Introduce Yourself

john1912
New user
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Dec 22, 2019 7:05 am
Location: Australia

Sun Feb 16, 2020 9:52 pm

i have been drinking tea all my adult life, i am 50
black blends, but in recent years more green teas, white, oolong, mostly for health reasons
at this time im a teabag drinker, but am hoping to change that with more knowledge, and money to spend on tea and tea appreciation
at present, i am reading about the general history of tea
i have never been a coffee drinker, am not fond of the taste, i cant drink much soft drink these days, so water and tea are what i drink most of the time now
i am in australia
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pedant
Admin
Posts: 1516
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2017 4:35 am
Location: Chicago
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Mon Feb 17, 2020 12:09 am

hi @john1912, nice to have you here :mrgreen:
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doomslayer
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2020 6:45 pm
Location: Seattle, WA

Mon Feb 17, 2020 9:20 pm

Hello! I originally started drinking teas a bit over 10 years ago when my mother randomly grabbed a few shiny unusual tea cans for me. Those were from a Teavana-like company (basically Teavana copycat in one Eastern European country). In the grand scheme of things, these teas were on a lower end of "okay" but more importantly they introduced me to the idea that there was A LOT out there beyond Lipton tea bags.

I love trying and exploring new things so I registered on TeaChat forum and started talking to people, learning how to brew teas better, learned about different vendors, different ways of brewing, etc.. A few years later I graduated my college and ventured into adult life. As part of my "exploring new things" drive, I moved to upstate NY. I was still drinking all kinds of teas at that point but life got busy eventually: I got married, started moving around to aggressively persuade career and kind of abandoned drinking teas for the most part, especially after I ended up in NYC. I was still doing red teas at work because they are so easy but I haven't done anything more involving - my gaiwan and fancy collection of oolongs and pu-erhs has been sitting untouched.

Eventually, once our careers got into a good state, my wife and I researched what this world has to offer in terms of living places and settled on a place which was perfect for us - Seattle, WA. At this point things calmed down a lot and one day we went on a random tourist trip to Victoria, BC. Just for fun we went to one of those British tea houses and I really loved it, having good tea brought so many memories back! This gave me enough drive to go back to my tea hobby and I decided to start off by going to TeaChat to ask what water Seattle people use...just to discover that the place is completely dead. This was a big bummer and after some googling, I was relived to find this place!

I drink almost all kinds of teas. At work I usually stick to easy reds (keemun, etc) - I put enough of it in the cup and keep doing brews of increasing exposure throughout the day. I also use this tea to warm myself up when I am exploring winter trails. For greens I remember I used to like dragonwell but haven't had it in a very long time. I am a pretty huge fan of Darjeeling - this is probably the only red (does it count as red?) tea that I drink outside of work. I love green oolongs, all of them really - they are super flavorful, have some similarities to greens but provide many more brews; I love tasting how they evolve through these brews. Not a fan of white tea for some reason. Love dark oolong and pu-erhs but haven't had them in a while - I'll need to open my tea cabinet and try something.
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Victoria
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Posts: 3043
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 3:33 pm
Location: Santa Monica, CA
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Mon Feb 17, 2020 10:51 pm

Welcome to TeaForum @doomslayer, @john1912, @RinsedSloth glad you found us. Onward tea journeys unite!
marciano999
New user
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Feb 18, 2020 3:26 pm
Location: Dominican Republic

Tue Feb 18, 2020 3:44 pm

Hello!!

How long have you been drinking tea?
About a year!

What kind of tea do you drink?
I drink linden tea every night to help me sleep.
Lately i started to drink green tea on the afternoon.

How do you prepare your tea?
I don't know if this is a good method, hope you can helo me, but I put a teabag inside of some kind of tea pot on cold water, then put it in the microwave for a couple of minutes, then wait around 5-10 mins and then i drink it.

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
Exploring different kind of teas, specially for health benefits.

What factors lead you to delve into the world of tea, and what is keeping you there?
Mostly now for health benefits. For heart health and i suffer from high cholesterol.

What is your location?
Dominican Republic
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doomslayer
Posts: 40
Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2020 6:45 pm
Location: Seattle, WA

Tue Feb 18, 2020 8:36 pm

@marciano999 welcome! I love linden tea! It's something of a herbal medicine in the country where I grew up - I used to drink it mixed with honey as a kid when I would feel under the weather. It's also a very pretty and widely appreciated tree. E.g. there is an ancient linden tree rumored to be at least 400 years old growing in the downtown of my hometown.
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teabooksart
Posts: 25
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:17 am
Location: North Carolina, USA
Contact:

Wed Feb 19, 2020 8:37 am

Hello all!

My name is Smote. I'm in the process of finishing my Masters in Library Science (last two classes, done at the end of March), and tea has been a pretty major part of my life for the last ten years but it was in the past two that I started to really appreciate tea for more than just a tasty drink to have.

Outside of tea I also keep aquariums. I have 3 axoltols, 2 goldfish (rescues), 1 betta (also a rescue) and a shrimp tank as well. I read as much as I can and tend to like sci-fi/fantasy and have been reading a lot of novellas lately because of work-life time constraints. I have a polydactal cat named Nimbus as well who is a constant source of joy in my life.

How long have you been drinking tea?
I have been drinking tea all my life, but in 2017 started getting into eastern style brewing and non-blended/flavored teas.

What kind of tea do you drink?
Oolong and white teas are my favorites but I love both shou and sheng puer, green teas, and chinese black tea!

How do you prepare your tea?
I usually use a gaiwan or small pot and steep multiple times.

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
I love learning more about the processes involved in cultivating tea.

What factors lead you to delve into the world of tea, and what is keeping you there?
As a kid: Tea is yummy and a vehicle for sugar.
As an adult: The practice of drinking tea alone and with friends is meditative and allows for reflection and introspection.

What is your location?
North Carolina, USA.

Opening some roasted TGY stuffed in bitter gourd
Image


Enjoying some 7 year aged jingmai shou puer with my fish friends
Image
Simniak
Posts: 24
Joined: Sat Feb 15, 2020 4:53 pm
Location: Czech Republic

Sat Feb 22, 2020 3:04 pm

Hello,
I am David and I have been teaholic for 10 years :-D. Curently I am finishing my medicine study. I am from Czech Republic.

What kind of tea do I drink?
I drink white teas, green japanese and chinese teas, wuyi oolongy, Dancong oolongs, Thaiwanese Oolongs, archive oolongs, red teas, young shengs, semi-old shengs, shu and heicha. So I would say I drink all kinds of tea. And for each of them I have 1 teapot. And 4 chawans for matcha :-D.

How do I prepare my tea?
I am mostly doing something like gong fu cha or something like senchado. I have been doing chado for 3 years now and recently I have started bowl tea.

What tea knowledge Am I interested in exploring right now?
That is a really hard question. I would like to know more about chinese ceramic and about tea in general. There is no limit for me. I have been interested in japanese ceramic for some time so I can be at least a bit useful in this regard to you all.
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RinsedSloth
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2018 10:15 am
Location: Spain
Contact:

Thu Feb 27, 2020 12:49 pm

pedant wrote:
Sat Feb 15, 2020 3:53 pm
hey sloth, wb!
Victoria wrote:
Mon Feb 17, 2020 10:51 pm
Welcome to TeaForum doomslayer, john1912, RinsedSloth glad you found us. Onward tea journeys unite!
Thank you both! It was really nice you could help me recovering my account and giving a warm welcome again :D
mrmopu wrote:
Sat Feb 15, 2020 7:54 pm
Hi Sloth! I know you. Welcome to all the other new people as well! Cheers all!
Oooh Mister! Glad to see you here, I am too much in discord and always seeing familiar faces here. Hope I can learn a lot of you from your reviews and posts, we are in contact!


---

Welcome to the forum @doomslayer, @john1912, @Simniak

Lovely pictures @teabooksart, your aquariums must be fantastic! Say hi to your cat :)
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mrmopu
Posts: 269
Joined: Wed Dec 06, 2017 5:48 am
Location: Blacksburg Va.
Contact:

Thu Feb 27, 2020 4:20 pm

RinsedSloth wrote:
Thu Feb 27, 2020 12:49 pm
pedant wrote:
Sat Feb 15, 2020 3:53 pm
hey sloth, wb!
Victoria wrote:
Mon Feb 17, 2020 10:51 pm
Welcome to TeaForum doomslayer, john1912, RinsedSloth glad you found us. Onward tea journeys unite!
Thank you both! It was really nice you could help me recovering my account and giving a warm welcome again :D
mrmopu wrote:
Sat Feb 15, 2020 7:54 pm
Hi Sloth! I know you. Welcome to all the other new people as well! Cheers all!
Oooh Mister! Glad to see you here, I am too much in discord and always seeing familiar faces here. Hope I can learn a lot of you from your reviews and posts, we are in contact!


---

Welcome to the forum doomslayer, john1912, Simniak

Lovely pictures teabooksart, your aquariums must be fantastic! Say hi to your cat :)
Yes we are my friend! Got your stuff probably out tomorrow.
elysium
New user
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Feb 28, 2020 4:13 am
Location: Sweden

Fri Feb 28, 2020 4:27 am

Hi

How long have you been drinking tea?
More seriously for 2 years.

What kind of tea do you drink?
A bit of everything, mostly oolong, green and white.

How do you prepare your tea?
95% of the time using gaiwan, but sometimes using a clay pot.

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
Just generally curious about tea and teaware.

What factors lead you to delve into the world of tea, and what is keeping you there?
Had drank tea for as long as I can remember, but never really cared for it until a road trip together with some friends a couple of years ago. They brought various teas with them and everyday we would have a couple of small tea seasons. This got me really interested in tea and opened a new world.

What is your location?
Sweden
dyungim
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Feb 28, 2020 3:32 pm
Location: USA

Fri Feb 28, 2020 8:10 pm

How long have you been drinking tea?
30+ years

What kind of tea do you drink?
Mostly "hakka cha" dancong

How do you prepare your tea?
gongfu

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
trying to find a reliable source for what I like

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

What is your location?
USA
LRLSurplus
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2020 5:29 am
Location: Miami, Florida

Thu Mar 05, 2020 6:41 am

How long have you been drinking tea?
for about 2 years, while my wife has been drinking black tea most of her life.

What kind of tea do you drink?
Mostly Yellow tea and about once day

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
I am curious about old teapots and teaware.

How do you prepare your tea?
Day to day in a gaiwan. Sometime i will use a teapot.

What factors lead you to delve into the world of tea, and what is keeping you there?
Family. I was never a tea drinker before I met my wife. Now I am deep into tea. I dont know where my wife gets it from because no one in her family drinks tea.

What is your location?
Miami, Florida
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Tea Adventures
Posts: 56
Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2020 1:45 am
Location: Belgium

Fri Mar 06, 2020 10:29 am

Hello all! I'm so happy I found this forum because I had been looking for something like this for a while. My name is Pieter and I'm not a professional or something like that when it comes to tea. I'm just a guy who likes to learn about tea. That is why I started a blog around a year ago and I have enjoyed every step so far! Before I started, I didn't expect the world of loose leaf tea to be this big and ever-expanding. My main goal was to try different teas and enjoy myself by discovering new things every day.

How long have you been drinking tea?
I have been drinking loose leaf tea for around 2 years now. I have drunk tea all my life, but like most people, the majority of this was tea from the teabag. One day, I wanted to get another passion and as I don't drink coffee, I decided to give loose leaf tea a try. One of the best decisions of the last few years.

What kind of tea do you drink?
I don't try to limit myself and try to drink as many different teas as possible. This is difficult sometimes, but really rewarding if you discover a hidden gem. I'm not that picky when it comes to tea; it all depends on the mood and weather. Lately, I have been drinking a lot of aged sheng and ripe Puerh. Liu Bao is also something I really enjoy now.

How do you prepare your tea?
I almost always prepare my tea gong fu. I sometimes make a big pot and brew it Western style, but that rarely happens nowadays. I like to get everything out of the leaves so gong fu is my preferred way of brewing tea.

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
As I'm in a Puerh and Liu Bao phase right now, I like to know more about these kinds of tea. I'm trying to discover more about these teas, step by step. I know there is so much information so I'm likely to get a lifetime supply of information.

What factors lead you to delve into the world of tea, and what is keeping you there?
The complexity, depth and the personal journey. It doesn't matter how much you know because if you think about it, there is much more that you don't know.

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

Fri Mar 06, 2020 2:20 pm

welcome, @elysium, @dyungim, @LRLSurplus, and @Tea Adventures!
great to have you all here :mrgreen:
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