What to do with the sample tea tins?

[Rusty]

Hello...so far I've tried two different sample packs from Adagio, and they come in the little tins...I asked them if they are able to recycle them, but they aren't. Anyone have any ideas on what to do with the tins? It seems a shame to throw them away...

Rusty

[Chip]

Nope, never throw them away. Fill them with tea samples to spread your TEAgospel. Use them to transport smaller amounts of leaf to work, vacation, family gatherings, put change in for the turnpike as a last resort....

[Sydney]

Around here they're used for sorting odd arts and crafts bits.

[Mary R]

Chip speaks the TeaTruth!

The sample tins make for kick-ass tea transporters and for disseminating samples to friends 'n family. No one can refuse a tiny tin!

Also, my especially crafty friends use my old ones to make little votive candles. It floats their boat.

[Salsero]

OK, Mary, I've often thought of mailing tea out in those empty containers, but how can I cleanse them enough to be sure the tea I put in isn't contaminated with the aroma of the tea that used to be in them? Soak them in a bleach solution? vinegar?

[Mary R]

Actually, I use dish detergent--especially if the tin held a flavored tea. I've noticed (particularly in other companies) that flavored teas often leave an oily residue in the container, presumably from the oils used in flavoring. Only detergent is going to effectively break those bonds.

If, after a wash and good rinse, I can still smell tea (or the perfumed detergent...stupid Green Apple Pamolive...), I rinse in a baking soda/water solution, slosh with vinegar, and rinse in water like mad. Then I usually let them air dry open for a couple days for added insurance.

No, I don't have OCD. I blame my bio and chem labs for all the dish washing. Bleh.

Oh, I'd never use bleach. It's actually really, really difficult to rinse completely, and the smell lingers.

[Salsero]

Thanks, Mary. You always seem to have the answers!

[LavenderPekoe]

I have made some very nice soy candles out of mine. The tend to leak when the burn, though, since the seams get hot and pull a bit. Just be sure to burn them on something that can catch the wax.

[Mary R]

in•suf•fer•a•ble know-it-all |inˈsəf(ə)rəbəl nō-it-ôl|
noun informal
1. A person who behaves as if they know everything, often showing unbearable arrogance or conceit
2. A TeaChat Moderator known as Mary R, often displaying these qualities. See picture below.

Well I'll be darned!

Lavender--I think my friends first coat the seam with some sort of epoxy before filling them with wax to prevent this seepage. I'll have to ask them sometime...it's got to be firesafe, whatever it is they use and I can't think of anything like that off the top of my head. Crafts and me...largely no.

[LavenderPekoe]

Mary - I had thought of that, but me and craftiness are just getting acquainted, so I wasn't sure what to use. If you could find out, that would be great.

[Carnelian]

I use old sample tins for handing out my own samples from larger tins to friends, to store dried herbs from my garden, keep bulk baking supplies like salts and baking soda in manageable amounts and to hold decorative buttons in the bottom of my knitting bag.

And I just realized that being a tea drinker/gardener/baker/knitter probably makes me a weird 17-year-old

[joelbct]

And I just realized that being a tea drinker/gardener/baker/knitter probably makes me a weird 17-year-old

Au contraire, drinking fine tea is highly avant garde.... Even Moby started a tea shop in Manhattan!

And I'm not sure about the other stuff, I guess it depends what kind of gardening/baking/knitting you do...

[Carnelian]

And I'm not sure about the other stuff, I guess it depends what kind of gardening/baking/knitting you do...

Well, I did knit my own hoodie...

[Ladytiger]

And I just realized that being a tea drinker/gardener/baker/knitter probably makes me a weird 17-year-old

Ditto that! Hey, we must be twins only I sew more than I knit and now I know what to store my herbs in from my garden the summer! They'd probably make niffty tin for paper clip, binder clips, or staples.

[LavenderPekoe]

in•suf•fer•a•ble know-it-all |inˈsəf(ə)rəbəl nō-it-ôl|
noun informal
1. A person who behaves as if they know everything, often showing unbearable arrogance or conceit
2. A TeaChat Moderator known as Mary R, often displaying these qualities. See picture below.

Well I'll be darned!

Lavender--I think my friends first coat the seam with some sort of epoxy before filling them with wax to prevent this seepage. I'll have to ask them sometime...it's got to be firesafe, whatever it is they use and I can't think of anything like that off the top of my head. Crafts and me...largely no.

Mary - Did you ever happen to overhear what kind of epoxy they use? I would love to be able to give out the candles I made.