Weekend TeaDays 2/5-6/11 Serendipity?

[Chip]

Happy TeaWeekend everyone. We hope you will spend some of it with us in TeaDay, on TeaChat. Discuss the topic and share what is in your cup throughout the weekend.

Friday we discussed learning languages as a result of our enjoyment of tea. You can still vote and discuss Friday's topic.

This weekends poll and discussion topic. The closing of SpecialTeas reminded me of a discovery in my TeaJourney. Did you discover your fave type of tea through a lot of purposeful trials or was is a serendipitous happening? Please share!

We are all looking forward to sharing this TeaDay with everyone, with you. Bottoms up!

[Chip]

ooops ... forgot to move this over last night.

[auhckw]

>A little bit of trials and tasting, but also a bit of chance

Most shops here sell puerh as their main stock, so it couldn't be missed. I would say A bit of chance, cause I started with Green tea first, ignoring puerh cause the first pu I had wasn't that good. After a few more trials, liked it... and the feeling of able to collect it, letting it to age and see the price appreciate makes it even fun

4 days without proper tea... now back home... brewing ripe puerh... strong chi... feeling all hot

[brlarson]

I was following a high-level, long-term TeaPlan. I'm currently in the second year of Phase Two, which is to reduce my tea expenditures (not teaware, just tea) by 25%. So far so good, but Long Jing was almost a budget-buster last year.

Hou de's 2006 Ban Tian Yao for breakfast today.

[nickE]

Stumbling onto Puerh was pretty random. I don't even remember how it happened, although it probably had something to do with this forum.

Wuyi today.

[rhondabee]

I would never have tried any Taiwanese oolongs or probably any loose leaf tea for that matter, until someone bought and made the tea for me. Da Yu Ling from FLT today. It is sunny and above freezing, so really enjoying the day!

[brlarson]

Hibiki-an Tencha for lunch. Jing's Imperial LJ as an after-supper snack.

[JBaymore]

SerendipiTEA.

best,

..............john

[debunix]

A little of both. I'd read about most of the teas that I would now call favorites before I first had some to drink, but there were others that I might not have tried if it were not for participation in various tastings, even some I was reluctant to join.

Today's Tai Ping Hou Kui was, typically, a little of both--read about the type of tea first, then was surprised to recognize some at my local tea shop, so a bit of serendipity there, but then I had to seek out the 2nd version I was comparing it to--quite deliberate trial there.

[entropyembrace]

Hmmm...I like a lot of really different teas...and I´m still trying new teas as much as I can.

I can point to a few teas that I like the best of what I have currently but that list is always changing...I don´t think I could actually point to a favourite tea and say how I arrived to it.

[Chip]

Sencha ... a good bit of trials and tastings of sencha from domestic vendors, remember this was some time ago and good international sources were not available to Westerners. There was enough bait in the sencha I tried to keep me looking, persuing better.

Serendipity came in when SpecialTeas just happened to offer a super premium sencha one and only one year ... packaged in those fancy Japanese foil bags in Japan. It was the revelation I was looking for, mind blowing.

So, I knew the goods were out there, but I had to wait several more years til direct buying from Japan was available for individuals.

... and began the TD with Hosen sencha from Ippodo followed by a blend of dribs and drabs with the Mrs. that came out pretty good. Finished the TD with Musashi Karigane from O-Cha.

[IPT]

I try any type of tea I can get my hands on and am constantly searching for new teas, but since I don't really have a single favorite, I can't say that it was serendipity, or planning that caused it.

[Xell]

Part chance, part tasting. I didn't really know that tea can taste really good, i thought it simply doesn't fit my taste until i tried real one in Japan.

[AdamMY]

For me it was a mix of finally finding the right tea, and trying a whole bunch of teas.

The photo is actually called Serendipitea which is why I shared it, but I was playing with settings on my camera and snapped this slightly out of focus shot, but my hand half obscured the flash giving it more of an appearance of being stuck in a beam of light.

[debunix]

Lovely shot! Serendipitea indeed!

This was a more calculated series of photos....but the tea inside was a bit serendipitous, when a trusted supplier of favorite chinese teas, Norbu, surprised me with a few teas from Japan:


Sencha morning by debunix, on Flickr