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Re: Introduce Yourself

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2019 9:35 am
by Jo
Welcome to the forum cherrybomb7, looking forward to seeing you around. :mrgreen:

Re: Introduce Yourself

Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2019 9:04 pm
by Sarah
Hi everyone!

I'm very excited to learn more about tea from this group of people, as people seem to be very knowledgable here. I've been drinking tea for years, but have mainly just gotten tea from places like David's Tea and Teavana and am not overly familiar with all of the ins and outs of tea. I'm hoping to learn more about tea and begin to appreciate it more, as well as try some higher quality teas!

I hope you're all having a good week so far! :D

Re: Introduce Yourself

Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2019 2:37 am
by swordofmytriumph
Welcome @Sarah! :)

Re: Introduce Yourself

Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 8:23 pm
by Jimtro
Greetings tea people!

I've sort of gone a bit around the protocol and posted in another thread first, that was rather rude and I should know better but always tend to jump right in...in this case to be greeted by very helpful/friendly members. Thank you!

I've been brewing what I thought was decent tea on and off for quite some time though knowledge wise I consider myself a complete beginner. I've quickly verified that by reading through a few threads. My only real skillset is in knowing what I like. :D

In the past I've mostly enjoyed black tea blends and some whole leaf teas. I always enjoyed tea but never gave much thought about delving deeper into the subject. That changed about a year ago when I tried a very nice organic oolong from an online retailer. Best description I can think of would be that it had a creamy sweetness with an almost nutty finish. It was similar in looks to what I've seen as a dark pearl but with very different taste.

Oh, I've decided to try gong-fu style brewing, just waiting on my new pot to arrive from Taiwan:)

I'm very excited to be here and looking forward to learning from those of you generous enough to share your time and experience.

Jim

Re: Introduce Yourself

Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 8:27 pm
by Bok
Welcome aboard!

Creamy sweetness with almost nutty finish sounds like high mountain Oolong to me!

Re: Introduce Yourself

Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2019 8:36 pm
by Jimtro
Thank you for the welcome, and your help with my oolong issue thread:)

As to the high mountain oolong, i sure hope to find something similar and I've actually ordered a few samples with my teapot.

Re: Introduce Yourself

Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2019 6:46 pm
by sdotglass
Hi everyone! I'm Sean, born and raised in NYC, met Victoria and a bunch of others in this forum when I was living in Los Angeles over the last few years, but back in New York now.

How long have you been drinking tea?
Up until about 7 years ago I had an aversion to drinking hot stuff due to this random time I got sick as a kid after drinking hot chocolate. It was unrelated, but I associated it for some reason. I've still never tried coffee. I slowly got into tea eventually though, and I'd say the last 4 years have been serious about it, really learning my stuff, sourcing all the best teas I can find, going to tastings, ceremonies, hosting tea at my house regularly.

What kind of tea do you drink?
Anything quality basically. Single origin, farm sourced, full leaf. No blends, rarely any tisanes. Anything in the proper tea world, I'm interested in.

How do you prepare your tea?
Mainly in an yixing or kyusu, but sometimes in gaiwan. I take a zojirushi with me everywhere I go also. I err on the side of quick steeps, and more steeps. I like to taste it unfold. I also tend to go cooler than directed, so I'll rarely do a green above 158...my light oolongs at 175ish...and then the darker stuff I will use boiling.

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
Everythingggggg! I'm planning a visit to Japan end of March/April for Shincha, I want to visit farms, tea houses, ceremonies... I'd really appreciate any/all advice, introductions, recommendations...

What factors lead you to delve into the world of tea, and what is keeping you there?
I see tea as a metaphor for humanity. We all come from the same place, but through nature and nurture evolve into infinite varietals. It takes many lifetimes to experience them all, and we'll always be learning.

What is your location?
Primarily New York, but I travel a lot.

Re: Introduce Yourself

Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2019 7:07 pm
by Victoria
Welcome to TeaForum @sdotglass, nice to see you here. Looking forward to hearing about your Japan trip, hope you share some of it here.

Re: Introduce Yourself

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 12:28 pm
by iGo
iGo here, lurking for quite a while without any evil intent.

How long have you been drinking tea?
Maybe 40 years or so, after discovering John Blofeld’s book The Chinese Art of Tea and the Manhattan Ten Ren.

What kind of tea do you drink?
Tea omnivore.
Oolong, roasted and green.
Puerh, mostly sheng,some shou.
Japanese greens: gyokuro, sencha, matcha.
Balhyocha
Liu Bao
Hong cha.

How do you prepare tea.
Gong fu/ senchado
Occasional grandpa

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?
Right now I am exploring some Yiwu pu that I picked up on a trip to Yunnan a few years ago. Unidentifiable, because I split the cake with a friend who got the wrapper. 15+ steeps in. Excellent.

Koicha

Location
Brooklyn, NY

Re: Introduce Yourself

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 6:55 pm
by Bok
Welcome! Hope you matured away from Tenren, terrible tea they have

Re: Introduce Yourself

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 8:28 pm
by iGo
Lol, 40 years ago, TenRen was pretty good for what was available and what I knew about.

Thank you for the welcome.

Re: Introduce Yourself

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 10:25 pm
by Victoria
iGo wrote:
Tue Feb 19, 2019 8:28 pm
Lol, 40 years ago, TenRen was pretty good for what was available and what I knew about.
Yes, I remember going into TenRen’s various Manhattan locations in the 80s. Those were exotic teas back then for the US market, before international trade opened up making foreign goods much more accessible here. Welcome to TeaForum @iGo, glad you made it over here.

Re: Introduce Yourself

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 11:00 pm
by braden87
Hello everyone. FBee on TeaChat let me know of this board's existence (and I'm pleased, my short encounter with TeaChat left me less than enthused).

How long have you been drinking tea?

Since I was very young (then 50% milk and sugar with an OP black bagged tea)

What kind of tea do you drink?

My first "wow" moment was with a Da Yu Lin oolong, but my go to is an aged (in the afternoon) or young (in the mornings) sheng. I'm currently loving (my kidneys disagree) the stronger shengs (Bulangs, LBZs - <3 The Hai Lang Hao LBZ gu shus that YS stocks, currently trying to ensure I'm not subconsciously deriving value from the huge price tag before ordering a cake)

How do you prepare your tea?

My small (and rapidly growing) Yixing collection, or a gaiwan depending on the tea and my experience with it.

What tea knowledge are you interested in exploring right now?

Chinese geographical areas (mountains) and I absolutely love Yixing history.

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

I'm a recovering alcoholic and it's apparent that I need *something* to be addicted to - I transferred to tea. The history and culture behind tea keeps me interested, and of course the taste. I used to love learning about the terroir of wine and was pleased to learn much of the same learning can be done with tea.

What is your location?

Bay Area CA (currently living in the city, but we'll move between the valley and the city to provide a better neighborhood for our expected first child).

Re: Introduce Yourself

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 11:05 pm
by Bok
Welcome! Have fun joining us in the learning curve that is tea and teaware – beware the Yixing abyss, it is deep and full of terro(i)rs :mrgreen:

Re: Introduce Yourself

Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2019 11:37 pm
by pedant
welcome, @braden87!