Bless my heart - I might need an intervention
So in the last two weeks, I have ordered a LOT of tea and teaware. Got a yixing set from Teavivre that is both teeny and weeny and is now sitting in a bowl of oolong to season. While I was ordering the tea set, I ordered 3 (a keemun and a couple of oolongs) kinds of tea. I also received orders from Harney (5 kinds of tea), a keemun and an oolong from a local herb shop, 10, yes TEN samples from Zhi, a “tea for one” pot and cup from zhi (in brilliant orange – purrrr) and am on my way back there today for a larger size of their Gong Fu Black, oh yeah and THIS:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E0DBL6K/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
(SQUEEEEEEE!)
I need to stop. Is there a 12 step program for teaheads?
MzPriss , I know what you’re talking about. I started out February pretty good and swore I wouldn’t buy anymore. Yet, here it is February and I’ve purchased a mystery tea pack from Miss B, made a second Tealux order, bought one tea and 4 samples from Tea Emporium. I also just placed an order for Tiger Monk from Temple Road. I know I’m not finished yet either because I want want want a Timolino from David’s Tea. I just know when I step in the store I’m going to come away with more than a Timolino. Oh, yeah, and I keep trying to make plans to check out the local Metro store someone suggested that has some high end teas. Lordy, I need an intervention too.
That yixing pot sounds wonderful. Another thing I want but maybe in the future…..
I think most of us on here could use an intervention! Not that it is helping you with cutting back at all… but have you checked out the bulk tea section at Central Market (I want to say the one on Lamar has a better selection than the south one) and Whole Foods Downtown?!
Zhi is walking distance from my house and I don’t go in there nearly enough. I wish they still made their Kashmiri Chai. Do you ever go to the meet ups in town? There was one a month ago where we packed Zhi.
Hi Dustin – yes I have done the bulk tea section @ CM and I’ve found quite a few things there. The Westgate store is walking distance from my house (OK maybe biking distance. i COULD walk, but I never do there). And I didn’t know about meet ups, but I would like to. How do I get info on them?
I really like the folks at Zhi. I started going there right after they opened. I’m about to head there in a few for more Gong Fu :)
Oh, and I agree the North Lamar CM has a much better selection than the Westgate one. I’m trying to avoid Whole Foods so I haven’t spent any time in their tea section, although I go once in a while.
You should be able to view the Meetup group here: http://www.meetup.com/Austin-Tea-Geeks/
They aren’t super active, but there are generally meetups a couple times a month.
I still haven’t tried Zhi’s Gong Fu and it is rated so well here! I meant to try it last time I was there but got distracted by the Plum Oolong. I was shocked when they opened! I thought that was the worst place for a tea shop ever (not that I minded them being there) and figured it would close shortly, but I guess since that is their headquarters the shop is just a bonus to the online sales.
Did you ever get to go into Tea Embassy before it closed? I really miss them. Whole Foods has some of their teas, but not all of my favorites. I usually try to avoid WF too especially since they have revised their stance on GM foods. Between Sprouts, Central Market and Trader Joe’s, I have some pretty fantastic alternatives.
I understand your situation entirely! I just got a $50 gift card for Harney & Sons and spent all of it at once of course; got three Yezi Tea samples; and bought a yixing pot, jade tea bowl, da hong pao oolong, shou pu’erh, and pu’erh tucha off ebay. I’ve got a few other pots I’m watching on ebay too including another yixing, some carved jade, and a carved coral pot.
@Dustin The Gong Fu is great – I like it a lot. I would be happy to bring you some at a meet up when one happens. I got a tin today and, ahem, another sweet little teapot – but he gave me a GREAT deal on it so I kind of had to. I also got a sample size of the Pu Erh.
And yeah the way they changed on the GM foods, plus pretty much everything John Mackie ever says make we want to avoid if at all possible, and yeah we are lucky to have so many options!
@Jenn-cha I’m glad its not just me – see above where I came home with ANOTHER teapot today. The jade tea bowl sounds beautiful!
Thank you for the offer, but I ended up walking past there and picked up a sample the other day. Then I went past Springdale Farms and they had a truffle vendor in for one day! I got a super fresh truffle that was plucked from the ground in France less that 48 hours before! SCORE!!!!
@Ubacat – is the Tiger Monk from Temple Road the one they sent out samples of? I have one coming my way and am excited to try it.
@Dustin – yes I went to Tea Embassy (I took a tea class there once and I love the Lemon Lavender), some of the staff were really nice, but the owners were a little snooty I thought. Am still sad they are gone. I order the Lemon Lavender online.
Don’t worry, you are in good company!!
Actually there is a tea buying hiatus support thread. Though it’s more of a place we go to shame ourselves haha.
http://steepster.com/discuss/5396-help?post_id=94212#forum_post_94212
@indigobloom. Oh! Thanks so much for that. I’m gonna go take a look. I need some therapeutic shaming.
I just started enjoying tea this year and so far, I have spent close to $500.00. I did the 12 step AA program and it worked for me. I may have to enact those methods for my new addiction to Tea!!!!! Tea, however, is beneficial and enhancing……
I went on a sample-buying spree when I was new to tea, to test everything and see if I liked things. Since then I’ve generally settled down to a few kinds of teas/flavors I care for. Maybe get pickier with the flavors you want? (I don’t like fruity blends or breakfast blends or western flavors like earl grey, so it cut down significantly on the kinds of tea I was keeping watch on) Maybe stop looking up tea altogether? (Focus on drinking what you have rather than hoarding more) Maybe distract yourself with another habit?
I started participating in the “How much will you spend on tea this year?” thread, and actually seeing how much it was all adding up really helped me rather than seeing it as “$4 here and $10 there is not so much.” I actually stopped buying as much when I started doing that.
@ Soul – yeah I think I will calm down and stop looking as I start to focus on the MANY things I have recently acquired.
@madametj – you know, thinking about that “How much will you spend…” post is what made look at what I’ve been buying and I was like “whoa!” and that is what really lead to this post.
I have all sorts of awesome things to try and I need to focus on what I have instead of looking at things I don’t. I need to do so many notes right now of things I’ve been drinking and NOT shopping.
Thanks y’all!
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