Time for tea?

[chicagopotter]

Ok, note really sure how to start this. As I get more into tea, I find myself buying more and more tea As it accumulates, I have more and more bags/canisters open. I am beginning to wonder how TCers manage their tea collections (drinking wise)? It sounds like a lot of you have fairly extensive collections. Do you have multiple teas open at one time? Or, do you go completely thru one then open up or purchase more (different kinds)? How do yo choose which one to drink an any given time. Do you worry about teas going "stale" before they are finished? Am I making sense here?

[olivierco]

I don't have too many teas open at the same time, 10 to 15 I guess. Some years ago I had many more but with the time going, I know better what I like and buy just what I need often in 50gr packages: they are perhaps more expensive but freshness has its price.

[Ebtoulson]

Ok so I have around 30+ teas open but about half are sample sizes. That being said, I store all of my teas with opaque containers on my bookshelf below my teaware and teas with transparent containers behind a curtain on a different shelf. (puerh's and chais are a different story because of their strong smell). As far as managing my collection I normally just buy smaller sizes of teas that I have yet to try and 2-4 oz of favorite teas, its not as cost efficient but it gives me a bigger variety. As far as picking which tea to drink, if I'm drinking tea with someone I normally just fix what they want otherwise I just pick at random if I'm not craving a certain tea. I've only ever had one package of tea go stale and thats because I just didn't like it so I never drank it, so I would say I don't worry about my tea going stale.
Let me just say this, it has always been a struggle for me to not over buy tea.

[Intuit]

Pretty sure that Chip has recently done a TD Poll on this topic.

Suffice it to say, most of us have quite a few - no, make that 'many' - different teas opened and going at any one time.

Edit: agreed with Chip - most oolongs, and nearly all blacks and puerhs store reasonably well, so it's easy to have many opened at once.

[Chip]

This is a constant "struggle" for most of us. I know if you are into greens, time is not on your side when you have too many open, even more so if they are Japanese Sencha. From the time you cut that pretty bag open, the clock starts running.

I used to stress about having too many teas open, a lesson I had to learn. I am much happier with fewer greens open at any given time.

I want to be able to finish off a bag of sencha in a month or preferably less. So, it becomes simple math really. X grams per day, how many grams per month. Then I can easily figure out how many bags should be open. Turns out 3 sencha are ideal.

Now blacks and oolongs, totally out of control ...

[gingkoseto]

Oolong is always easy to deal with. Traditional style oolong is even easier
I have all my oolong opened as soon as possible and don't worry about them. If there is more than 1 pack for a tea, at least a representative pack is opened. The teas make me feel like an emperor who has many wives

[Victoria]

+1 gingko

I have lots open all the time, and still open new as it comes. I enjoy it and if after several times if it begins to fade, I move on. I used to sweat it, but now, I have just let go. I know I buy more than I will drink, but so what? Trying to set a schedule or to finish one before another would be even more stressful.

[reincarnate]

I have this problem all the time. Currently I have about 50 teas open and maybe 25 that I have yet to open and I still keep on buying and receiving more. I'm often worried that they will go bad, but what can you do - let's admit it, it's an addiction.

Although a big part of the reason is that I review them, so I have to open them as fresh as they come to get the best out of it.