My stash circa 2013
I do try to keep my setup to a respectable minimum : 4 teapots, 1 gaiwan, 1 shiboridashi, a half-dozen teacups, cha hai, strainer, scale, tea-picks, and electric kettle. I even have one of those Tawainese-style competition brewing sets, for the odd work-sanctioned tea tasting, of course.
My drawers contain binder-clipped bags of oolongs, metal canisters of aged oolong, and many, many sample bags of puer, ripe and raw represented. I also keep my ripe cakes at work for the time being, since I do not have a storage solution for them at home yet. I am confident that were my drawers inspected by a casual observer, they would assume that I had quite the drug problem.
As much as I would love to continue describing the extent of my tea-hoarding at work, I must shift the topic to the subject of a different kind of observer. A non-human observer.
I used to sit in a square 4-cubicle pod with J (tea friend of mention in posts past), J (another fellow tea-drinker), and a vacant cubicle. It was quite nice - we even had a communal table at which to conduct very important work-centric meetings involving copious amounts of tea. H (another tea-drinking colleague) from over the wall would stop by to offer her input. I have since moved locations within the building, but I stop by to talk with the two Js frequently.
Monday
"Did you know about the mouse?", asks H.
"Mouse?", I reply.
"A mouse got into our drawers, J and J had to throw away a bunch of their tea."
A feverish shiver runs up my spine as my mind rushes to the rather formidable stash of tea a short walk away.
It appears that mice had found their way into a drawer in J's cubicle which contained, unknown to him, a chocolate bar. After finishing off the chocolate, the mice chewed holes into vacuum-sealed bags of oolong. It would appear the tea obsession extends beyond our species.
My tea was, mercifully, unharmed, owing probably to the fact that I sit further away from the scene of the crime. As a precaution, however, I packed up any tea not stored in a metal canister and brought it home until I can purchase a sealed container to keep it all in.
Is that really it?
It is rare that we, as hoarders, face the true extent of our obsessions. We all have underlying knowledge that we might have some sort of problem, but when everything is distributed it becomes harder to keep it all in mind at once.
Inside the fridge minus a few newer cakes, of course.
And no, that is not all of my tea. There are a few cabinets in my kitchen to contend with, along with my small collection of shu puer. Distribution is key, of course.
I even keep a spreadsheet of all the tea that I drink. Mostly for my own curiosity, but also because I like a well-organized spreadsheet. I'm currently consuming tea at a rate of about 115g/month on average. This is well below my acquisition rate, although I do not keep track of that figure.
All this to say - keep your tea safe out there my friends and fellow collectors. As for the m(ice)ouse? We won't speak of that, but suffice it to say that we have not had any visitors since this incident.
