Labeling tea containers? A 99% fluff question
So this is kind of dumb, I suppose. But I have all kinds of cute little canisters and containers that aren’t labeled, and lots of teas I want to put into them. I was considering putting a label inside the lid, but that would mean having to open each canister every time I was on a search. Obviously the best thing is to label the outside, but then it won’t be so cute! And, um, do you reuse them for different teas when the original contents are gone? Do you try to refill it with something with a similar flavor/aroma profile so as not to taint the new stuff? And if you bought something that came in a canister, do you keep the canister and reuse it? Like I warned in the title, this isn’t the most intellectual of discussions. I’m just kind of wondering what others do. :)
This is a very real quandary for me. I have dozens of washi tins and tea canisters of all sizes with no real system for identifying the contents. For some teas, I cut the label from the pouch and put it inside the lid. This isn’t very efficient because I end up checking every single tin when I’m looking for a tea. I wish I could organize my teas in glass jars, but light exposure is a no-no.
To help make finding teas a little easier, I’ll reuse tins with similar teas and color/pattern coordinate teas to tins. For example, green teas in green tins, black teas in reddish or dark tins, flowery teas in floral tins, etc.
3M makes these wonderful things that are like Post-its but about 3 times stronger. They are about 2″ × 4″ but I cut them into smaller pieces and use them to label my tins (I put a small label on the top). WHen I’m ready to put in a different tea, I just peel and replace.
I give my customers removable labels which I print names and expiration dates on it. You can get that and put in the bottom of your container I guess. I use Avery, they have all sorts of labels.
Liquid chalk markers. Write on the outside of flat metal, ceramic, glass surfaces and it’ll wipe off again.
There are multi-coloured sets you can get, so you could just put a single letter or a dot in different colours if you didn’t want much writing?
(But if it is a washi tin, it will probably sink in to the paper and not come off well).
Most of my containers are just for storage; I really should label the ones I’m not concerned about, especially since I have a label printer! The fancier caddies don’t need labels since I know exactly what’s in them. Aged dongding, aged shuixian, aged Thai oolong and cha tou.
I use masking tape and write out the details on them, they can be taken off as and when required.
90% of my teas come in a labelled plastic resealable bag inside a labelled cardboard box. So I never have to transplant them anywhere else. If you are unable to remember which canister holds which tea, just use tape in a discreet place and sharpie on it. When you get a new tea, peel off the old tape and place a fresh piece.
I use little labels I get from the dollar store and a nice calligraphy pen or ink pen to write the name + company on it.
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