Packaging tea for a tea swap?

I’ve used those shot glasses before and the lids don’t always stay on, especially when bumped around in a cooler or backpack. You may want to tape them down, just to make sure your tea doesn’t spill out if you plan to use them.

I generally just go up to the dollar store and pick up a cheap box of snack-sized ziplocks and a package of labels. When I trade I like to provide as much info as possible about the tea so the person who receives it doesn’t need to hop online and track down brewing instructions.

I’ve only done one traveling tea box, but a good rule of thumb is to put back the same amount you take out. If I know I’ve taken out a particularly expensive tea I try to put back something equal in price. I tend to use ziplocks so it doesn’t add to the weight of the box, tins are heavy and can really increase the cost of shipping. If something is particularly heavily scented and may contaminated other items in the box I double bag it, or find a heavier bag to put it in.

I also like to put in a tea or two from one of my local shops that other people won’t necessarily have access to. Part of the fun for me is trying new companies, so it’s a great way to help support my local businesses and get everyone else hooked on their tea :)

About the travelling tea box, I’d second what Sorceress said about it. Though I’ve found that double bagging a tea doesn’t necessarily contain the scent. As strange as this may sound, I’ve started to wrap the ziplock bag with the tea in a sheet of aluminum foil so it forms a packet. I do this with all the teas I send, just in case. It keeps the tea scent well contained, and it really only adds weight comparable to a few more layers of ziplock bags. My only worry is that one of these days, one of my swaps is going to get flagged by the post office because it’s got all these little foil packets in them. Lol! But so far so good. /knocks on wood/