Invasions can begin small and grow so gradually that, before you know it, you’re completely taken over. No, I’m not talking about people. I’m talking about teawares. Teapots, teacups, tea sets, and accessories can quietly take over your home without warning, filling every available nook and cranny. Here are some signs to watch for so you can at least attempt to manage the onslaught.
tasteofenglishtea.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/tea_blog-teawaresb2a.jpg” alt=”Collection of tea sets, teapots, and teacups displayed in a tea lover’s home” width=”490″ height=”372″ /> The display in our house that made folks ask when we’d set up shop! (Photo by A.C. Cargill, all rights reserved)Sign 1: Teawares Fill the Kitchen Cupboards
Where regular dishes and cookware would normally reside—in the kitchen cupboards—you instead find teapots, teacups, saucers, tea mugs, and dessert plates. The everyday kitchen items have been relegated to countertops, storage bins, or wherever else space can be found.
Sign 2: Teawares Displace Books on the Shelves
The kitchen cupboards are overflowing, so the tea collection begins expanding into other areas. Bookshelves become display shelves for teaware collections, while the books themselves wind up stacked in corners. Fortunately, those books remain close at hand for reading while enjoying a favorite cup of tea.
Sign 3: Teawares Cover the Dining Table
Once the cupboards and bookshelves are full, the dining table becomes the next logical storage location. After all, many modern homes favor eat-in kitchens and open floor plans over formal dining rooms. A dining table covered in beautiful teapots and tea sets can seem like a perfectly reasonable use of space.
Sign 4: Guests Ask When You Opened a Tea Shop
You host a gathering, guests arrive, and one of the first questions they ask is, “When did you open a teaware shop?” Soon they’re inspecting the collection and looking for price tags. Even after you explain that everything is part of a personal collection, some guests remain unconvinced and leave saying, “Let me know when you have a sale.”
Sign 5: A Minor Earthquake Creates a Symphony of Clinking Tea Cups
A small earthquake might barely be noticeable to most homeowners, but in a house filled with teacups, saucers, and teapots, every vibration produces a memorable chorus of clinks and rattles. You might even call it a symphoTEA.
[Richter magnitude scale reference]
Sign 6: You Never Need to Wash Teacups
You own so many teacups that there is always a clean one available. After finishing one cup of tea, you simply set that teacup aside, select another from the collection, and continue enjoying tea. It’s a system that would fit right in at a Mad Hatter tea party inspired by Alice in Wonderland.
Sign 7: The Same Applies to Teapots
When one teapot becomes empty, there is no need to wash it immediately. Simply place it with the others and reach for another teapot to continue the day’s tea drinking adventures.
Sign 8: You Don’t Ask for Borrowed Teawares to Be Returned
A friend or neighbor asks to borrow a teapot, teacup, or complete tea set. You happily agree and never think about it again. In fact, when they attempt to return the items, you find yourself running the other direction because you clearly have more teaware than any one household could possibly need.
Sign 9: Cleaning Your Teaware Collection Requires a Professional Crew
The pit crews at major auto races know how to work efficiently, with every member assigned a specific task. Maintaining an extensive teaware collection can require a similar approach. One crew dusts teapots on display shelves, another cleans teacups stored in cabinets, while others tackle the teaware that has accumulated on tables and counters throughout the house.
Without such an organized system, keeping a large tea collection clean and presentable could become a full-time job.
Has the Tea Takeover Happened?
So, has your home been taken over by teapots, tea cups, tea sets, and other tea accessories? Ours certainly has, and judging from the collections I’ve seen over the years, we’re probably not alone.
See more tea articles and tea culture commentary by A.C. Cargill.
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