Introduce Yourself

ZZteaspace
New user
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2023 11:31 am
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Fri Feb 03, 2023 11:50 am

How long have you been drinking tea?
Tea has always been on my family's dinner table, but 5 years ago I started getting into yixing clay due to my father's influence, which switched the gear from dinner drink to hobby to almost addiction.

What kind of tea do you drink?
All kinds just for the fun and experience, but mostly DanCong, Yancha, Aged Oolong, Sheng/shupu

How do you prepare your tea?
antique or vintage teaware, full blown gongfucha set up, water and kettle matters just as much as the clay of teapot.

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
all about the antique and vintage clay, hope to sell and trade on this forum's community, also get to know people with similar mindset.

What factors lead you to delve into the world of tea, and what is keeping you there?
Tea is in my blood, as it's my family has been drinking it for generations. tea space interior design, antique & vintage trade, meditation is also necessary at the end of the day.

What is your location?
North of North America, please check out my insta post.
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Bok
Vendor
Posts: 5779
Joined: Wed Oct 04, 2017 8:55 am
Location: Taiwan

Fri Feb 03, 2023 6:40 pm

@ZZteaspace Welcome! I believe we have already met on IG. Good to have you on board here.
Greybeard
New user
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2023 5:55 pm
Location: NC, USA

Sun Feb 05, 2023 6:07 pm

How long have you been drinking tea?

All my life, mostly iced as a younger one, then teabags, then I tried to buy some from the local tea seller (Gunpowder,etc), and while I was WfH during the height of Rona, I tried my hand at drinking it British-style.

What kind of tea do you drink?

These days, mostly greens and whites, but nothing special .

How do you prepare your tea?

In a mug, though I did buy a water heater thing a few years ago to try to match the temp to the recommendations on the bags.


What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?

For several years I've followed from above one of the Gong fu groups on FB, but I've never dived in. I would like to do so now, but before I spend a bunch of money at the first website I find, I am here to try to learn to begin to differentiate the good from the mediocre. There are so many options as far as tools, different teas, etc. so I'd love to find a good setup to start with.

What factors lead you to delve into the world of tea, and what is keeping you there?

Having been a paramedic for many years, I drink a gob-ton of coffee (first thing in the morning, after lunch, before bed). I'd like to switch to tea for at least a few of those time slots. I do find it relaxing, though I have no expectation of becoming an expert.

I look forward to learning all that I can!


What is your location?

NC, USA
ZZteaspace
New user
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2023 11:31 am
Contact:

Mon Feb 06, 2023 10:31 am

Bok wrote:
Fri Feb 03, 2023 6:40 pm
ZZteaspace Welcome! I believe we have already met on IG. Good to have you on board here.
Is this Bok_fl? sry I just connected the dots.

much appreciate all the advised, and thank you for having me here, looking to learn more from you for sure.
polezaivsani
Posts: 191
Joined: Sun Oct 06, 2019 4:43 pm
Location: Kaliningrad, RU

Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:00 pm

Welcome, @Greybeard! Grab a chair or a pillow and let's have some tea. That no rush attitude certainly would help you to eschew some rookie mistakes, but tea totally devoid of blunders tastes a bit flat—do spare yourself some folly down the road :).
walkerwend@aol.com
New user
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2023 8:15 pm
Location: Oregon, USA

Mon Feb 06, 2023 8:33 pm

How long have you been drinking tea?
My mother was English, tea was a big part of all gatherings. holidays, social events. When I read that caffeine made hot flashes worse, I quit for 13 years and missed it terrible. I started drinking tea again one year ago when someone asked me if abstaining had made a difference, I said no, and she said "Then, for God's sake, drink the tea!"

What kind of tea do you drink?
White, green, oolong, black.

How do you prepare your tea?
Western style in glass tea ware with a large tea strainer.

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
How different harvest seasons affect the taste and quality of tea

What factors lead you to delve into the world of tea, and what is keeping you there?
Happy memories from childhood revolving around the teapot, the fragrance of tea takes me back. Now, it is the fantastic array of flavors of different tea and the intense pleasure in tasting excellent teas.

What is your location? Eugene, Oregon
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pedant
Admin
Posts: 1516
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2017 4:35 am
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Mon Feb 06, 2023 11:29 pm

welcome!
geezhar316
New user
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2023 2:24 pm
Location: UK

Wed Feb 08, 2023 2:58 pm

Hello i'm Gaz from UK

Love green tea but drink it for the health benefits more than anything.

Been drinking it on and off for around 13 years.

Love researching the benefits that emerge in the science and the healthiest teas available.

Cheers!
PamelaOry
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2023 10:57 am
Location: Philomath, Oregon

Fri Feb 10, 2023 1:05 pm

How long have you been drinking tea?
I first discovered loose leaf tea over ten years ago but took a break, (10 years) because of an association I had with an unpleasant situation. That behind me now, I am free to enjoy tea again.

What kind of tea do you drink?
I am exploring all kinds of tea. I had my first Chai tea about a week ago in fact. My favorites however are white tea and pu’erh.

How do you prepare your tea?
Gong fu cha or western style depending on circumstances and mood. I just realized that the Yixing pots I have from before are probably fake, so I’m using my giawan mostly.

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
I’d like to learn more about Yixing and other clay ware. Also interested in better understanding the types of oolongs and other teas and where they come from etc. I bought one tea, Honey Orchid, that has been bitter and unpleasant. I was told it is a Dan cong so is temperamental to brew. I do not know what it means to be a Dan cong?


What factors lead you to delve into the world of tea, and what is keeping you there?
I love tea culture and drinking tea. There is a great vast depth of knowledge to be discovered, perhaps that is why it holds my interest.

I live in Philomath, Oregon.
Last edited by PamelaOry on Fri Feb 10, 2023 8:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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debunix
Posts: 1811
Joined: Sat Oct 21, 2017 1:27 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Fri Feb 10, 2023 7:46 pm

Welcome!

I put together a thread on getting started with Dan Cong teas that might help here.
PamelaOry
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2023 10:57 am
Location: Philomath, Oregon

Fri Feb 10, 2023 8:04 pm

walkerwend@aol.com wrote:
Mon Feb 06, 2023 8:33 pm
How long have you been drinking tea?
My mother was English, tea was a big part of all gatherings. holidays, social events. When I read that caffeine made hot flashes worse, I quit for 13 years and missed it terrible. I started drinking tea again one year ago when someone asked me if abstaining had made a difference, I said no, and she said "Then, for God's sake, drink the tea!"

What kind of tea do you drink?
White, green, oolong, black.

How do you prepare your tea?
Western style in glass tea ware with a large tea strainer.

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
How different harvest seasons affect the taste and quality of tea

What factors lead you to delve into the world of tea, and what is keeping you there?
Happy memories from childhood revolving around the teapot, the fragrance of tea takes me back. Now, it is the fantastic array of flavors of different tea and the intense pleasure in tasting excellent teas.

What is your location? Eugene, Oregon
Hello neighbor! I’m just down the road from you in Philomath. :)
teasleuth
Vendor
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2023 12:25 am
Location: St. Louis, Missouri

Sun Feb 19, 2023 4:30 am

Hi my fellow tea sippers!
I'm Eric!

How long?
I've been sipping tea for quite some time, childhood. I got into loose leaf with Yorkshire Gold. In 2007 i was introduced to a high mountain alishan and I immediately switched from english big pot style to gongfu and all. in 2009 sprint I went with seven cups on an wulong tour!

what kind?
Mainly I'm a Hunan Heicha, Wuyi (yancha and blacks), and a huge fan of Korean teas, especially balhyyocha (basically an umbrella term for teas that are more heavily oxidized than green, like wulong and black.)

How prepare?
gongfu, mog, tallglass / tumbler.

what knowledge to explore right now?
I want to learn much more about balhyocha and human heicha. any and all tea info is nice though

what lead me to here?
don't remember, I stay with tea because it makes me happy and calm. My body is not reactant to caffeine, so i can and have drank 7 bowls of tea and gone right to sleep.

Location?
St. Louis, Missouri (more like misery 😁)
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Victoria
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Posts: 3041
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 3:33 pm
Location: Santa Monica, CA
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Sun Feb 19, 2023 11:46 am

Welcome to TeaForum, nice to have so many new members from different locations; @teasleuth St. Louis, Missouri, @PamelaOry Philomath, Oregon, @walkerwend@aol.com Eugene, Oregon, @geezhar316 UK, @Greybeard North Carolina, @ZZteaspace North of North America (Artic or Russia?) 🍃
bmninada
Posts: 8
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2023 4:37 pm
Location: New York, NY

Sat Feb 25, 2023 7:27 am

Share something about yourself and your tea experience so far, so that other members will know something about you and where you are coming from.
  • How long have you been drinking tea?

For +30 years.
It all started when I was 14 or 15. I was born and brought up at Calcutta (now called Kolkata), India. My own mother's elder sister husband was a renowned tea taster and has family homes in Darjeeling. He often used to bring to our home tea of exquisite quality as my dad loved tea. Post brewing the aroma used to fill our apartment. Anyways - for next 2 years I was moved into a boarding school - Mount Hermon in Darjeeling as my parents got posted elsewhere. In Darjeeling I learned tea. Really learned and appreciated it.
I did my PhD in Russia where tea especially Indian is revered. I quickly developed a reputation for fine tea appreciation and many vendors offered me tea to evaluate.
Now - I am in US. Now I am SAD. US is horrible in finding good tea. Boutique stores, even in NY City (where I live) are 95% scams.
  • What kind of tea do you drink?
I do NOT drink Chinese or Assam or Sri Lanka. Only and truly Darjeeling.
  • How do you prepare your tea?

A bit complex. Water must be 90 to 95C. Then I aerate the water a bit and then put tea leaves into a $70 Japanese tea pot (cast iron) which I have owned for +20 years. Its prior rinsed (outside only) with hot water for 1 min to raise its own temp. Then I steep for either 3 min (if 2nd. flush and beyond) or 5 min (if 1st. flush/white). The cup I pour is also prior rinsed with hot water. Then I drink. Tea remaining in the pot goes into the soil of my potted plants when cooled down.
No sugar, milk, lemon, etc.
  • What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?

Vendors selling Darji teas which are vetted. The tea must produce aroma post brew. I don't really care about the taste or after taste.
  • What is your location?
New York, NY
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pedant
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Posts: 1516
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2017 4:35 am
Location: Chicago
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Sat Feb 25, 2023 10:42 am

bmninada wrote:
Sat Feb 25, 2023 7:27 am
  • What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?

Vendors selling Darji teas which are vetted. The tea must produce aroma post brew. I don't really care about the taste or after taste.
dear bmninada,

welcome to the site, and thanks for sharing your story. i love and appreciate DJ tea as well and am extremely interested in finding good sources. i hope you'll share them with us if you find them :mrgreen:

i have been disappointed with mediocre quality many times, so i hesitate to keep trying new vendors myself. i keep going back to thunderbolt because the quality has been consistently good even though the ordering experience leaves something to be desired (really long shipping time). i also have a feeling that the prices are inflated, but i pay them anyways because i'll do almost anything for good DJ. sorry that you're having a bad experience with them, and i hope you at least get to try their tea and give us your experienced opinion.
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