Artp said

Tea in the office

Hey all,

So I graduate in 2 weeks and just finalized my first “real” job. I’ll be given my own office, so I was looking at having a little tea table to keep me supplied. My job will require quite a bit of desk work, and having some chai in me will help, I’m sure.

So I was wondering if anyone has any tips on making tea easy in the office; between carrying around loose leaf and filters everywhere I go, or having to have my travel mug, it can be kinda bothersome when I only have a few moments.

I was thinking of making a drawer with a few small tins, a sugar jar, and maybe one of those single-brew mugs.

44 Replies

I mostly used a travel tea tumbler and kept a couple small tins in my locker. I found the travel tea tumbler suited me better as I was also having to leave my desk and see clients. Also having a glass tea tumbler looks really cool showing off the leaves and such – good conversation starter!
I guess it depends on the job – my coworker had her libre tea glass stolen (and not to mention all of us had at least 1 water tumbler lost or stolen) so she switched to bags. I kept my travel mug always close by or in hand.

When my job shifted to more officey – I would use a gravity steeper for when I’d spend more than half my day at the computer, then switch to the travel mug when I had to see clients or run groups. I swiped the sugar from the office lol!

Also – I brought teas that were more friendly for resteeping and can handle boiling water.

Zeks said

There is so much thieving going on where you work ? O_o

was working with mental health, addictions and risk of homelessness clients. Plus there was always someone who’d steal lunches.

Zeks said

Oh, that kinda explains it:) I was wondering because it is almost unthinkable where I work to steal anything but, maybe, a can of food and then, only if you mistake it for yours :).

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Hikari said

In middle school I kept boxes of filter tea sacks that I filled at home in my locker. It made things a lot easier since all I had to do was take a sac, throw it in a tumbler, pour water and enjoy.
The only problem here is since I had no place to put the sacs after brewing, I had to throw them away even though I could’ve gotten more steeps out of them.

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Lala said

I have a shared office but my own desk. In one corner of my desk I have a hot shot water heater to heat up my tea water. And I have several kinds of tea, loose and bagged. I put most of my loose leaf tea in fillable tea bags just for ease of clean up and disposal. I usually bring a different travel mug to work every day depending on what kind of tea I am having and so I can clean it at the end of the day. I also bring a glass drink container that I mix matcha up in cold water. I have one small travel mug/cup that I leave at work in case I ever forget my travel mug or water bottle at home.

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Will your office be providing water? I have a hot water fountain at work that suits my needs. If you just get cold water, maybe invest in a small electric kettle? I really prefer my tea fresh made rather than kept warm, if you cant tell already. :p
As for the vessel, I have a David’s Perfect Glass mug. I love it. Some days, I feel like I’ll be too busy to handle the brew basket so I have those empty paper filters, but I prefer not to use them as it produces waste.
Or, go basic and just add hot water on top of loose tea. Oolongs and other large leafed teas are good for this.

Another idea is to keep hot water in a thermos and brew tea as you need it. That’s what my mom does. She has a liter sized thermos, a mug and oolong at her work. That’s it.

Hope that helped!

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Also, forgot to mention that aside from my mug (which is on my desk at all times), I store my pouches and tins of tea in a private cabinet in my cubicle. My office provides sugar and cream in the pantry should I need it. I’d recommend seeing what your office provides in that vein. Keeping your own supply of sugar sounds potentially messy.
My office also has a Keurig and those little keurig pods of tea and coffee. They like to keep us well caffeinated. :)

Congrats on your job! It took me a while to land a real job after graduating. Then again, I majored in Classics and English Lit. Not really all that sought after in the real world as it turns out.

Artp said

Well i’ll be working at a church, as the youth director; so they have pretty decent kitchen facilities. That being said, i should have no use storing anything. I’m thinking of storing in a drawer, and investing in a decent electric kettle.

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Nicole said

I just have a mug with an in-cup infuser basket and I use the hot water from the coffee machine. We do have a filtered water dispenser, but it isn’t as hot as the coffee machine water so I use it for oolongs and whites. I just have a small shelf on my desk that my tea is on. A coworker has his in a drawer. Another has his 3 tins on an extra letter in/out box attached to his cubicle wall.

Occasionally when we have chai, we bring in milk and keep it in the office fridge. Usually no more than a pint at a time so it doesn’t take up much room. And our office provides sugar.

Congrats on the job, and on having your own office!

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Dr Jim said

I would recommend a balance between loose tea and bags. I find that I can spend a lot of time dumping old tea, heating water, waiting for the tea to steep, etc. This is relaxing, but not a good way to impress the boss. I can get away with this since I’ve been with my company for a long time, but it doesn’t necessarily make a good impression. There will be times when you just need to grab and go, and the bags make that easier to accomplish. Other times you have the time to “do it right”.

I’d also advise you to watch how other people take snacks, coffee etc. and try to find the tea equivalent. This is basically the same advice you should use for hours, dress code, etc.: Fit in.

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I take disposable drawstring tea bags with me to work every morning. I fill them before I go in every morning so I can pick out my teas based on my mood. At work I have a sugar jar, with a mug and spoon I wash every morning. We have a water filter that also makes hot water which I love! Oh I also have a saucer I use to hold my tea bag between steepings :)

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Dinosara said

Well I actually do 80% of my tea drinking at work, and pretty much my entire stash is there. I keep it a cabinet and drawers. I also have a variable temp electric kettle, a brita filter, a 12oz mug and infuser. I don’t really think that dealing with loose takes that much more time or effort than with bags.

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Josie Jade said

When I worked an office job I had the smallest Bodym kettle (16 oz) and it was perfect. I brought a tea travel tumbler in with tea in the morning and then just replenished throughout the day. I kept a small stock of some tea bags but mostly disposable bags that I pre filled with my own loose tea from home. Sometimes I would take my gravity steeper, but the single use bags are easier!

Congrats on your first career job AND your own office! :)

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