Introduce Yourself

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Theekje
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2021 4:15 am
Location: Netherlands - Valkenburg

Thu Aug 12, 2021 11:12 am

Hello
My name is Savannah (30) and I am happy to join you all here!

How long have you been drinking tea?
For as long as I can remember, but more attentively for the past 4 years or so.

What kind of tea do you drink?
I like and drink all kinds of tea. I have a soft spot for Chinese green teas.

How do you prepare your tea?
At the office I use a Kamjove steeper and a cup. At home I often just steep and drink from a gaiwan or a small glass mug. Sometimes I do a gongfu session with my partner where we really like to take our time and pay closer attention to the tea and all it has to offer.

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
At the moment I'm very interested in teaware and its history. I'd like to say 'Chinese' teaware, but something tells me that it's not so easy to track it back in an isolated way, without acknowledging influences from other countries / cultures.

What factors lead you to delve into the world of tea, and what is keeping you there?
Where I live, I grew up with the notion of 'tea' as a Pickwick tea bag, sugar and a biscuit. Loose leaf tea is not so common as teabags or a 'kopje' coffee, especially not when I was younger.

When I was about 16, the first loose leaf tea that drew my attention was an interesting looking red (black) tea with flower petals in it that was heavily scented, called 'Droum vaan Mestreech' ( (the) dream of (the city) Maastricht ) by Blanche Dael. They sold it at the restaurant where I was a kitchen help. I loved its smell. From then on I sometimes liked to buy loose leaf tea when I encountered some. Most of these teas where scented.

When I was 23, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and was treated for this. From then on I was more interested in improving my health and especially interested in what healthy foods could do for me. I started to look at tea as a potential way to improve my health. I found a webshop that sold Silver Needle tea. It was advertised as a healthy super-tea and it looked like nothing I'd seen before. I was curious, ordered some and liked it a lot. Around this time I was drinking mostly silver needle tea, green tea, matcha and tisanes from asian supermarkets.

When I was 26 or so I found Mei Leaf's youtube channel and I was intrigued again, but this time by the idea of gongfu tea and high quality. I went looking for a Dutch store that could offer me that same kind of tea (experience). I found a small webshop, 'Thee van Sander', where I ordered a sample set of the new spring harvest of Chinese green teas. I fell in love with those. From then on I've been reading whatever information I can find, drinking as many different kinds of teas I can find and trying to refine my skills.

Last year I came across Global Tea Hut which increased my curiosity for tea history, sustainability and the kinds of things we can learn from tea that go beyond the leaf and the teaware.

What is your location?
The Netherlands - Valkenburg

Thank you for reading!
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Victoria
Admin
Posts: 3043
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 3:33 pm
Location: Santa Monica, CA
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Thu Aug 12, 2021 6:10 pm

Welcome to TeaForum @Vjt from Portland, and @Theekje from Valkenburg! Look forward to hearing more from you both 🍃
astra
New user
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2017 3:21 pm

Fri Aug 13, 2021 6:14 pm

Hi folks, been lurking here and there for a while now, finding threads via online searches often. Been drinking tea for 10 or so years. Mostly oolong tea from taiwan/wuyi, mostly looking to learn more about production, appreciation, culture, and mostly just here since I've already been here a while. The pull is strong. :)
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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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Fri Aug 20, 2021 12:04 am

welcome, @astra :mrgreen:
HanaChin
New user
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2021 2:00 am
Location: Singapore

Tue Aug 24, 2021 8:57 am

Hello everyone!

How long have you been drinking tea?
I'm asian and tea is usually something available as a drink when eating at restaurants so I've drunk teas since young. These are usually low quality fannings though.
I only started on loose leaf around 6 years ago.

What kind of tea do you drink?
I'll drink any tea made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis :D
Currently though, I'm mainly drinking Oolongs. Occasionally will brew green/white/black/dark teas, and exploring cold brewing as well, but I tend to stay away from blends made with flowers/fruits unless the influence is very subtle.

How do you prepare your tea?
Most times, in a mug! Yes, it's hardly a "proper" way of doing it but when I'm working I want less cleanup at the end of the day.
On days when I have more time to relax and enjoy tea I'll brew properly in a teapot or gaiwan. I usually break out the fancy stuff if it's raining on a saturday morning and I don't have anything planned 8-)
Unfortunately I don't have close friends who are into tea so I've not had the chance to do a proper gongfu style.

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
I'm not sure I have a particular topic. Just want to know more and explore.

What factors lead you to delve into the world of tea, and what is keeping you there?
I took a trip to Taiwan in 2015 and bought a can of loose leaf black tea since it was one of the famous products of the location. Really loved it and started getting into loose leaf teas since then. It's been 6 years and I feel like I've barely scratched the surface.

What is your location?
Singapore. Hit me up if you also live here!
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Victoria
Admin
Posts: 3043
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2017 3:33 pm
Location: Santa Monica, CA
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Tue Aug 24, 2021 12:36 pm

Welcome to TeaForum @HanaChin and @astra. Good to have you join us 🍃
Tom_McC
New user
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2021 8:53 am
Location: Salisbury, UK

Thu Aug 26, 2021 9:38 am

Hi! I'm Tom from Salisbury in the UK.

I've been drinking tea all my life (I'm British) but have from time to time experimented with a wide range of teas and tisanes. I've recently completed a few trips to Tokyo and have been bitten by the Matcha bug and am keen to find out more.

How do I prepare my tea? It depends. I usually start the day with a nice Matcha (I've got a super Chawan which really makes a difference). During the day sometimes I'll have loose Indian tea and sometimes powdered tea. There is a company in Spain called Matchaandco who make powdered Indian teas (Darjeeling, Earl Grey and others) which is weird and good. Sometimes I just drink teabag tea which is also super, if less special.

Why am I here? I stumbled across your blog by accident and was intrigued. I find the subject of tea fascinating and would love to know more. Also, tea drinkers tend to be nice people!

Location, I'm in a small city called Salisbury in the UK.

Looking forward to interacting with you all!!!!

Tom
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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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Thu Aug 26, 2021 12:03 pm

hi @Tom_McC. welcome :mrgreen:
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triggerazura
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Sep 01, 2021 3:20 pm

Thu Sep 02, 2021 1:40 pm

Trying to up my rep here. May as well get started.

How long have you been drinking tea?
I was a filthy casual for a while. But within the last year I've learned a lot, and still learning now.

What kind of tea do you drink?
I prefer nicely roasted oolongs and dancongs, white tea and greens. I seem to go on a ripe tea kick when the weather gets cold.

How do you prepare your tea?
Teapots! Mugs and thermoses when I'm lazy.

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
Japanese green teas and how you shouldn't use a Chinese teapot for them apparently.

What factors lead you to delve into the world of tea, and what is keeping you there?
The micro-plastics in teabags REALLY bothered me apparently.

What is your location?
I've been between Ohio and Cali for a year now.
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Bok
Vendor
Posts: 5782
Joined: Wed Oct 04, 2017 8:55 am
Location: Taiwan

Thu Sep 02, 2021 7:15 pm

@triggerazura welcome!

No Chinese teapots for Japanese greens? So much bad information out there…
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tjkdubya
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Posts: 157
Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2019 12:57 am
Location: Beijing
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Thu Sep 02, 2021 9:57 pm

Japanese senchado porcelain pots... Or are they? The front one was in fact produced in Dehua, China in the 90s for export to Japan. So so many crossovers. Just one small example.

Please excuse the off-topic post 😅
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TanmayMall
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2021 10:53 pm
Location: Gorakhpur, India

Sat Sep 04, 2021 11:11 pm

Hi,

My name is Tanmay Mall.

How long have you been drinking tea?

I have been drinking tea (chai) for as long as I can remember, ever since I was a child.

What kind of tea do you drink?

I usually drink regular Indian masala chai or ginger tea.

How do you prepare your tea?

I make my tea by adding ginger, tulsi leaves, and other spices to boiling water. I, then, add milk and sugar to taste. I let it boil and then drink it.

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?

I want to learn all that is there to learn about tea.

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

I just love tea. I believe it is amazing. I have recently started a blog page on tea (chai), Chai Euphoria.

What is your location?
I am from Gorakhpur, India.
Last edited by TanmayMall on Sat Oct 09, 2021 2:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
Brewmesideways
New user
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2021 8:53 am
Location: Finland

Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:08 am

Hello,

I'm a noob tea drinker from Finland. I mostly drink tea from bags from the grocery store. I want to bring more quality herbs into my body rather than store bought crap.

I want to learn more about brewing my own tea and growing my own herbs for tea!

I'm probably the most sloppy tea drinker on this forum, but hey can only go up from the bottom.
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Bok
Vendor
Posts: 5782
Joined: Wed Oct 04, 2017 8:55 am
Location: Taiwan

Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:29 pm

Brewmesideways wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:08 am
I'm probably the most sloppy tea drinker on this forum, but hey can only go up from the bottom.
That's the spirit! Welcome!
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MillieWhitcherArt
New user
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Sep 09, 2021 6:58 am
Location: UK

Thu Sep 09, 2021 7:41 am

Hello I'm Millie :)

How long have you been drinking tea?

Since my late teens

What kind of tea do you drink?

All kinds except for Jasmin as it hurts my tummy

How do you prepare your tea?

Hot water first, with soya milk

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?

The history of tea

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

I love what a world wide drink it is and how it brings people together. I've had some great experiences with tea around the world and as soon as I'm able, I want to continue that.

What is your location?

The UK
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