What are your bad habits during tea sessions?

[debunix]

I would rather have a distracted tea session (while working, perusing the internet, watching a video, etc.) then spend less time on tea by choosing an easier way out (tea bag).

This is me too. I'd rather enjoy my tea from a thermos (carefully selected for being tasty despite that form of infusing) when I'm away from my tea counter than deal with teabags.

[Baisao]

I feel that for myself I am either too analytical or too distracted during sessions. I have a very nice tea that I am drinking and yet I am here commenting on a thread instead of paying attention to my tea. And if paid attention to it I am likely to tease apart its every property. So perhaps this bad habit is that I sometimes lack moderation in how I appreciate tea.

My other bad habit is that I only empty my shuifang when it is filled to the brim. It's a disgusting indicator of my progress.

[oeroe]

This isn't necessarily during tea sessions for me, but in general, for my tea-life: craving for more tea.

"Hmm, someone blogged about Farmer Leaf, it's been a while since I sampled them, maybe I should order some.."
"Oh, this Lazycat Tea sounds like it might actually be a decent yancha vendor, I'd really like to..."
"Wow, that F1 pot my friend bought is pretty nice, I'm going to check out all of the online F1 sources to see if there's.."
"That cake looks like potentially decent price/quality option.."

What helps, is a session of some good tea I already have in a nice pot I already have.

[klepto]

This isn't necessarily during tea sessions for me, but in general, for my tea-life: craving for more tea.

"Hmm, someone blogged about Farmer Leaf, it's been a while since I sampled them, maybe I should order some.."
"Oh, this Lazycat Tea sounds like it might actually be a decent yancha vendor, I'd really like to..."
"Wow, that F1 pot my friend bought is pretty nice, I'm going to check out all of the online F1 sources to see if there's.."
"That cake looks like potentially decent price/quality option.."

What helps, is a session of some good tea I already have in a nice pot I already have.

Yes, this!! I'm learning to lean into only a few things that are of interested to me or otherwise I'll be at the mercy of FOMO.

[GaoShan]

This isn't necessarily during tea sessions for me, but in general, for my tea-life: craving for more tea.

"Hmm, someone blogged about Farmer Leaf, it's been a while since I sampled them, maybe I should order some.."
"Oh, this Lazycat Tea sounds like it might actually be a decent yancha vendor, I'd really like to..."
"Wow, that F1 pot my friend bought is pretty nice, I'm going to check out all of the online F1 sources to see if there's.."
"That cake looks like potentially decent price/quality option.."

What helps, is a session of some good tea I already have in a nice pot I already have.

Yes, this!! I'm learning to lean into only a few things that are of interested to me or otherwise I'll be at the mercy of FOMO.

This is also a bad habit of mine. I've been eyeing the unsmoked Lapsang Souchong of at least four companies, three of which also conveniently have Dancong. Then again, I could always get more gaoshan...

This year, I've been making a list of how much tea I buy and how much I consume, and am trying to keep them roughly equal. (It also doesn't help that I have a pile of as yet unopened teas from years when I've bought more tea than I've drunk.) The idea of concentrating on a few good teas appeals to me, but I think I'd miss the variety.

[swordofmytriumph]

This isn't necessarily during tea sessions for me, but in general, for my tea-life: craving for more tea.

"Hmm, someone blogged about Farmer Leaf, it's been a while since I sampled them, maybe I should order some.."
"Oh, this Lazycat Tea sounds like it might actually be a decent yancha vendor, I'd really like to..."
"Wow, that F1 pot my friend bought is pretty nice, I'm going to check out all of the online F1 sources to see if there's.."
"That cake looks like potentially decent price/quality option.."

What helps, is a session of some good tea I already have in a nice pot I already have.

Hahaha are you me?! You’ve described my day perfectly…I just got an order in the mail yesterday, and yet spent over an hour and a half ordering even more tea, carefully choosing between my different options, putting 3x more than I can afford in my shopping cart then spending 30 minutes “bailing it out” until my total has reached more reasonable levels… then cringing when the EMS price appeared.

[LeoFox]

Hahaha are you me?! You’ve described my day perfectly…I just got an order in the mail yesterday, and yet spent over an hour and a half ordering even more tea, carefully choosing between my different options, putting 3x more than I can afford in my shopping cart then spending 30 minutes “bailing it out” until my total has reached more reasonable levels… then cringing when the EMS price appeared.

Hahahahaha. Guess many of us are the same.

[debunix]

I often accompany more focused tea sessions with browsing TeaForum, and sites for tea wares and tea sellers. This has led to the need to expand my tea ware storage and display, and the pile of teas waiting for the trunk to be reorganized to make them fit….

[Ethan Kurland]

... I've been eyeing the unsmoked Lapsang Souchong of at least four companies, three of which also conveniently have Dancong. ...

I am guessing that one of those vendors is Wuyi Origin. I drank some of Cindy's Lapsang Souchong (unsmoked) & liked it very much. (When I was into that tea, I would have loved it.) Recommended highly for quality. (I don't know about prices.)

[GaoShan]

... I've been eyeing the unsmoked Lapsang Souchong of at least four companies, three of which also conveniently have Dancong. ...

I am guessing that one of those vendors is Wuyi Origin. I drank some of Cindy's Lapsang Souchong (unsmoked) & liked it very much. (When I was into that tea, I would have loved it.) Recommended highly for quality. (I don't know about prices.)

Yes, one of those vendors is indeed Wuyi Origin. I've had their regular unsmoked Lapsang Souchong and their Old Bush Lapsang Souchong, and the latter is wonderful. It doesn't have the fruity pyrotechnics of some other unsmoked Lapsangs, but it has a balanced, long-lasting flavour. I find myself thinking about it when I'm not drinking it, which to me is a sign of a good tea. However, Cindy has stopped selling her black teas in 50 g increments, which means I'd be limited in the number of other samples I could get. (I was also planning to buy some of her Jin Jun Mei and a couple of her Dancongs, which, from my limited experience, are quite good and are priced competitively.)

The other companies are TheTea.pl, which has a fruity unsmoked Lapsang I've enjoyed before, along with other good black teas; One River Tea, which also has old bush and younger bush Lapsangs and some interesting Dancong types; and White2Tea, which has a range of Lapsangs that people seem to regard highly and also has Dancongs. Then there's Daxue Jiadao, whose Lapsangs are probably very good but with prices to match.

Decisions, decisions!

[Bok]

@GaoShan I’d say that with Daxue Jiadao you probably get more for your money’s worth, even if they may seem more pricey.

[GaoShan]

GaoShan I’d say that with Daxue Jiadao you probably get more for your money’s worth, even if they may seem more pricey.

Thanks for the recommendation. I wish they would provide more info on the taste profile of their Lapsangs. It's also hard to choose between getting good-quality tea from a company like Wuyi Origin for around $0.50 per gram versus getting possibly better-quality tea from Daxue Jiadao for closer to $1/g. I doubt they'll have any Black Friday or 11.11 sales!