2026 Sipdown Challenge

The purpose of this thread is to track your progress on sipdowns over the year, encourage other Steepster members in their sipdown and/or general cupboard reduction/maintenance efforts, and most importantly, have fun while doing so!


Past Years:



2019: https://www.steepster.com/discuss/29734-2019-year-of-the-sipdown-challenge



2021: https://steepster.com/discuss/42494-2021-sipdown-progress-thread



2022: https://steepster.com/discuss/43802-2022-sipdown-progress-thread 

2023: https://steepster.com/discuss/44707-2023-sipdown-progress-thread

2024: https://steepster.com/discuss/45474-2024-sipdown-progress-thread
2025: https://steepster.com/discuss/45953-2025-sipdown-progress-thread

What is a Sipdown?

 A “sipdown” is drinking the last of a tea so that it is no longer in one’s cupboard. Since different people inventory their collection differently, some people count sipdowns of each individual package of the same tea, while others wait and only count the sipdown once that particular tea is completely gone from their cupboard. There is no right or wrong way to go about it; the purpose is to drink the tea one already has while reducing binge tea ordering habits to, ultimately, get a tea collection that feels “out of control” to feel more “under control!”



Ways to Sipdown


There are lots of ways to go about challenging yourself to sipdown more tea! Here are a few I’ve heard. Do you have a favorite method? Share your thoughts in the thread and I’ll add it to the list!

-Drink by Date: Clear out the oldest tea in the cupboard first, making room for the newer, fresher tea.

-Drink by Rating: Clear out lower-rated teas, either by experimenting with new ways of drinking them or gifting/trading them away!

-Sampler Sipdown: Focus on samplers or tea packages depleted to just a few servings, by making a dedicated area in the cupboard for teas that meet this criteria. They go quickly and can free up a lot of space!

-Randomizer: There are lots of different ways of using random generators to select a tea to focus on; the surprise from the random selection can be a lot fun!
-Keep Current on Subscriptions: Signed up to any tea subscriptions? Keep caught up on drinking subscription tea so it is out of the cupboard before the next subscription box shows up!


-A to Z of Tea: Drink a cup of tea with each tea name beginning with a different letter of the alphabet, in alphabetical order! It’s a good way to work through cups while having a lot of variety!


-Tea Bracket Tourney: Select 16 teas (or more or less, depending on your preferences) and pair them off in a bracket-style tournament to see which tea makes it to the end! This is a great way to get several cups in of a single tea that is doing well in the tourney!


-Cupboard Clearout: Have packages of tea that have been sitting around because they just aren’t favorites and you can’t seem to get through the packages no matter how hard you try? Then consider hosting a cupboard sale at the Official Stash Sales Thread (https://www.steepster.com/discuss/6840-official-stash-sales-thread), or heading over to the Tea Swaps Board (https://www.steepster.com/discuss?category=tea-swaps&page=2) and starting a Traveling Tea Box or seeing if you can trade/gift your unwanted tea!

The Zen of Sipdown: Acquiring Less Tea

The best sipdown efforts in the world become a moot point if the amount of new tea acquisitions from orders, trades, tea boxes, and gifts exceeds the amount of tea being sipped down. The idea of decreasing the total amount of tea in the stash to a point of feeling in control and happy (note that this “amount” will be unique and different for everyone!) is to drink more tea that you already have than you are bringing in. Here are some tips to help make that possible:

-If you order a lot of tea, set a budget that can’t be exceeded to help curb impulse or binge buying.

-Unsubscribe from tea company mailing lists to resist the urge to jump at every sale e-mail that comes in. 

-Go “window shopping”: create carts on tea sites but wait a week before buying. Often the browsing/cart building is the most “satisfying” part, and a week later you may feel different about actually purchasing the items! 
-Do not be afraid to say “no” or not participate in teaboxes, tea exchanges, and group-buys.

-Don’t be part of “enabler culture” when you know someone is working hard toward sipdown goals/reducing their cupboard; for some, saying “no” to proposed teaboxes, tea exchanges, and group-buys on a site filled with fellow tea-lovers can be very difficult! Remember to always be supportive of someone working toward sipdown/cupboard reduction goals and never take someone’s decline for a swap personally.
Remember, working towards proper cupboard management does not mean you can never place a new tea order or jump into a teabox or tea swap: it’s about finding and maintaining the right balance for you and your cupboard. Create sipdown goals for yourself! If you meet those goals, feel free to reward yourself with some new tea! Attempt to keep new orders coming in less than the amount of tea cleared out, and cupboard numbers will start to drop!

Monthly Sipdown Challenge


This month, try to find and drink as many teas from this scavenger hunt item list as possible! (Feel free to interpret the items as you see fit, and remember, don’t make a new tea purchase just to “check off” an item from the list… if you are missing something, consider it a reminder of your excellent cupboard management progress!

January

January 1 – Welcome to the New Year! Drink one of your newest teas!
January 12 – National Hot Tea Day – Celebrate with a sipdown, sample or otherwise!
January 19 – Choose two teas, flip a coin and drink the winner today and the other tomorrow.

Drink an oolong tea
Drink a tea from China
Drink a tea that you prefer plain
Drink a tea that you prefer with additions
Drink a tea whose name starts with one of your initials
Drink tea from your favorite mug/cup. Describe the tea and vessel and why you like them.