Hello from sunny Yorkshire!

Please introduce yourself here to our membership


Apr 23rd, '12, 07:08
Posts: 8
Joined: Apr 22nd, '12, 10:58
Location: Leeds, Yorkshire, UK

Hello from sunny Yorkshire!

by blackbird » Apr 23rd, '12, 07:08

Hello all! I've been inadvertently visiting TeaChat for a while (that isn't supposed to sound insulting, it's just that without intending to I seem to have ended up here on various occasions!) and decided that I was clearly supposed to sign up :)

I've been a tea drinker all my life in the sense that I live in Britain, but I moved away from the standard black-with-milk when I was about 11 as I didn't like the taste or smell of it. For years I drank green tea with lemon - from teabags, which in my part of the world and pre-internet was as exotic as it got! When I went to university in Glasgow I was able to try different sorts of tea for the first time and it opened my eyes to the vast choice out there. Which is not good as I am an incredibly indecisive person :lol:

I've been on loose tea almost entirely for about 2 years and couldn't go back, but since coming onto this site I've realised how narrow my tea horizons still are! I enjoy green tea, but I've mainly been drinking the gunpowder tea from my local Chinese supermarket which I think is a long way from what people on here are talking about! I've also got a nice sencha (from the same place!) although I have to be 'in the right mood' to enjoy that one. I discovered JING (UK site) a few months ago and have been sampling various teas from there - I really enjoy their Ali Shan oolong and am wanting to try some more oolongs, but am a bit unsure where to start... Sadly I'm very restricted in how much I can justify spending so have to resort to drooling over some of the more luxury recommendations for the time being!

I'm currently looking for a cheap-but-nice gaiwan to play with and if anyone can recommend some teas to try I'm all ears :wink:

Apr 23rd, '12, 08:05
Posts: 1483
Joined: Mar 19th, '06, 12:42
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Location: On the couch
Contact: Proinsias

Re: Hello from sunny Yorkshire!

by Proinsias » Apr 23rd, '12, 08:05

Hi from Glasgow Blackbird,

Wang Ling are in the UK and have a selection of gaiwan, I'm a fan of the plain white - standard 100ml size would probably be a safe place to start.
http://www.wanlingteahouse.com/section.php/126/1/gaiwan

If you like Ali Shan oolong, Wang Ling specialise in tie guan yin which you may also enjoy, they offer sampler sets too.

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Apr 23rd, '12, 11:38
Posts: 85
Joined: Oct 9th, '10, 01:50
Location: Springville, UT

Re: Hello from sunny Yorkshire!

by Leo_Blue » Apr 23rd, '12, 11:38

Welcome to TeaChat blackbird. I can really only suggest Teaspring as a vendor for tea, they have fairly cheap tea, though I have no idea what shipping would be to the UK. I hope you find some vendors and teas you enjoy through our community.

Apr 24th, '12, 03:33
Posts: 8
Joined: Apr 22nd, '12, 10:58
Location: Leeds, Yorkshire, UK

Re: Hello from sunny Yorkshire!

by blackbird » Apr 24th, '12, 03:33

Thanks! I've had a look at Teaspring and Wang Ling...ordered the plain white gaiwan from there as well as a light tie guan yin and a 'mao feng' 2011 green. Not that I didn't have enough teas to test my gaiwan with already or anything like that... :)

Proinsias - how is Glasgow these days? I left about 18 months ago, lived there for 5 years so it still feels like home! Are you close enough to visit Tchai Ovna once in a while? I used to love nothing more than curling up there with a board game and several pots of tea!

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