Tea Buying Hiatus Support Group

1303 Replies
Cheri select said

I’m really struggling with this today. I really want to buy more tea. I am stupidly looking at tea selling sites online. I want more.

Hmmm have you ever taken a photo of all your tea in one place (like the kitchen table)? That might help remind you how much you have :) Another thing I like to do is mix teas. It’s like creating a whole new tea for free!

yyz said

If you want more variety, swap. You can even ask for specific things.

Cheri select said

Taking photos of my tea all in one place might help. Plus I need to organize it better. It’s a mess in my pantry, minus what I’ve taken to work.

And swapping. I’ve been doing a little bit of that lately. Of course, now there are more teas I want to own because I had just a little taste of them. Or that taste makes me want to try a slightly different variety.

Sigh.

A couple more weeks and I should be okay to buy again.

yyz said

Good for you! You can do it then. Maybe focus on the positive reward at the end then. Ie. If I make it to x I can reward myself with x purchase.

Nxtdoor said

Yah, swapping is usually bad for my hiatus because you’re I right it just introduces me to new companies, or new teas, and now I want those! (instead of quenching a thirst)

In a couple weeks you’ll be trying a huge TTB full of samples :)

Dr Jim said

I find a TTB to be at least as fun as receiving an order. You can try dozens of teas, and when you send it out, it takes away some of your excess of tea with it! Win-Win.

So true! I think it’s more fun than an order. Much more tea to try!

Cheri select said

I love tea boxes, but yes, it’s like swapping. I find more things I want to buy.

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Does only paying for shipping count? I also won some teas.

What counts is up to you. It’s your money and your tea.

I’m going to drink my samples for the rest of Summer, and not buy anything new.

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Frolic select said

Ok. I fell of the wagon today. Time to hop back on. It’s hard because there are so many teas I want to try and black friday(my designated day to break the hiatus) seems so far away.

Once I get unpacked in my new apartment next week and some of my teas come out of storage I’m going to update my cupboard which hasn’t been updated in years. Oops! I think seeing just how much I have will help deter me from buying any more. I also like the idea of taking a picture of it all. That also terrifies me because part of me doesn’t want to know the truth.

I will allow myself a few swaps, especially if there’s something I’m dying to try. I will cold brew my older teas and work on sipping down my stash. I’m leaning towards no teabox participation to keep shipping prices down and only swap for my most coveted teas.

Black Friday – wow, there’s no way I could go that long.

Frolic select said

Once you see my cupboard updated you’ll see why…

Cheri select said

I bought tea on Sunday. Someone was selling ThePuriTea Milk Oolong from their stash, and that’s my first milk oolong, and no longer available. Sigh. It was only $8 with shipping, and only a couple of days earlier than I was thinking I would break the hiatus. I’m probably going to hold off a little longer if I can.

Frolic select said

I also subscribed to Golden Tips tea of the month club for a year right before I posted this. Because it was only $75 with the steepster code and um the well I neeeeded it. I’ve been wanted to try more indian teas. And the yearly subscription that gets you 10 grams of 10 teas each months. So 100 grams of tea a month! And it only comes to $6.25 a month.

Ok I should shut up about my justifications in this thread.

So even though I’m not buying any tea for over three months I’m still going to be getting a decent amount and variety of tea monthly. Plus I have kick starter rewards from Just Organic and Southern Boy Iced Teas on their way.

I need to be told that even spending $5 on whispering pines samples is breaking my hiatus. Cause I have a little voice telling me “It’s only $5, you’ve really wanted to try these teas for a long time, they’re only samples. I mean realistically I’m only paying for shipping not tea so that doesn’t really count right?”

So someone set me straight please. I’m struggling right now.

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OK, ladies and gentlemen: I officially commit to a tea-buying hiatus. I’ve got a number of teas that I expect to arrive in a few weeks or sooner:

- the Great Canadian Travelling Tea Box, Round 3
- My reward for the Just Organic Kickstarter (2 oz of tea in 4 flavours, 1 oz of tea in a different flavour, and 4 samples)
- the July Simple Loose Leaf box

This should be plenty to tide me over.

I hereby resolve not to buy anymore tea until September – because that’s when my birthday is, and how can I not buy tea to celebrate turning 30?

Anyways, tips and tactics on resisting temptation are much appreciated.

Thinking about how much tea I have helps (“boy I sure have a looooooot”). And “Do I reeeaaaaly need this?” That last might not be as effective.

Frolic select said

The answer to “Do I reeeaaaaly need this?” is usually a yes from me lol. Of course I need this! How could I not need tea!

“Will I ever drink and enjoy all the tea I already own?” is more effective for me.

I usually ask myself that if the tea in question is from a certain group, like flavored teas or Chinese blacks.

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Once again, the creator of this thread is going on hiatus. With my recent Upton, 52teas and Mandala orders (although they were small orders), I swear not to buy anymore tea come Black Friday.

I’m trying SO HARD to resist that Mandala sale…ugh

I was WONDERING where you were in all of that. Less than 24 hours. You can do it!!

I love their teas so hard but I have plenty of puerh, really plenty of tea in general…enough to last me months and months. Gotta be frugal!!

I have plenty to last me months too. I think I’ll only make two orders on Black Friday. Della Terra for dessert teas. And Verdant for mostly their masala chai (I won the $50 voucher from the Chinese New Year drawing but I guess that doesn’t count since it’s practically free spending).

apt said

who usually does black friday sales

Off the top of my head: Verdant, Della Terra, Teavana, Yezi, Butiki, Teavivre… You can search for the forum for other companies.

apt said

eh, teavivre I might do.

Sil select said

I’m fighting the good fight with you Steph! I ADORE their teas but i have enough puerh to last me at least a year lol

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Frolic select said

Samples with free shipping don’t count do they?

Oh they do? Oops.

Hangs head in shame.

Dexter said

The word BUYING “Tea BUYING Hiatus Support Group” suggest to me the exchange of money. If the samples were free and the shipping was free – then you didn’t BUY it, so no it doesn’t count. If someone GAVE you tea for your birthday – that wouldn’t count either. LOL At least that’s how it works in my world….. ;))

Frolic select said

Um they kinda cost a little bit of money (WP) not much though!

Dexter said

LOL – then they TOTALLY count ;)) (if you are going to break hiatus, at least you bought GOOD tea….)

I’ve decided anything less than half an ounce doesn’t count.

Heh, that’s what I’m saying when I justify the recent boxes (and one more to come) that have come in. “I didn’t buy all this tea, it came in a swap!” or “I bought this tea 2 months ago through Kickstarter” or “I’m being given this tea for free!”.

The nice thing is that now I have enough to redeem 1 free 50g back from David’s Frequent Steeper program, and that still counts!

Frolic select said

Well I was going to wait till BF/CM to buy tea but if I didn’t try any WP how would I know what to buy on their cyber monday sale? I mean it’s just practical you know?

But now I must sit on my hands!

yyz said

I think it all depends on what made you decide to go into hiatus, was it help! I’m drowning in tea, or my tea habit is going to drive me to bankruptcy.

boychik said

I like the word swimming free style more ;-)

Dexter said

I think I’m in so much trouble that I’ve left the swimming pool behind, skipped the lake totally, and just dove right into the ocean…..

boychik said

Dexter, you are a good swimmer ;-)
My biggest weakness is puerh. As soon as I sample and like it I buy a cake. Not tiny 100g, but 357g or 500g. I’m completely obsessed with YS. Whatever I try I must have it. That site is dangerous. Everything is cheap and they have sales too. Pretty often.

yyz said

;-)

weegeebee1 said

yeah, as soon as YS has a sheng or general Puer sale on their house brand, I’ve got about 3 or 4 cakes in my cart ready to go. If anybody sees that sale or has any codes they’re not using, please let me know.

Dexter said

boychik – I have pu’erh cakes, but none from Yunnan Sourcing. I’ve managed to avoid them until very recently – I have a TON of their black teas on the way. I’m more than a little afraid to start buying pu’erh there. I can totally appreciate how that can get you in trouble. :))

yyz said

That’s my problem with aliexpress. Especially with new stores, where the mark down is often phenomenal.

YS is dangerous, I tiotally agree I already have a new cart all set up. So far I’m resisting but I love the white tea I bought, especially as a cold brew and I am going through it quickly….

yyz said

weegeebee1 the us site is having a 48 hour sale that started tonight ( Friday)
48 hour sale on Yunnan Sourcing USA! Enter code: 15percent during checkout for 15% off everything on the site! yunnansourcing.us

Stop trying to get me to order things from Yunnan Sourcing.

yyz said

I’m safe because even with the sale it’s cheaper for me to order from the .com site.

mrmopar said

You are killing me!! Yunnan Sourcing on the way. I blame all the posts in this thread.

weegeebee1 said

Rock on!!!! YYZ, many thanks for posting. I’m all over it.

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I’m sailing in a boat across an ocean of tea, and occasionally stopping to pick some up. There are many samples in my galley.

I resemble that remark :)

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Cheri select said

I completely failed at this today. Hard core.

Two orders.

Sigh.

Brenden got me with his Whispering Pines hobbitses magic, and TeaVivre got me, too, because if I was paying shipping for my sample pack, I might as well get something else, right?

And I know there’s more tea I want to get before the end of the month, too.

I at least need to organize what I’ve already got. Have to. Have to.

Uniquity said

I’ve yet to order from Whispering Pines and given my husbands recent layoff and the new check engine light on our car I won’t be BUT that Jabberwocky tea looks like so much fun!

Cheri select said

I would offer to send you some, but I’m not sure that shipping to Canada makes sense for just one tea….I wonder how much cheaper it would be to send from within Canada. Not much, I expect.

Uniquity said

Canada is apparently opposed to shipping anything anywhere. :)

I appreciate the offer, but I know I’m being silly. I have lots of tea, some of it new. I gotta stop checking out Steepster!

Cheri select said

That’s the impression I get about Canada Post. It’s a shame. I’ve been trying to come up with a good excuse to get across to Windsor and go buy some wine that I can’t get in the states.

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I failed yesterday… by $1.30, I blame Teavivre.

Frolic select said

The sampler plus shipping?

I barely squeaked through on that one using my $6 gift card and the super slow shipping so I didn’t spend any actual money.

Who knows by the time it comes I may have forgotten about it and it will be a nice surprise.

I went for the slow shipping so I didn’t have to pay too, Frolic!

high fives

I think the fact that you paid so little negates your “failure”.

That amount is actually for two orders.

That??? For how much tea? :O

Two anniversary samplers, and two regular samples. That is after the gift card. And I guess that’s actually three orders.

lol!

Another order from Teavivre, though I only paid shipping.

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Frolic select said

Today was a complete failure. I’m in so much pain and using retail therapy to distract from it was not a good idea.

I’m thinking no black friday/cyber monday for me this year :(

Sil select said

doh. sorry you’re in pain. welcome back on the wagon!

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