Cups --- aged, wise, deep, soothing to the soul

I don't remember when, I started collecting cups, began with various shapes, sizes, colors of new age cups. Then an obsession spread wide, collecting old cups became just as important as finding great teas in my book.

It all began with these fishes...
Various cups of the typical Qing batavian style, a gaiwan and soup bowls, a few more at friend's antique store in Beijing. I can't wait to get them next time I go to China.

The cutest one...


Double happiness during Ming is a popular style and my second favorite...
Bowl...

Transparent Rice style, end of Qing, Min Guo and early PROC, my most recent collected style....

Tin cans

Tin cans are used for tea storage, because it keeps moisture out and does not rust. Tin does not give off metal smell, hence does not change flavor of tea during storage.

Octagon shaped tin can....



Small dent on one footing....

Flower shaped tin can.......



Tiny dents.....
Small dent at rim of lid

How much tea do you drink in a year?

How long does 1 lb or 500 grams of tea last you? Do not include RTD bottled teas.

I never really count how much tea leaves I drink in a year. So let's do some calculation. Personal use only (not including for work or friends), I drink 3 sessions of tea per day, average of 3 to 4 g per session, that's 9-12 g per day, a 500 g bag can last me 1.5 months. In a year, I use up 8 to 9 lbs of tea. Right on the average of Chao Zhou tea consumption per capita.

On the higher end of the scale, a lb of TGY or High mountain oolong can be consumed quicker due to the density of the leaves, averaging 20 days for a pound by normal daily drinking. This number is shared by a bunch of TGY tea heads, mainly Chinese.

Feel free to share your habit... :D