Introduce Yourself

runefactory
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Apr 27, 2023 6:41 pm

Thu Apr 27, 2023 7:02 pm

Hi everyone!

Totally new to tea and would love it if people can guide me to the right spot. I never really drank tea or coffee before in the past, but my friend made me a cup once and now I am sold and I am excited to go on this journey.
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Victoria
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Thu Apr 27, 2023 9:44 pm

Welcome to TeaForum @hoqos and @runefactory.
teadrinker58
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Posts: 3
Joined: Tue May 02, 2023 7:57 am
Location: Paris

Tue May 02, 2023 8:21 am

Hello,

My name is Kellie. I live in the Paris area and have been drinking tea forever, or almost. I don't drink coffee, only tea. I drink a lot of green tea, but also black teas, red tea. I also love non-tea teas like ginger tea, verveine, and lots of other herbal mixtures.

I've joined this site to try and find a solution for a teapot problem I have, due to a maintenance mistake we made. (Leaving tea sitting in the cast iron pot for way too long by mistake). I've already posted a question regarding this problem on the site.

For me tea is: a start to the day, a break in the day, friendship, comfort, warmth. I'll have to think more about what else it represents but that's a start.

Thanks for this site which looks really interesting!
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pedant
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Location: Chicago
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Tue May 02, 2023 12:09 pm

welcome!
Rob
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue May 02, 2023 3:51 pm
Location: UK

Tue May 02, 2023 4:24 pm

Hi,

I have been drinking tea for more than ten years. I'm flexible with brewing parameters and enjoy a wide range of tea styles.

I've been monitoring this forum for a couple of months now - enjoying the photos of elegant teaware that many here often post.
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Victoria
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Tue May 02, 2023 11:28 pm

Welcome new TeaForum members @Rob and @teadrinker58.
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Opro
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Posts: 1
Joined: Wed May 03, 2023 1:40 am
Location: Austria

Fri May 05, 2023 3:46 am

Hi there! As I just recently made an account for this forum here is my introduction:

My name is David, I'm from Austria and i recently turned 26.

I might just answer the questions that are asked on the first post in this topic:


How long have you been drinking tea?

I've been drinking (good quality) tea for 8 years now. My first language is german so naturally I'm a member of teetalk.de that's why it took me some time to register here and improve my tea knowledge in english but now the time has finally come. :D

What kind of tea do you drink?
My tea journey started when I was 18 and I had just finished school before I was going to university. Naturally my budget at that time was low so I started drinking tea from an Austrian tea vendor. They sell flavoured teas and lower quality green/oolong/black tea. Once my budget (and tastebuds) allowed for better tea I started drinking japanese green tea heavily. Shincha, Sencha and Kabusecha became my best friends (I'm not that into Gyokuro). Chinese teas never really played a big role until 3 years ago when I started to drink my way into Oolong. As Oolong has quite a spectrum of flavorprofiles and I slowly became acustomed to roasted tea as well I figured why not try chinese greens as well. I think my perception of chinese green teas was influenced by those bad ones from chinese restaurants, you know those bitter and tasteless teas.

So my favourite teas are:
- green tea -> chinese AND japanese
- Oolong -> preferably Dan Cong and Yancha but I don't mind some Tie Guan Yin or Taiwanese Oolong once in a while.
- White tea -> I like Bai Hao Yin Zhen the best as it is so refreshing

How do you prepare your tea?

It depends on the tea really.

For my japanese green teas I use my Tokoname Kyusu and the brewing parameters depend on the type of tea.

For my chinese green teas I use a Gaiwan. Brewing parameters vary slightly but whenever I get a new tea I do the first session as follows: 3g/100 ml, 80 degree celcius, 1st: 60 sec, 2nd, 60 sec, 3rd 90 sec. It helps me understand the strengths and "weaknesses" of the given tea and let's me decide how I want to brew the following time.

For my Oolongs I vary from time to time.
Gaiwans are always the tool of choice for the first session of a new tea.
For Dan Cong I usually brew with my Hongni Yixing Teapot, for Yancha I always use my Zini Yixing Teapot.
For green Oolongs I mostly use a Gaiwan and sometimes my Hongni.

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?

Nothing particular. I just want to dive even deeper into tea, gain some knowledge.

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

As I did (and still do) professional sports I started looking into green tea as a performance booster. I drank almost 3 litres daily of those flavored loose leaf green teas and my energy level (of course) increased.
What kept me in the world of tea was the flavor and once I discovered good quality tea the history behind it, the manufactoring process, the craftsmanship of teapots and everything regarding the wonderful topic of tea.

What is your location?
I'm from Austria as I said in the begining.
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Victoria
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Fri May 05, 2023 11:14 am

Welcome to TeaForum @Opro
zaamsourcing
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Joined: Mon May 08, 2023 10:33 pm

Mon May 08, 2023 10:48 pm

How long have you been drinking tea?
It's been a long time since I've used tea again, just a few days ago I used some bitter tea again and started to enjoy tea.
What kind of tea do you drink?
I have used several types of tea mainly with oolong flavor in the form of packaged tea when traveling, produced by brand supplier Zaam Sourcing, this unit I find the production is quite safe and the packaging is quite good. Pretty
How do you prepare your tea?
every morning before going to work my kitchen has ready-made tea bags in the changing time, i put the tea in a thermos and pour boiling water in, then on the way to work i will enjoy
What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
I would love to learn more about tea, especially tea being included in traditional Japanese culture
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Victoria
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Mon May 08, 2023 11:44 pm

Welcome to TeaForum @zaamsourcing many thermos tips on the forum and Japanese tea drinkers as well 🍃.
Vinski
Posts: 19
Joined: Tue May 02, 2023 3:41 pm
Location: Finland

Tue May 09, 2023 1:20 pm

Tea is an excellent way to get to know Japanese culture. In addition to everything, it also tastes good.
imbibe
New user
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed May 10, 2023 9:17 pm

Thu May 11, 2023 8:57 am

Hi all! I've been drinking tea since I was a young kid. My mom would always buy loose leaf from a local Dutch chain of tea shops (Simon Lévelt). After moving out on my own, I continued to do the same. I started getting into fancier teas through travel, visiting Japan, Korea, and am currently on a trip in Taiwan. Currently mostly interested in gong fu cha brewing. Some of my favorite teas include grassy and milky lightly oxidized oolongs like unroasted Baozhong, charcoal roasted Si Ji Chun, but also some fruity hong cha, or Wuyi oolong. I'm hoping to exchange tips and learn more about tea on this forum!
BroeyJ
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Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2022 2:23 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada

Sun May 14, 2023 11:33 am

Hey, I'm Marc B^)

I'm from Toronto, Canada, and am 37 years old.

How long have you been drinking tea?

Since I was a kid - my folks were really into going for hikes when I was growing up, and we'd get cream tea at the half way point at a cozy little tea house. All Twining's in bags from what I remember. I started drinking tea as a hobby intermittently, and began taking it particularly seriously when dating my girlfriend, who doesn't drink.

What kind of tea do you drink?

It depends, but I own and drink more sheng pu'er than anything else. Unlike many Western drinkers, I prefer aged sheng to young, so that's what I tend to gravitate to the most. In second place, I drink a lot of heicha - fu, liubao, and even some Japanese pickled teas like awa bancha now. Also a lot of yancha and dancong oolongs. In summer, I gravitate towards greens.

When I work, I tend to drink South Asian teas, primarily Assam and Darjeeling, though would love to learn more about Ceylon teas and more.

How do you prepare your tea?

Grandpa or Western style when busy, but try to make time for a bit of gong fu in the evenings to relax. Like many, I probably paid a lot of tuition with not so good tea ware when I started. Now I've got a small and mediocre yixing collection that keeps me very happy, and I don't really plan to build on. Also, a couple gaiwans and ceramic pots for assorted purposes.

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?

Would be fun to learn more about Japanese greens, South Asian teas, and aged sheng is a rabbit hole of infinite depth, so that'd be cool too!

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

I honestly just feel very relaxed when I drink tea, it's a nice reprieve from the world, in a healthy way.
DonnerJack
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Posts: 1
Joined: Sat May 20, 2023 11:25 am
Location: Israel

Sat May 20, 2023 12:08 pm

Hi there!

How long have you been drinking tea?
Most of my life, but only a couple of years ago I found out most of what I considered as “tea” or even “good tea” was tea dust in bags or low quality loose leaf

What kind of tea do you drink?
Pu’er(sheng/shou), Chinese green, very rarely a red/black one and lately mostly Japanese tea of all kinds

How do you prepare your tea?
Mostly gong-fu (gaiwan or teapot) or Japanese way, but lately I’m trying matcha and due to workload also trying grandpa style

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
Still trying to find good sources for tea, and always trying to learn more and try new stuff. Still didn’t find hei-cha beside pu’er that I liked (beside some interesting Japanese ones that I really liked). Not many sources for quality tea where I’m at so most of it I need to buy overseas.

What factors lead you to delve into the world of tea, and what is keeping you there?
I always liked tea and tried the “fancy stuff” to try and see what the hype was about and trying to find healthier options but never found anything really nice beyond a good earl-gray. I never understood how people drink green tea when following the instructions of brewing a tea bag for a few minutes, resulting with a bitter and unpleasant brew. Only by chance I found a local source for tea that had a single type of pu’er mini-tuos and TGY (both of low quality) but the unknown teas intrigued me so I tried. The pu’er was nice and new, but the TGY (even though it was what I now consider as lower grade) was mind-blowing and I had to redefine what I consider as tea.
From that point my wife and I cannot go back to lower grade tea, plus we actually feel better as a result and really enjoy it.

What is your location?
Israel
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Kawaramono
Posts: 11
Joined: Sun May 21, 2023 10:08 am
Location: Northeastern US

Sat May 27, 2023 7:18 pm

Hello Tea Forum Folks; happy to finally be joining the conversation...!

In the simplest terms, I find myself interested in tea because of its near limitless diversity, complexity, and opportunity for evolving experimentation. I enjoy things with minute details that allow for fruitful tinkering and nuanced appreciation. And of course, as many of you, I simply enjoy the taste and experience of drinking tea. You could say I came for the flavor inside the cup, but will stay for the journey into the complex worlds of craft and culture that make it so.

I tend to gravitate towards things that appear simple on the surface, yet with the manipulation of nearly imperceivable nuances, can be steered into the heights of art or masterful function. A hand carved spoon, the pattern of a cooking knife, the spout of a kettle, the leaf of a tea plant. I like to experiment with parameters and see where they go.

In my personal life I enjoy foraging for wild foods (plants & mushrooms), carving, spending time in the forests of the Northeast (US), and generally being picky about everyday things and the ambiance of a given room with my equally picky girlfriend. I work as a Japanese Gardener, hence my username - and am lucky to be adjacent to a practicing traditional chado/tea ceremony school as part of what I do.

For now my tea journey will likely be focused on acquainting myself with what is out there, acquiring (taste) preferences that will hopefully one day lead to some useful understanding and aptitude in chasing down and sharing what I like with others. When I am wiser and older and greyer, I forsee myself shedding the microscope (read: digital scale), opening the window, and going full on vibes mode with wares that seemingly curated themselves long ago with spring water bubbling over a charcoal boiler, waiting to wake up a pinch of leaves that have forgotten their own name from a lack of ever needing one. Though as of this day ...I remain dumber, younger, and actively hued - so I'm here to talk shop with the tea forum fam: (variable temp kettle and notepad at the ready :D )

On a flavor chasing mission
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