My Wagner Tea tins....
Mar. 15th, 2013 11:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poltr1Back in the early '90s, I came across Overbey's Emporium, a kitchen and fine food boutique in the French Market in Columbus, Ohio. I think there was a Genie users' meeting and get-together at one of the local hotels. One of the products they had there was John Wagner & Sons loose tea, in small 0.75 oz (21 g) tins, in different blends and flavors. Over the next few years (and visits), I ended up assembling a collection of about 16 tins. I've had them on display over my electric range. And I've been drinking the tea, in my Bodum "Tea For One" cup.
I've not seen that brand of tea in a while, and I think the store is long-gone. So what happened to the brand? In 1996, the company was sold to Spice Rack, a spice company based in North Carolina. A Google search yielded this article:
http://articles.philly.com/1996-05-24/business/25627314_1_green-tea-cigar-business-ivyland
So, as I use up the tea, I've been saving the tins. I'd wash the outside with a mild dish detergent, let them dry, and pack them up in a cardboard box. I'll probably use them for something useful (like more loose tea), but for now, I'm storing and hoarding them.
Twinings also sells loose tea in tins. And I have a few tins from Celestial Seasonings. A local friend was missing a Sleepytime 'lozenge' tin -- it's about the size of a tin of Sucrets cough drops -- so I gave her one that I had. She now has a complete set.
It's rare for products to be packaged in reusable metal tins these days. I haven't seen Sucrets in years. Somewhere I have a couple of Altoids tins. And I have a Charles Chips tin that I got from my parents.
I've not seen that brand of tea in a while, and I think the store is long-gone. So what happened to the brand? In 1996, the company was sold to Spice Rack, a spice company based in North Carolina. A Google search yielded this article:
http://articles.philly.com/1996-05-24/business/25627314_1_green-tea-cigar-business-ivyland
So, as I use up the tea, I've been saving the tins. I'd wash the outside with a mild dish detergent, let them dry, and pack them up in a cardboard box. I'll probably use them for something useful (like more loose tea), but for now, I'm storing and hoarding them.
Twinings also sells loose tea in tins. And I have a few tins from Celestial Seasonings. A local friend was missing a Sleepytime 'lozenge' tin -- it's about the size of a tin of Sucrets cough drops -- so I gave her one that I had. She now has a complete set.
It's rare for products to be packaged in reusable metal tins these days. I haven't seen Sucrets in years. Somewhere I have a couple of Altoids tins. And I have a Charles Chips tin that I got from my parents.
