isn't for me and I rehome it with someone who might like it better.

Life is too short to waste forcing yourself to drink samples you don't care for when there are 59 you love overflowing a cabinet.