Hello from a noob from the middle of nowhere Midwest

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Jan 7th, '11, 10:32
Posts: 10
Joined: Jan 7th, '11, 04:43
Location: ND

Hello from a noob from the middle of nowhere Midwest

by Squirrel » Jan 7th, '11, 10:32

Hello I am 27 wife/mother/homemaker from North Dakota.

How long have you been drinking tea?
Well i remember having the retail store bags as a child. I started drinking loose leaf about !+ years ago and still use some bags.

What was your first Tea?
I remember being quite young buying the Celestial Seasonings and collecting the tins.

What is your favorite Tea currently?
I'm just getting started so it is Organic & Pure's Green tea with lemon.

What is your next purchase?
maybe Adiago special blend type named squirrel

Where is your favorite spot to brew up?
home

Hi started drinking tea when I was young but i have soon learned I'm used to what would be called the filings/dust tea. Where I am from the only choices are the supermarket run of the mill. I remember in high school i had a friend bring me earl grey from London and that was the first i know there was something better. My latest interest in tea started because of my sister in law is from Singapore and she has given me teas that her parents have sent over from Singapore. Sadly almost none of them have anything in English writing. I have the packets and if somehow i could get someone from online to tell me what they say so i know what I'm drinking (and enjoying much), if someone wants a challenge :) I am a bit timid about buying teas online afraid of where to start and what kinds to try.

I have very basic limited ideas on tea and want to learn.
I struggle with preparing. My sister in law showed me how her family steeps tea. However, this still leaves me in the dark on how long (general guideline) should i steep for each kind of tea(white, green, etc)? Also what amount should i measure to prepare for 1 cup of tea?

One last question and i will stop rambling:
Three of teas i was given have the following labels:
Orchid Tea
Sow Mee Tea
Tikuanyin Tea

What are they each exactly? I looked online but found very little. thanks hope to gain much from everyone buy being in this teachat!

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Jan 7th, '11, 12:07
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Re: Hello from a noob from the middle of nowhere Midwest

by Chip » Jan 7th, '11, 12:07

Hi squirrel and welcome to TeaChat. I hope to see you around the forum.

Try and take a deep breath and remember tea should be enjoyable even in its preparation ... there are some nuts around here who actually like to brew as much or more than drink tea. So relax, it will come.

Orchid and Tikuanyin (spelled many ways) are oolong teas. I would suggest posting your questions about these teas in the Oolong forum of TeaChat.

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Jan 7th, '11, 14:28
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Re: Hello from a noob from the middle of nowhere Midwest

by Victoria » Jan 7th, '11, 14:28

Welcome, nice to have you join us!
I believe Sow Mee is a white tea.

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Jan 8th, '11, 11:26
Posts: 466
Joined: Aug 28th, '08, 11:42
Location: The first State (DE)

Re: Hello from a noob from the middle of nowhere Midwest

by nonc_ron » Jan 8th, '11, 11:26

I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts. Image

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Feb 4th, '11, 12:53
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Joined: Sep 23rd, '09, 15:14
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Re: Hello from a noob from the middle of nowhere Midwest

by AlexZorach » Feb 4th, '11, 12:53

Hello and welcome!

Sow mee is also called shou mei. It's my favorite style of white tea and I think one of the most undervalued white teas...it's considered a 'low grade', which mainly means it's made of larger leaves, but I like it because of its fuller flavor.

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