Tea buying hiatus :(

It is with a heavy heart that I must announce my tea buying hiatus :( I am out of space and money for new tea and must drink what I have before I can justify buying new teas. Oh how it hurts to type these words! There are so many tea specials listed here, and so many teas I have yet to try! But alas, it is not fair for the tea that I have to continuously be shoved to the back to make room for new teas! Perhaps sometime soon I’ll have to just give away some teas or do a heavy trade (any huge Adagio fans?!) I’m writing this here because I know you’ll all understand!!!!

Sniff, sniff.

Goodbye new tea. My bank account will thank me, but my taste buds might stage a revolt. What else is a girl to do?!?!

44 Replies
Angrboda said

Poor you. :(

I’ve just come out of one myself recently, lasting about six months, I think. It was hard in the beginning, but it does get easier, I promise. The following is what I did.

Try to make a game of getting the stash down. How far can you drink it down in say two months?

Set little goals for yourself. Things like decupboarding 15 teas. Don’t forget to give yourself a reward for every time you do this. It shouldn’t be difficult. If you’re like me, there should several tins and pouches that only holds enough for one or two pots and a good bunch of samples as well.

There may also be stuff that you didn’t actually like much and don’t really want to finish up. If you do swapping, decupboard these and put them aside. When you swap with someone, slip one or two or these into the parcel. Your recipient might really enjoy them.

My sample box is overflowing as well as my normal shelves! My allotted 1/3 of the pantry is turning into a half! I definitely need to do some huge swaps…. I’ve been putting together taster boxes for new tea drinkers, as well, which helps pull down my numbers but still sheesh!

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SimplyJenW said

I have not completely stopped buying tea, but a slow down was a great thing to really figure out what I liked. I found it really takes a few ounces of a loose tea to determine if it is to my liking enough to earn a spot in my tea cupboard. The first few cups were usually better received than the eighth or so. I spend quite a bit less, now, but I am almost to the point where I have mostly favorites in my stash.

Don’t look at this as a bad thing. Actually, it may help you figure out what you like and don’t like of what you have so you can be a more focused tea consumer in the future. Why do those teas keep getting pushed back?..is it just because you like trying new things, or you do not like them as much as you thought you did, initially. You may end up giving quite alot of what you have away at some point because of your new focus.

A lot of teas keep getting ignored simply because I honestly haven’t allowed myself time to drink what I already owned before moving on to new teas :-x

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Sil select said

Sounds like trading time :) treat yourself to a trade every time you manage to finish off x number of teas heh

I know, I really should! Or, I’ll have to be a tea fairy at work and give out samplers of tea, Haha

Sil select said

Haha I can just imagine the looks now! Here I brewed this tea for you….uh……

Haha I meant in the form of leaves! I already gave a sampler pack to one lady last year. OR, I just need to buy a 2nd auto brewer and keep one at work. Then I can have fresh brewed tea all day! :D

Sil select said

Ok but it’s more fun to think of you pushing brewed tea on people :)

I’ve solved the work dilemma by bringing a filter and mug to work since we have a kitchen area with a kettle. If I know I’m going to drink it fast…then I fill up my travel mug with water to add to the mug when I need a top up heh.

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oh I feel your pain. I haven’t bought in a while now and just before checking the board this morning I was thinking ‘how am I suppose to buy my fall tea list with having to birthday shop for my youngest and school shop for both of my girls?’

I am always up for a swap, and I have quite a few on my list from Adagio that I would like to try. I do find swapping is the best way to get new to you tea without hurting your bank account.
the others also had great ideas.

Want to list some you’d like to try? I have 3oz practically full bags from tea of the month club, plus ones passed onto me by my best friend… Probably 12 bags I’ll never drink through!

Sil select said

I’m with tattooed tea on this one, happy to swap anytime you need something new to perk you up :)

Sil, do you like Adagio teas? Or want to try any? I swear, I think I have (this is off the top of my head, I’m not going downstairs to check my stash or my dogs will go crazy haha. Besides, I put the boyfriend on doggy duty so I could do homework!) strawberry, mango, raspberry, lemon, ginger peach, grapefruit oolong, peach oolong, hazelnut, maybe some vanilla….

Sil select said

I’ve never tried adagio teas (yet) but they’re on my list to try thanks to the awesome reviews on here. My other half put me on suspension until after out trip to the California coast haha god those flavours sound yummy

Yes! california’s the place to be!

Well, keep me in mind! Seriously. I loved the Adagio Tea of the Month as a gift last Christmas, but now it’s almost like ack more tea?! when it arrives. So I’d be more than willing to reduce those flavors down an ounce (or two!)

Sil select said

I’ll take a look through your cupboard later and see what peaks my interest. If there’s anything in mine that you’re dying to try let me know as well (my selection isn’t uber big..I’m just getting started)

Many of my new Adagios might not be listed as I’ve been crazy with school/work!

I’m looking for flavours to keep me warm in the fall, most of the ones I came across are
blends, but I’m willing to try anything that is a fall type flavour
-chocolate chai
- spiced apple chai
- autumn’s oracle
-beachside bonfire
-throb
-mint chocolate chai
-Christmas cocoa
-apple.crumble chai pie
-coconut crash chai

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I knew my fellow Steepsterites would understand!!

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Ninavampi said

I think I need to do the same thing…

It’s painful! Just admitting it to myself was like nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Uniquity said

I’ve just come out of one myself as well, although I wasn’t nearly as successful as Angrboda. While I did generally avoid buying new teas (with a few exceptions at Davids) I didn’t manage to de-cupboard ANYTHING. My problem is that I like one or two cups of each tea at a time, and when you have 200 teas it takes forever to cycle back through! I wish you much better luck than I had!

Exactly! I only brew two pots of tea a day right now, but the second one is resteeped from the first’s leaves. So I’m only going through a tea a day! I suppose I could have a glass of a rooibos at night if I really want to start clearing things out, though… What’s it say about me that I’m going to “power through” teas just to justify buying new ones?!!?

Azzrian said

Well I guess I don’t look at it that way. I don’t view it as trying to get through it as fast as I can to get new ones. I rather feel guilty not trying the samples I have received OR that my tea stash will go stale since I have so much. I think the bigger issue is that you are brewing by the pot.
Get yourself a nice little Kaiti cup or something that you can do a one cup steep that way you can just sample more teas.
That way you also find those teas you DO NOT enjoy that you can send on to others.

I have one of the steeping cups for night, but I brew by the pot, as my work day now lasts 430am-630pm since I’m commuting via train. Hence my 32oz travel mug and 32oz thermos :-/

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Azzrian said

I have tried the buying hiatus a few times. The first time I got into pu-erh the second I got into matcha – this is where I am at now. I don’t mind buying totally new things but buying the same things over and over from multiple companies is where I get into trouble. A new vendor (new to me not necessarily new) is my sucker point. So I have made a system for myself. I listed the tea companies I allow myself to buy from to stock my favorites. I allow myself to buy the matcha for now until I have a fair supply. But everything else, I have been giving A LOT away. I am going though my stash enough to trim it down to favorites, putting teas in boxes then sending it off to someone, not taking in any new samples from others. Honestly my sample supply given to me in trades is taking up far too much space and its not even fair to myself or those who gave it to me to be ignored.
When I want something “new” I am going to my sample stash.
Also I have made myself go back in time, drinking a LOT of the first teas I ever ordered and giving away those I do not care for also rediscovering a few I really love.
This has significantly cut down on my multiple orders from many companies, limited me to small orders with those I know I love and allowed me the fun to pick a few new ones through the matcha to fill the need / desire to try new things. With Red Leaf’s “Free Matcha” program it has also significantly kept my cost down.

I really need to get into that free matcha program! I just don’t have the money for the initial cost right now. But that’s a sweet deal!

I also second your new vendor comment. I don’t get so upset with myself for replenishing my favorites, it’s when I get sucked in to new companies with awesome specials! Not that I don’t love the teas that I buy, but do I really NEED them!?!

Azzrian said

Keep an eye on their daily sales! Right now its not a matcha but it was the other day and I am sure it will be again! Last time it was the chocolate for 7.99 of course you can add on to it making the price go up but I am sure a good deal will come along on a flavor you want to try when you have some tea funds soon! That would be a killer way to get started!

That’s my fear! That when I get my first paycheck I’m going to go crazy on buying teas rather than saving it! My first check will have extra from my raise, from going from 90%-100%, AND 18 hours of summer pay at $40 an hour…. I’m going to be like scrooge mcduck in his coin swimming pool I’M RICH I’M RICH! Then $200 in tea later I can’t afford dinner…..

Azzrian said

LOL I know pacing oneself IS the hardest part! It helps that we have two paypal accounts (with debit cards so we can use them as credit cards online) my hubby’s is used for the bills, food, necessities, etc. I use mine for the “fun money” the moment I get funds in my account money either goes to the bank or his paypal – what is left in mine is tea money or shopping, etc.
With that system I keep myself pretty restrained as I only let myself keep a small portion of any funds I receive in that account.

We have our own accounts and then our “house” account where we deposit money for bills and the mortgage. Then I try to put money aside at the beginning of every month when I get paid for my savings account. But it’s hard when I only get paid once a month and I see a large amount in my account to not justify spending it. It’s then when it’s times like now, where I have $30 in my “spending” account and $20 cash in my wallet that I’m like hmmm… this is not good… (obviously I have more MONEY than that, but I don’t want to pull it out because then I’ll get in the habit of that and then ALL budgeting will be out the window!!!!)

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Babble said

I understand where you are coming from. I’ve had to turn down a few good tea sales.

I am happy to take any adagio teas off your hands, though, as it’s a vendor I haven’t really tried much of.

At least Christmas is coming up soon, so you can maybe send gifts of tea to lots of people to help clear out things.

See above for flavors I have… Any sound interesting? All black teas.

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Alphakitty said

I try to limit myself to only teas that are on sale or cheap samples. Sadly, that doesn’t really limit me THAT much since there are a lot of sales and a looot of sites that have samples (which is really my weakness). I just placed a not-on-sale order too (for Lupicia’s Green Grapefruit, I am such a sucker for grapefruit) orz ;~;

When I know I’m buying too much the easiest way to stop myself is to say “no more tea buying until I’ve tried all the teas I have, and you can only drink 1 new tea a day.” It… kind of works, at least for a while! Swaps are also a good way to “get around” buying hiatuses.

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