Show us your Tea Cupboard!

228 Replies

Rachel Sincere said 2013-03-02 07:55:45 -0500

Good idea, teataku! Thanks for the advice. I think we’ll be using the furniture-as-storage tactic for more stuff than tea.

Teavangelical, I LOVE the clothespin method. I’d be able to see my whole collection at once and have the fun of deciding what to pick without trying to dig through a deep cupboard to see what I have that I’ve forgotten about. I’m going to show that picture to my partner to see what she thinks.

JoonSusanna said 2013-03-31 21:30:41 -0400

I finally finished (well, mostly) my space and I’ve been dying to post it, so here goes!

https://picasaweb.google.com/117543481218540418474/MyTeaStation?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Ignore the price tags in drawer one – that’s tea cleaner from Mandala and I have since removed it but not updated the picture. :/

The last step is getting some linen fabric (probably a deep green) to cover the white of the drawers and maybe frosted glass covers to go on the clear cabinets.

Sigh – it makes me so happy to look over at it!

Rachel J said 2013-03-31 21:55:01 -0400

Ooh, it’s fabulous!!!

Sil said 2013-03-31 21:55:21 -0400

it looks awesome! where did you find the cupboard?

JoonSusanna said 2013-03-31 22:11:38 -0400

Thanks you guys!
Sil – the cupboard was from IKEA. It was initially open, like this: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80135298/#/60135299

IKEA has a bunch of options for drawer inserts and those were actually more expensive than the bookcase itself, but I really wanted it to look like an actual cupboard so I sprung for them.

Rachel J said 2013-03-31 22:17:37 -0400

Wow, about 75% of my apartment is furnished with IKEA stuff, but I would never have thought your cupboard was from there. Very nicely thought out!

momo said 2013-03-31 22:19:54 -0400

yay! I was hoping you’d post it soon after you told me about it, I wish I had the space for that, it looks awesome!

Sil said 2013-03-31 22:27:24 -0400

that’s too funny. most of my tea sits in the 2 by 4 of those haha

Andie said 2013-04-03 09:41:54 -0400

Looks AMAZING. WOW!

Kittenna said 2013-04-03 10:35:03 -0400

That looks awesome!

JoonSusanna said 2013-04-04 01:05:48 -0400

Thank you!! I am loving it so far since it makes everything so easily accessible. I’ve never been so heavily caffeinated in my life!

The boyfriend wants to put it on wheels and I’m thinking I may do that because a the idea of a MOBILE tea collection is blowing my mind at the moment. I just have to always park it near an outlet so I can boil my water haha…

Terri HarpLady said 2013-04-05 23:41:01 -0400

I love that cabinet! If I ever get my office cleaned out, I’ve promised myself a tea station in there. Something like this would be really nice! Maybe then I’ll actually spend more time doing the deskwork I tend to avoid: paying bills, answering emails, updating my cob-website.

wheezybee said 2013-05-18 12:34:26 -0400

This looks fantastic!

Rachel J said 2013-03-31 21:58:30 -0400

I started my own thread for mine the other day, but I should have posted here! OK, so this is a picture of how my tea is currently set up, BUT, I am so excited because I found the perfect solution for the space. So, it will be changing as soon as the shelves I got arrive. For now, the cardboard boxes are doing nicely…

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m226/rij73/DSC02784.jpg

What’s coming are unfinished wooden CD storage crates. When I saw them online, I realized that the dimensions would be perfect for standing up on the side and stacking them for use as tea shelves. I’m so excited and will post “after” pics. :)

JoonSusanna said 2013-03-31 22:06:59 -0400

The CD crates are a great idea – I wish I’d thought of that as a way of repurposing them!

Shelley_Lorraine said 2013-04-03 03:11:03 -0400

http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h353/flightysprite/Tea/teacupboard_zpsa096eb29.jpg

http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h353/flightysprite/Tea/teastation_zps75e39a92.jpg

My still-small but growing collection of tea stuff.

Rachel J said 2013-04-03 08:08:33 -0400

That’s great! Those little shelves look so handy. :)

Shelley_Lorraine said 2013-04-04 00:43:23 -0400

They totally are. They make more space without being too bulky or difficult to keep clean.

Terri HarpLady said 2013-04-05 23:42:48 -0400

Yeah, I was looking at those the other day. I think I need some of those to…

Andie said 2013-04-03 09:40:49 -0400

I have this MESS of a tea shelf at the moment, I really need to reorganize. I have a similar shelf next to it displaying my teaware but no pic at the moment

http://24.media.tumblr.com/da37c1096b6d7d46335a7d45a2a629c1/tumblr_mh8tcxdh2g1qcfaago3_1280.jpg

Kittenna said 2013-04-03 10:28:17 -0400

So much tea! :D

JoonSusanna said 2013-04-04 01:01:52 -0400

You definitely excel at Tea Jenga. :) Still, it probably keeps other people out of your stash!

Rachel J said 2013-04-04 08:27:07 -0400

Wow! I love those wire baskets!

ShayneBear said 2013-04-04 13:37:34 -0400

http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/734587_534409586611018_764242840_n.jpg

each shelf is 3 tins deep. the brown box on the top right shelf is all my samples, the white bin next to it is all my pouches of tea.

Top left: herbal
2nd Left: white
2nd right: rooibos
3rd left: oolong
3rd right: green
4th left: flavoured blacks
4th right: earl greys, chais, straight blacks/straight blends
5th left: pu’erh/sweeteners
5th right: mate/guayusa
bottom left: tea chest (bagged teas), sample sets, flavoured syrups, hot chocolate mix, tea balls/filters, glittery sugar
bottom right: alcohol, grenadine, lime cordial

tperez said 2013-04-04 13:57:25 -0400

Gah! So organized! I wish I could get mine looking like that :)

Terri HarpLady said 2013-04-05 23:45:14 -0400

Wow! Now, THAT’s a collection!

My Friend Rashad said 2013-04-06 06:40:47 -0400

Yes!! That is what “enough” tea looks like!

TeaDreams1 said 2013-04-06 10:18:42 -0400

Nice collection, did you ever think about opening up a store? LOL!

ShayneBear said 2013-04-06 11:07:25 -0400

Very few of the tins are actually full. I give away a lot of what I buy to friends and family who show interest in trying something new. I always buy enough to fill a tin (or buy a tin when I go into a store), and refill them regularly (sometimes with the same thing, sometimes with something new) because between what I give away and what I consume, I’m always running out of something! haha! I drink about a tin’s worth of leaf every couple days (different teas! not a whole tin of the same thing, haha!) It’s a bit of a problem :P

Rachel J said 2013-04-05 22:16:34 -0400

Check out my improvements!

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m226/rij73/DSC02844.jpg

Who knew cheap CD crates make perfect tea shelves?

ShayneBear said 2013-04-06 11:11:03 -0400

Awesome! are you going to paint/stain the crates, or leave them natural?

Rachel J said 2013-04-06 13:10:26 -0400

Thanks! I’m thinking of having my husband paint them for me. :)

wheezybee said 2013-05-18 12:36:34 -0400

Great improvement – they look perfect for the space! You might also consider staining them, so you can still enjoy the wood. Have fun!

Rachel Sincere said 2013-04-06 15:37:22 -0400

I hope this URL works. I’m not sure how to share an imgur album. http://imgur.com/a/lqetL The top pic is a Chinese tea set including a tray and tea spoon that I got for $35 at a small tea store in Madison, WI. The bottom is my setup. The top of the cabinet is all teapots, some with cups and some without. The white container on the left side of the top shelf contains bagged loose teas containing 1 oz. or more that I don’t have jars for yet. It’s about 1/2 full. The white container on the right side is full of samples under 1 oz. for my weekend sipdowns. Underneath that is my small collection of teabag teas.

The next shelf down is the rest of my teas, mostly 2 oz. sizes, in jars on which I’ve taped the label from the company including the directions. The cupboard doesn’t get light so I don’t worry about the teas that way, plus I use them up or swap them pretty quickly.

Shadowfall said 2013-04-06 17:37:14 -0400

I have that set in the top pic, except mine is yellow. I got it from a friend of mine who was cleaning her house out. It’s got 4 oriental cups, the tray and the teapot. Then I found a matching mug with cover at an estate sale a few months later, though the top had been caulked onto the mug so I have to uber clean it….I really should take the set out of the box. Lol.

Shadowfall said 2013-04-06 21:13:22 -0400

Here’s my current setup – http://tinyurl.com/TeaShelf1
And the rest that’s spilled onto the counter. Lol. – http://tinyurl.com/TeaShelf2

My tea used to be kept in a cabinet until I discovered Steepster and all these wonderful tea places. Lol. Needless to say, I started running out of space rather fast. I had already put one of these shelves up on another wall to hang my pots and pans and figured it would be a perfect use of the space above my sink to keep my tea. Though in retrospect it really isn’t because when I drain boiling water from vegetables or pasta, the steam rises right through the tea shelf. /headdesk/ I’ve been trying to keep the tea to the right where the unused side of the sink is and my sugars and cups to the left where the water gets drained. Hopefully I’ll just be able to drink through the tea I have before the steam actually does anything.
I just got the blue plastic bins on sale at Walmart, and though they’re a bit too long for the shelf, they store the ziptop baggies of tea that stores send pretty nicely. They stack wonderfully too. The bottom bin is all my Adagio and the top has my DavidsTea and Della Terra in them.
In the clear plastic next to it I’m keeping the jars and smaller containers that I have sample amounts of tea that didn’t have any better container to keep them in, mostly small amounts that my Mom has given me to try.
Between the plastic tubs are two Adagio Zodiac tins and the larger glass jars that are keeping the stronger ziplock bagged swap teas I’ve gotten from smelling up my whole apartment. Lol.
The top on that stack of three has assorted bags of swaps I’ve gotten that I need to try and the two below it are sample bags from Adagio.
And at the very left I have my sugars and two of my mugs.

On the counter I have my new Hamilton Beach kettle and Zarafina since they won’t fit on the shelf and the green plastic bin has the teas that I’m wanting to swap away at the moment. The two brown pottery containers are not related to tea, they just hold my flour and sugar. Lol.