That's fair. I made my first order before subscribing as well, but the two are certainly different experiences! When I leave the club, I would most definitely miss the club letters and the shared discussions with other members!faj wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2020 4:22 pm
Their subscription may be the one I have thought about the most. However, I am not experienced with the kind of teas they are focused on. I actually have my first order from EoT on the way (shipped long, long ago...). I think after getting through the teas I ordered I will be better equipped to say if a subscription might make sense.
A mix of reasons. When I receive new tea samples these days, I classify them into three categories:
A) tea I rarely reach for even if I have a full can/cake.
B) tea I am not interested in buying more, but still like to drink if I already own some / were given more of.
C) tea I am going to stock up.
Even a high quality / expensive tea could fall into either one of these categories. For example, category B could just be that the cost/performance doesn't work for me, or that I simply could not afford it!
Given my criteria, my next phase is less about casting a wide net, but more an in-depth study of those I have found to enjoy!
Leaving the clubs would allow me to focus my attention and budget to do that. It's all part of the journey!
As of now, I'm still very much a fan of sheng puerh. I order from EoT's catalogue from time to time. While I don't stock up a lot of tea from them, they're one of the few vendors from which I trust enough to make a blind purchase!
Your hope is not futile! There's enough great tea to go around. There was a tea from the club that I didn't like at all when I first tasted it, and have grown to appreciate it enough that I will be purchasing a cake of the same tea from this year's harvest. Find what works best for youfaj wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2020 4:22 pm
I have this idea (futile hope?) that as time passes, I will be able to have a increasing proportion of my tea drinking dedicated to teas I really like, and subscriptions kind of go against that thinking if most of the time you cannot get more of the stuff you like. Obviously, there is always value in lessons learned, either positive or negative...