There comes a time in every tea drinker’s life where we must admit that we have a problem. Our friends and family will notice what is going on long before we do. Luckily for us, tea is a healthy indulgence (except for where our wallets are concerned). I thought it might be fun to put together a list of some of the “symptoms” of being a dedicated tea buyer.
1. You could really use a new pair of shoes but your favorite tea vendor is having an awesome sale.
I’ve often have friends tell me I’m not a typical girl because I don’t buy new shoes or purses very often. What they don’t realize is that I’m not super frugal. I just think my money is much better spent on some really good tea!
2. You know you have too much tea but just can’t bring yourself to cancel your multiple tea subscriptions.
Global Tea Hut, White2Tea Club, Jalam Teas…all of that tea can really add up but how can we miss out on all of that awesome leaf? I often justify puerh subscriptions by telling myself that the tea is only getting better if I don’t get around to drinking it right away.
3. Every year you resolve to organize your tea collection but it just seems to keep multiplying.
We might try our best but tea hoarders are beyond the help of The Container Store, Real Simple Magazine or anyone else who thinks they have this organizing thing down pat. Tea is like tribbles. It multiplies before our eyes!
4. You started out with a single shelf or cabinet but your tea has now taken over other areas of your home.
I find that most of start out with a single shelf or cabinet. We’re proud of ourselves for being so organized and neat. That moment of joy is short lived though because a love for tea cannot be contained. The tea collection will inevitably spread to more cabinets, drawers and even other rooms of the house.
5. Your kitchen counter space is taken up mostly by tea gadgets and gizmos.
Between my Breville One-Touch, milk frother and the Sharp Tea-Ceré that I have on loan, my counters is full the max. My Kitchen-aid mixer even got downgraded to the top of the refrigerator!
6. The dictionary on your smart phone has more tea words added to it than you can count.
You’ve posted on enough message boards and done enough Google searches that the predictive text practically speaks Chinese…and Japanese…and Korean.
7. You have a vast network of tea enablers who share your problem.
Twitter, Instagram, Steepster and Facebook groups are full of tea enablers. We all suffer from the same affliction yet are constantly encouraging each other to accumulate more tea and teaware. I’m looking at you Teaware.house hauls!
As I’m sure you know, this post is all in good fun. I’m a big proponent of not taking ourselves too seriously, even if we are mega-tea nerds. Is there a clue that I missed? Let me know about it in the comments!