Tea Buying Hiatus Support Group

1303 Replies
Dinosara said

So I was doing some “window” shopping on Fauchon’s online site (prepping for my trip! which is almost 2 months from now) and I laughed at this product description under their tea box sets:

“Why ONE tea? Why not several? Yes, why not? Why be reasonable?”

It’s like our motto. :D

Really?? They know how our minds operate!

That’s perfection! What a way to egg on buyers. After all, when is reasonable ever much fun?

Yeah, I think I resemble that remark…

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Dexter said

OK I caved. This lapse started last night when I was wanting to cold brew some tea. Was looking for appropriate vessel to do this in, and realized that I should just buy a proper iced tea pitcher with an infuser built in. I was also snooping through my cupboard and opened my tin of Davids Coffee Pu’erh, and discovered it was almost empty (this is my absolute I can’t live without it favorite). I’m thinking I would really like to cold brew some of this, make “iced coffee”, could be awesome. Soooooooo….
I stopped into my local Davids Tea on the way home from work, bought an iced tea pitcher, 100g of Coffee Pu’erh, 100g of Kanpe (another MUST if I’m going to be making iced tea) 30g of Long Life Oolong.
The good news (if you can call it that) is that I didn’t buy anything new to try, only replaced favorites that I was running low of. Bad news, tea buying hiatus starts over.

Nxtdoor said

Really, coffee pu’erh by DAVIDs TEA is your fave? I really wanted to like this one, since I bought 100 grams of it. I even tried it iced. I had it three times. I must be missing something :) Am going to go for the chocolate orange pu’erh next.

The coffee puerh is pretty good if you’re looking for a hazelnut coffee substitute!

Dexter said

Must be a case of “to each their own”, but I LOVE it. It’s my “I’ve had a hard day, don’t want to make a decision, can’t be bothered fussing with water temps/times etc, just want a soothing cup of tea” go to. I’m sure that once I’ve tried more and developed my palate, I will find something I like better, but for now it’s my perfect 100 score tea.
I’ve never tried it cold. I have some cold steeping in the fridge right now. Hoping it is amazing cold too. :)

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WHY STOP NOW? I am drinking tea as we speak, and my pot will not have time to cool before I drink more :) hehe. I hope there is no haitus for me

Lol, anybody notice that this board has suddenly turned into another ‘what did you order today?’

Chizakura said

That, plus excuses of why it had to be done. xD Haha. (I know I’m guilty of the same)
I guess one of us caving set off a chain reaction making all of us cave too.

TeaLady441 said

Hahahah. We are the worst best!

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Nxtdoor said

Since this is turning into a discussion on what to buy or how soon can I buy without feeling guilt, I need some HELP . I see Della Terra is having a sale and am thinking about placing my very first Della terra order. What is your favourite tea of theirs? Please refrain from long lists, my wallet can only stretch so far :)

Chizakura said

I haven’t had any of their teas, but judging by the ‘Share your orders’ thread, Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, and both Lime and Lemon Chiffons seem to be a good place to start.
Those four always seem to be on everyone’s order when they go through Della Terra.

Lala said

Pineapple upside down cake and cinnamon crackle.

Also Della Terra seems to have frequent sales so if you need to hold out on your hiatus for a while, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Dexter said

I’ve never ordered from Della Terra, their shipping costs to Canada are cost prohibitive for me. I’ve tried several that I got through swaps, so far Grandma’s Pumpkin Pie is my favorite.

Just so you know, Della Terra has these sales almost every weekend. So tempting, right? I’m dying to try Pineapple Upside Cake, Lime Chiffon, and Grandma’s/Chocolate Pumpkin Pie.

I love Shamrocks and Shenanigans, a St. Patty’s Day special they stopped probably selling for the year (sad face). I also like Peppermint Bark, Ginger Snap, Walnut Brittle, Professor Grey, Lemon Chiffon, and Jelly Bean Dream.

Sil select said

Just hold your breath and wait for the next sale. There will always be another Della Terra sale. Instead, maybe try doing some swaps to try out a few flavours before ordering.

I’d be happy to swap some of what I have, Nxtdoor, if want to!

Dexter said

Nxtdoor Earlier in this thread Hallieod very generously offered (and has) sent me Bluebird samples. I am willing to pass that forward. Della Terra isn’t something that I have a lot of, but if there is anything in my cupboard that you would like to try, please let me know and I can send you some sample – wanting nothing in return. PM me if you are interested, and we can set something up. Being new and wanting to try lots of different teas is something I’m very familiar with. :))

Nxtdoor said

Whoa, thanks for the prompt replies. Am so not a patient person but I will wait, I appreciate the advice.

They are out of the oatmeal raisin cookie, it was the first one I looked at. The chocolate pumpkin would have been on my list too before I decided to poll you guys.

Browsing through your cupboards for the sole purpose of picking swaps seems a little … selfish and invasive to me. I know it shouldn’t be, I mean, we update our cupboards willingly, but it somehow feels strange. Having said that, Dexter365, I have probably 60 gr of coffee Pu’erh I am happy to part with and I know you love this sh.. I mean stuff. :)

Sil select said

Nxtdoor – if you would like to try a variety of teas, I can put together a care package for you given that we’re possibly even subway buddies for all we know ;) I will be hopefully going through my cupboard in the nearish future to clean out some of the things I’m not the biggest fan of. If you want to take advantage of that, and try some new companies, send me a PM. It won’t be “tomorrow” as I need a weekend to sit down and go through things but it should be well before the end of June. Just send me a pm with some of your preferences or extreme dislikes and we can work something out.

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Dexter said

LOL, ooops we’re NOT suppose to snoop in people’s cupboards. I love looking in ppl’s cupboards, see what they like/don’t like. If they wrote a tasting note that interests me, you look to see what other similar teas they have. This is how I’m learning. This is wrong!!!
LOL I’ve looked at your cupboard, I’ve looked at your shopping list. I have a little bit of a few on your shopping list.
Please feel free to snoop through my cupboard. PM me we’ll work something out.

Lala said

I snoop people’s cupboards and shopping lists all the time :P

Chizakura said

I have fun glancing at people’s cupboards and lists too. It’s especially fun if you notice they have the same stuff as you on their list. :D It’s like ‘list twins!’ hehe.

Nxtdoor said

Chizakura, some people have practically the entire DAVIDs TEA collection in their cupboard. This will likely be me. It seems like a good place to start and they have so many teas. I know eventually I’ll branch out but right now I love this stuff and it’s so accessible.

TeaLady441 said

I snoop too! If someone follows me, I’m much likelier to follow them back if they shop from the same companies that I do. If we have no teas in common, I hesitate. (And usually follow anyway)

Hell, if we weren’t suppose to look, it wouldn’t be public, right? The first thing I do when someone sends me a friend request or when someone new posts an interesting review is take a peak at their cupboard, read their bio, etc. It’s really fun to find someone with tastes similar to mine. It’s also really exciting to see someone with a completely different collection!

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Dustin said

One of the local tea places that I shop at is closing their retail location and switching to wholesale only. They are having an estate sale tomorrow and I’m tempted to go. I don’t think I need any tea ware, but I am out of one of their teas which is one of my favorites. Between sale, closing and wanting a tea refill, I’m not sure if I can resist. I was doing so well hiatus wise too.

Man, that’s really hard to resist. I’d go for it xP

Lala said

I don’t think it should count if you go, they are closing so it is not like you can get it later.

Dustin said

I actually can get some later. They sell to the local Whole Foods, but I like supporting the business directly if I can. I’m so conflicted!

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Lala said

Well I’ve contracted the itch.

I was doing so good not buying tea. But then I got itchy and I gave it just a quick little scratch. And it was good for about 2 seconds, then the itch got worse. So I scratched again and it just keeps getting itchier.

I got my 52 teas order today (from 2 weeks ago), and the iced tea was so good I had to put another order in. Then my sister begged me to go to Davids to pick her up some tea. And I had the blinders on, plan was to get in and out, but that didn’t happen.

Now I have all this unopened tea to try, and I just want more :(

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Nxtdoor said

I know a lot of you probably graduated from DAVIDs TEA (is that like tea training wheels? Seems a lot of new drinkers start with that) and will not share my excitement but I got my order today! All fruit blends that I’m planning to drink iced. (Not sure about these as a hot drink. hot mango juice? really? blegh)

As I was telling Dexter3657 , this stuff is kinda my lemonade. Am very curious about the orange pekoe sample with the order. Only orange pekoe I ever had was the cheap bagged tetley.

To be continued :)

Lala said

I don’t think David’s tea is tea training wheels, I just think it is a very popular store and for the most part Davids seems to be everywhere. So for anyone getting into tea it is easy access. I still enjoy Davids, as well as many other places. I didn’t even know about so many of the tea websites I order from now until I joined steepster. I just didn’t know they existed. (When I first googled monthly tea club the first thing that would come up was David’s and Teavana’s websites, but nothing on 52teas or handmade teas or verdant, etc.)

And I have never tried Davids orange pekoe, but you will have to keep us posted on what its like.

Dustin said

Teavana was my tea training wheel store. I have almost graduated. :)

Dexter said

LOL I agree with everything that Lala just said.

Lynxiebrat said

Unfortunately the nearest DT is 3 hours from me, and I am too broke to go driving there anytime soon. I can buy into the idea that Teavana’s is training wheels, haven’t grown out of them yet and I am more then fine with that.

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Dr Jim said

I get the sense that rather than being an abstinence support group this thread is becoming a tea-buying support blog. Can we start over for June?

BTW: I had a minor slip by buying some of Momo’s stash, but am trying to make up for it by postponing my June order at least until the 15th. I still own a lot of teas that I haven’t tasted.

Lala said

Ha ha. I know I have been more of an enabler than a supporter. I must try harder.

I agree with you though, I think we started out strong, then this thread became somewhat of a confessional. And I know for me, the more people confessed their tea purchases, the more I wanted to buy.

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I’m so trying not to place another order, but I want more of a tea I got from Verdant. I just know I’m going to burn through it fast and I want to stock up. Hmmm… to buy or not to buy? I’m afraid it will go out of stock if I wait too long.

Lala said

You can always just watch the verdant website. Usually they will post low stock on the teas that are getting low.

Chizakura said

Not buy, but keep an eye for the red LOW STOCK warning. If it appears before your hiatus is ended, then emergency order.

TeaLady441 said

I agree to wait. And make sure to visit the site every day etc to get loyalty points. Then when your hiatus is up you’ll have a $10 coupon!

Loyalty points? Coupon? I am looking into these things… the rewards page is blocked at work, phooey. I’ll check it again at home! I had no idea I could be getting loyalty points.

TeaLady441 said

It’s worth it! It took me about a month but then I’d earned enough points to get the $10 coupon, which I used on my first order. Waiting to earn it helps keep you in line, but once you redeem it you might be back at the group asking for tea-hiatus support! :P

You’ll see all the details when you can check it at home, but basically you get points for visiting daily, tweeting daily, liking teas, and commenting. Easy!

Also, when you do place an order, that knocks you back up 1000 points too!

Thank you so much for letting me know! I wonder if they would credit me points for the purchases I have already made… that would be great! Yes, waiting to add up points would keep me in line a bit more… a bit. Thanks again!

I find it a bit hard to burn through teas when I brew with a gaiwan – so many steepings. Even with a tea pot, you can get several. Multiple steepings help me slow down even with teas I love to drink.

And, yeah, many of Verdant’s teas do sound delicious. Gotta try them all! One of these days. Waiting for the $10 coupon received from reward points really does help.

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