My tea stash is overwhelming me. Now, I understand that my stash may not be the biggest, most comprehensive, nor highly exotic collection of tea leaves ever compiled…(and that there are those who shall remain nameless with a much, much more developed stash…ahem, Steepsters)
But stash is stash.
- The First Wave (Thanks to Harney & Sons, Andrews & Dunham, Ippodo, Upton, Steven Smith, Camellia Sinensis, Art of Tea, Mountain Tea, and Rishi Organic Teas).
A-N-D when it comes to stash, I would like a collection that reflects who I am (or at the very least who I want to become as a tea drinker).
A-N-D if I want to be consistent (with a small ‘c’) about my idiosyncrasies then I need to follow my compulsion to organize. I do bullet journal after all…
That being said, however, I’ve been here before…organizing while ringed around with the detritus-du-jour whether they are books, papers, yarn, or TEA. Just ask my spouse, I am a compulsive Organizer/Reorganizer with arcane, byzantine systems – coding by color, quantity, or any number of quantifiable data. You name it, I’ve cataloged, parsed, and filed away to my hearts content utterly convinced that this time – “This Time” – I’ve got things under control…
So here’s my breakdown (s0 far – until that UPS truck comes rumbling down the road):
29 pouches, tins, or packets of black tea (big and small)
17 pouches, tins, or packets of oolong tea (big and small)
36 pouches, tins or packets of green tea (big and small)
8 pouches, tins, or packets of matcha (big and small)
Whew…
Obviously, this does not include all the brewing paraphernalia that comes with the territory…scales, water temp gauge, tea pouches, an oolong brewer and general tea brewer…
and my beloved my main brewer, a Hario…
Now earlier this year, I discovered this wonderful little book, Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up by Marie Kondo.
Ms. Kondo is professional organizer from Japan who discovered a high recidivism rate for people organizing in their own homes. She noticed that well-intentioned people would begin organizing their collections but soon these collections would devolve into a disorganized mess.
To solve this, she uncovered a simple principle that cured her and others from falling off the bandwagon: Each item you own should spark joy in you right NOW.
She believes that if you take the time to “sit with” and assess whether or not an item sparks joy in you, you will quickly find that most of the things you own do not fill you, complete you or satisfy you with the “warm fuzzies.”
It’s a philosophical bent to organizing which I find creates a lasting effect; if you really think about your orientation to your things, you learn A LOT about yourself…the how and why you hold on to stuff…
Sooo…what does this have to do about tea? And my stash?
We shall see – stay tuned….
ThinkTeaNYC 