Stash vs collection

Every once in a while I get this bee in my bonnet about people showing off their tea “collection,” which often consists of boxes of supermarket tea. And I always think, that’s a stash. For me the difference between a stash and a collection is curation. Personally I have a rather large stash of tea that consists mostly of random samples of puer plus a pretty large sampling of hong cha. These are my daily drinks and I work way through them according to whim. Also, I tend to buy these impulsively.

My “collection” is more focused and mindfully curated. It consists of five old puer cakes (1960s-mid-1980s) and six adolescent cakes (1995-2008). I take greater care with these cakes in terms of storage and when and how I drink them. Right now I’m working through the adolescent teas brewing them all the same way, savoring them mightily.

I suspect some of you have collected teas with a much more refined sensibility than I possess. I’d to love to hear about your curation.

I’m retired now and don’t expect to add to either collection unless a really good deal comes up.

I think about my tea ware in a similar fashion. I have a bunch of randomly acquired gaiwans and pots and cups, hardly a collection.

Thoughts?

PS I’m a poet and retired English Professor, so I come by my fixation of nuances of meaning honestly.