Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

Please introduce yourself here to our membership


Aug 31st, '11, 19:02
Posts: 16
Joined: Aug 31st, '11, 15:54

Re: Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

by Chajin » Aug 31st, '11, 19:02

Hi all,

I've been studying Japanese tea ceremony for about 8 years, currently with Omotesenke. I know very little about teas other than matcha, but am interested in learning more. I mainly drink Japanese green teas and sometimes black teas.

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Sep 2nd, '11, 22:03
Posts: 3
Joined: Sep 2nd, '11, 11:37
Location: Biddeford, Maine, USA

Re: Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

by AndyO » Sep 2nd, '11, 22:03

Hi Everyone!
Living in Maine all my life. I'm 61 years old, married to wonderful Nancy; a father of 2 and also a grandfather.

Been drinking tea off and on for several years, but always from tea bags. Enjoyed the teas, but a few years ago decided to try brewing loose tea...WOW, much better flavor than what I've used for so many years. Enjoying new tastes and also the entire preparation and drinking experience. My vegetable garden compost pile is also thankful for the discarded tea leaves! :)

The answer to question on what was my first tea isn't very exotic...it was green teabag from Stash...or was it Lipton? :wink:

Have several favorite teas at this time, and enjoy certain ones depending on my mood. Love the Green Jasmine Phoenix Pearls (#12), and recently the green Pi lo chun. Although not a tea, I love the taste of Rooibos.

Next purchase will be the Jasmine Phoenix Pearls (#12), as they are presently unavailable and waiting for notification from Adagio that they're in.

Love brewing my teas at home in glass teapot, but just purchased the 16 ounce ingenuiTEA teapot to use at the office. So if any of you have used this item at work, please let me know how it's been working for you. Tea suggestions from you would be appreciated!

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Sep 3rd, '11, 01:21
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
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Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
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Re: Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

by Chip » Sep 3rd, '11, 01:21

Hi AndyO, and welcome to TeaChat. I would suggest posting your questions in the forum, you will get more responses.

For instance, if you have a favorite general type of tea, such as black tea or green tea, post under the respective forums. You will definately get more feed back.

Looking forward to seeing you around TC! :mrgreen:

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Sep 4th, '11, 10:50
Posts: 20891
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Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
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Re: Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

by Chip » Sep 4th, '11, 10:50

And welcome to all the new members who have posted here recently! :mrgreen:

Sep 7th, '11, 13:24
Posts: 41
Joined: Jul 27th, '11, 11:06
Location: Switzerland

Re: Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

by Ludwig-1954 » Sep 7th, '11, 13:24

Ladies and Gentlemen, Salut

Pleade allow me to introduce myself. My name is Patrick B. Ludwig and
I live in central Switzerland, in a village called Hedingen ( Pop. 3'000, many cows, sheep and tractors ). Born in 1954, my first encounter with tea was sitting with my grandparents after lunch. Grandfather would be smoking a long, thin Virginia cigar from Brissago. Grandmother would be
smoking too, short, stubby black Brasil cigars called Garibaldi. The maid would bring in a silver, Art-deco tea set, engraved with our coat of arms, two teacups and a coffeecup for Grandmother and a lidded silver container filled with pralines. I was about five, maybe six. Grandfather
called me to the teatable, told me to sit down and be quiet. I was then
poured my first cup of tea and offered a praline - marzipan I recall, lozenge shaped. With a little help from Grandmother, I tried my first
tea. I remember feeling rather intimidated, particularly when Grandfather proclaimed, that as of today, my serious education as 'Monsieur Patrick B. Ludwig' would begin. The Maid, the cook and the Gardener/ Chauffeur were instructed to adress me as 'Monsieur Patrick', as they already adressed my Father as 'Herr Mario'.
That is how it all began. The journey has never stopped, my favourite teas have changed, so have my favourite tea-toys. But I will always smell
the heavy mixture of tea, cognac, cigars and perfume in the salon of my
grandparents. I still have the tea set, of course ...
May this story suffice as introduction and with my best regards and your
permission, I will now say au revoir at Tea-Chat.

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Sep 7th, '11, 16:43
Posts: 75
Joined: Sep 2nd, '11, 16:56
Location: City by the Bay

Re: Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

by DarkenedSun » Sep 7th, '11, 16:43

Hi all! New to the forums!

How long have you been drinking tea?
I've had it since I was a kid but I've been a serious tea drinker for 3-4 years.
What was your first Tea?
Probably some of that god awful bag stuff my parents drank. :lol:
What is your favorite Tea currently?
Puerh! :D
What is your next purchase?
Hmm... It's been a while since I've had a good Japanese green tea. Then again, I have been wanting some oolong. :wink: Who knows...
Where is your favorite spot to brew up?
At the office usually, it's where I spend most of my day.

Sep 8th, '11, 03:30
Posts: 24
Joined: Aug 26th, '11, 02:05
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Contact: Mintaka

Re: Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

by Mintaka » Sep 8th, '11, 03:30

How long have you been drinking tea? Since I was a kid. I've always had a variety of teas around and always took great comfort in drinking them. I used to say that tea was my "only constant" in life. However, I've only been seriously educated in teas since the last year or so. My tea intake has increased from an occasional cup a couple times a week to at least 5-6 cups a day.

What was your first Tea? Well, actually gunpowder. My parents had a large bag of gunpowder in the house and I used to drink that as a kid. Later on I had some Fukamushi Sencha and then got turned on to Genmaicha, which was all I would drink until I discovered Huang Shan mao feng.

What is your favorite Tea currently? I'm currently into bi luo chun.

What is your next purchase? Not sure! I have been buying a lot of teas recently and have to cut back or my pocketbook is going to hurt, lol. Probably my next will be lu'an guapian, ti luo han, or shui xian.

Where is your favorite spot to brew up? At home, chilling out. This is ultimate place for tea in my mind. Although, I do enjoy brewing an exquisite cup when I'm out somewhere, since people are usually interested in what exactly I'm doing with my digital pocket scale, thermometer, paper filters, strange leafy substances, etc. :wink:

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Sep 12th, '11, 16:24
Posts: 8
Joined: Sep 12th, '11, 16:03
Location: San Jose, CA

Re: Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

by Suteishi » Sep 12th, '11, 16:24

Hello! I'm a noob. Hahahaha.
How long have you been drinking tea?
I had it throughout my life but I didn't like it for most of my life until I tried loose leaf tea. So I'd say that I have really been drinking tea for a few years.
What was your first Tea?
First loose leaf tea was genmaicha.
What is your favorite Tea currently?
Dunno yet.
What is your next purchase?
I haven't decided. Maybe you guys can help me out with that one.
Where is your favorite spot to brew up?
Don't have a specific spot. I drink tea at work and home.

Sep 14th, '11, 22:49
Posts: 3
Joined: Sep 14th, '11, 22:25
Location: Ottawa, Canada

Re: Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

by earthernchild » Sep 14th, '11, 22:49

How long have you been drinking tea?
Upwards of three years now.
What was your first Tea?
Bagged lemon tea. I was pretty impressed considering at the time, I was only one for hot chocolate, and despised coffee. I then tried loose tea, my first being Monk's Blend. I was hooked ever since.
What is your favorite Tea currently?
Gyokuro Yamashiro. The day after I brought the tea into work, I got myself a Yixing mug to drink it out of... and now the flavor it has is fantastic!
What is your next purchase?
More Gyokuro, and some Spiced Choco Chai Rooibos for the evening.
Where is your favorite spot to brew up?
At work is the most convenient, because I work at a tea shop. Otherwise, at home in the early mornings, or late evenings.

Sep 16th, '11, 09:22
Posts: 1
Joined: Sep 16th, '11, 08:24

Re: Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

by justmissjac » Sep 16th, '11, 09:22

Salutations from Maryland!

How long have you been drinking tea?
I have been drinking tea very casually since about 2005, when I was in high school, but didn't really get interested in the large world of tea until a few years ago, during college.. Oddly enough, it was the show Avatar: the Last Airbender that really sparked my interest in tea, and I haven't looked back since. :)

What was your first Tea?
I've had cheap, casual teas and tesans for as long as I can remember, but I have two teas in my life that I define as the "first" teas to really make an imprssion. The first was when I was about 16, "Droom van Maastricht" from Blanche Dael, a black blended with cornflower, sunflower and strawberry blossoms. For a long time, that was the only tea I liked! In 2008, I was lucky enough to go to a college that had a Japanese tea house, and I frequented it as often as I could to partake of the delicious matcha. :)

What is your favorite Tea currently?
That's hard to say... I am very inexperienced, so my current favorite tends to change frequently depending on how I've prepared it and what I know about it. Probably because of my personal familiarity and the experience of it, I'd have to say matcha is my longtime favorite, with a mango-chili green bush tea by Republic of Tea as a recent favorite.

What is your next purchase?
Jasmine sencha, possibly?

Where is your favorite spot to brew up?
Unfortunately, I'm pretty much the only tea enthusiast I know, so I often end up drinking by myself. I suspect that my self-education is starting to rub off on my roommates, however... :P

Sep 20th, '11, 20:51
Posts: 1
Joined: Sep 20th, '11, 20:32

Re: Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

by palebcagel » Sep 20th, '11, 20:51

How long have you been drinking tea?
I have been casually drinking bagged and iced tea for just about my entire life. I actually started getting serious about tea early this year close to when my great, great, aunt died, because she drank a TON of tea, and that sparked my interest.
What was your first Tea?
My first "good loose leaf tea" was gunpowder green tea.
What is your favorite Tea currently?
I have not had it as a loose leaf yet, but Earl Grey
What is your next purchase?
I have an order of Earl Grey and a sample of "citron green", and "jade snail" on its way from adagio.
Where is your favorite spot to brew up?
At a friends house, with 2 friends of mine who became very interested in tea around the same time that I did.

Sep 21st, '11, 10:09
Posts: 20
Joined: Jan 6th, '11, 18:10
Location: Florida

Re: Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

by andie923 » Sep 21st, '11, 10:09

How long have you been drinking tea? I have been serious about loose leaf for only about 5 years, but have been drinking tea for most of my life.

What was your first Tea? My first good loose leaf tea was an oolong I bought in China but I never knew what type of oolong it was :(

What is your favorite Tea currently? Matcha for the moment.. This seriously changes every day, but I tend to prefer greens and oolongs.

What is your next purchase? I am trying to cut down on the spending but I have been thinking about buying the Dancong Aria from Adagio...

Where is your favorite spot to brew up? Anywhere!

Sep 21st, '11, 10:12
Posts: 20
Joined: Jan 6th, '11, 18:10
Location: Florida

Re: Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

by andie923 » Sep 21st, '11, 10:12

justmissjac wrote:How long have you been drinking tea?
I have been drinking tea very casually since about 2005, when I was in high school, but didn't really get interested in the large world of tea until a few years ago, during college.. Oddly enough, it was the show Avatar: the Last Airbender that really sparked my interest in tea, and I haven't looked back since. :)

How did that show spark your interest? I'm very curious because I have never seen it.

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Sep 21st, '11, 22:47
Posts: 251
Joined: Sep 19th, '11, 23:42
Location: Northern California

Re: Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

by tst » Sep 21st, '11, 22:47

How long?
Not sure, but my Grandma makes a mean cup of Earl Grey!

First tea?
Can't remember ...

Current favorite?
Probably a Dong Ding from Life in Teacup (not sure which one).

Next purchase?
I'm hoping to buy some good Oolongs and 2011 shengpus. I'm also looking forward to buying some shincha this coming spring :D

Favorite spot?
Anywhere. But most of all with my fiance.

Sep 24th, '11, 07:28
Posts: 17
Joined: Sep 21st, '11, 18:39

Re: Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

by jan » Sep 24th, '11, 07:28

Hi everyone,
I finally got an account here. So I might just as well introduce myself.

How long have you been drinking tea?

As I'm from Germany I think always drank "tea". But always is: if you're sick -> drink tea, to be correct: tisanes . And I think this is the way most people over here are drinking tea.


What was your first Tea?


After starting my university studies I noticed that I've been drinking a lot of coke (as in coca cola) and I thought: unhealthy - I need to stop this.
As I knew of past experiences I really didn't like "black tea", so I tried "green tea" in bags, with a vanilla aroma. That is really, really bad! But it at least got me started. This is my first conscious tea experience. Around 2008/2009 I switched to loose green tea from Japan (mostly Sencha). But I bought that tea at Tee Geschwendner (a franchise tea dealer over here in Germany). That tea was much better than the stuff in loose tea bags. But if I look back: horrible stuff minus teabag.


What is your favorite Tea currently?


The tea I drink most often is a Long Jing (3-4 days/week). I do enjoy it. My tea dealer is telling me that this tea is a 2nd Grade from Zhejiang, but I really don't know. If I like it - who cares? I've also been doing experiments with Lu Bai Dao, White Monkey and Wuyuan (strong half-gunpower which I use when I need to take green tea in my thermos while traveling). But my favorite, if I take some tea from my storage without thinking, is always Long Jing.

What is your next purchase?

After moving from (tea wise) Japan to China and enjoying those green teas I've been starting to taste Puerh. And I'm completely fascinated, by all its facets. My current and also my next few purchases will definitely go into that direction. I've bought some ripe Puerh for immediate tasting, but I'm really waiting for my sheng to ripe (the oldest from 2004).

Where is your favorite spot to brew up?

At my desk. I work from home and 1/3 of my desk is dedicated for tea brewing. :-) I can't even imagine working at an office or other workplace where I can't enjoy my tea.

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