I am somewhat surprised by the heat this topic has generated. I am confused as to whether it has to do with aversion to technical tools which are suppose to work miracles (databases, ick!), or something more than this.
To clarify, let me ask the following questions:
Do you attempt to buy tea that is clearly labeled as to origin (preferably including the plantation)? Do you attempt to buy tea that has brewing instructions? Do you use a timer when brewing your tea? Do you use a scale to measure your tea? Do you verbally express or write impressions of your tea? If you do, do you use distinct verbal modifiers (e.g. 'astringent,' 'floral,' etc.) when describing your tea? If you do, do organize these impressions somehow (e.g. keep a tea journal, blog, etc) ?
I would personally answer yes to all of these, except for the scale. The problem for me is not whether or not impressions and experiences should be organized, but how. I also find this daunting, but to me the daunting factor is largely a factor of a lack of standardization in the industry. For example, if I was to label a tea as organic or not, I would need to research each agency that labels such and assess both their claim and whether or not regular and complete audits are done to insure product quality, probably ultimately ending up with multiple categories of 'organic' teas, each meaning something slightly different. This is not simply a product of something unique to tea, but lack of standards and unified political structure.
I once (like Dominic) created a database for categorizing teas. It contained many fields and tables and I think it could have been used for tea. The main problem I faced in the end was a recognition that to do this well, one would need other quality reviewers to set the style starting off. Most other venues I have observed on the web focus on teas popular to an American audience (flowery teas), and I am not especially interested in these. I continue to be interested in creating a 'tea-blogging' platform where impressions of various teas are easily searchable by type and vendor.
So, to conclude, I am wary of allowing technical means to substitute and or limit my experience of tea, but do appreciate what organization is available (albeit, somewhat limited in the case of tea). Why not make it a little bit better?