Re: Introduce Yourself
Posted: 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!
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!