Tuesday TeaDay 3/8/11 Amassed TEAS or TeaCups?

[Chip]

Good TeaDay everyone! We hope that you will come and share what is in your cup throughout the day.

Yesterday we discussed "Great TeaDays." You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. Which do you currently own more of ... TEAs (NON samples) or TeaSpecific TeaCups? Please be sure to share.

We are all looking forward to sharing this TeaDay with ... everyone. Bottoms up!

[karmaplace]

By far I own a lot more different kinds of cups than I own tea (non samples)...but each cup gets used for a lot of different types of tea.

I feel that if I amass too much tea, I may not use it all fast enough. That's the beauty of tea, really. A couple ounces can really last a long time (and I drink at least a few pots full every day), but in terms of "freshness," not so much. Teacups, however, with proper care and handling, can last quite a while, for years and years, and I've been building up a big collection.

Matcha this morning, followed by a few pots of sencha, and I'm currently sipping some hot darjeeling I brewed in a travel thermos I got as a birthday gift last week. While the infuser basket for the travel thermos is woefully small, it still managed to brew a decent cuppa, and the thermos keeps the tea HOT for a long time (my tongue is still getting burned, and I put the water in almost three hours ago). I'll have to send my mother many thanks.

[Nenugal]

Hard to say, depending on how I count. If I count individual cups in a set, and include gaiwans and chawans too, I have much more cups than tea. Otherwise, it is about the same.
This is looking to be a *great* tea-day, although I'm soon going to *sin* with a sample teabag I got from Zencha. But first, a big pot of Yutaka Midori LE from o-cha

[Tadpole]

Definitely more teacups than tea, in both weight and individual cup styles vs types of tea. Right now I have 6 types of tea, totalling around 1 lb. A newly stocked tea drawer here normally will have 2.5-3 lbs of tea. Nowhere as impressive or insane as other tea drawers/cupboards, I'm sure!

Teacup collection is at 43 units. Plain white porcelain, glass, smooth celadon, ceramic, Ge Kiln, Ru Kiln, and bone china. Some are part of tea sets, others are pairs or 6-sets. I like having a variety to mix with different brewing vessels so each TeaDay is truly something new. And of course, if I happen to have 43 people over at my 400squarefoot studio, I am able to serve tea to them all!

*Thinks about Chip's roomfull of teaware.* I don't have too many tea cups...yet. Although--what is considered too many gongfu tea trays? I have one that I have used for 2 years. Getting kind of bored with it. The draining grate takes up half the removable top. I am getting annoyed of having to choose what "side" of the surface to place the brewing vessel/chahai/tasting cups. The tray functions just fine (3 successfully repaired leaky spots). Really entertaining the idea of getting a new one with the entire top having slats. And then another travel sized one for school. Tray #1 can be the guest tray for niece and nephew to play on. Do I need 3 trays??? I believe my tax refunds for the past couple years have all gone to teaware and tea

Back to teacups. What does everyone else have?

Fu Shou Shan tonight. Brewed both in a high fired red clay pot and porcelain gaiwan, side by side. The clay pot produces a thicker heavier texture. Gaiwan allows more of the floral notes and fresh fruit aroma to come forward. I think the clay retains heat a bit too well. May experiment with slightly lower temperature or shorter steep next time.

[JBaymore]

Even not counting my own work....... # of cups wins hands down. Tea eventually goes "stale"....... cups don't.

best,

..............john

[Trey Winston]

Tea, no question. I have still been able to resist the teaware bug.

A workable sencha is the order of the day.

[Chip]

A workable sencha is the order of the day.

Drinking a decent amount of sencha these days???!!!???

This has reversed in the last 3 or so years. I used to have so many teas, and very little teaware. As I cut back on tea, suddenly there were more cups and more cups. Hagi, Bizen, Arita, Korean, Taiwanese, and Chinese dominate.

Today it is not unusual for me to only have a handful or two of teas on hand, not including samples. And many, many cups.

[artmom]

TeaCups for sure! Nothing near what Chip has, though. My Asian style cups are growing; but my Western (British) style cups will probably always be more numerous. At my age, I'm trying to shed possessions, not amass them!!!

[bryan293]

I have more tea for sure, but my cup collection is growing. I put a bag of cold brewed mango sencha from den's in my water bottle this morning, it was better than I'd been expecting; No tea other than that so far today.

[entropyembrace]

Definitely tea....I only have 7 teacups...and I haven´t counted the tea but probably 20+ different ones on hand.

[Elovitz]

Tea! It's easier for me to store than teacups, I don't trust half the shelves I own for my current ones

Not to mention if I have too many cups a lot of them go unused. I always rotate my teas on a regular basis.

Lapsang today, and matcha later

[Herb_Master]

appropriate question for today

2 New cups arrived in the post from Greenwood Studio

[debunix]

Think it's still teas, but the cups are catching up, after I got my cups from Shawn.

Will have to stop reading the teaware artisans forum soon!

Today, starting with Bai Hong green tea from yunnan sourcing. Inexpensive & decent green tea.

[greentam]

Since I'm so new to drinking tea, I don't really have any special cups or anything. I mostly just use my plain old, ugly, worn out coffee mugs. I have total tea wear envy though!

[tortoise]

My tea is ahead currently. I generally buy to consume, so the longer I'm at this, I imagine the tea ware will overtake the tea at some point. Who knows.

I've been having lots of this 90's pindong from houde. Love that aged oolong mellow fruit flavor!

Hey and, uhm...

Happy Mardi Gras!