NewTeaDay 9/15/12 Are you in the ZONE?

BYOT! Enter TeaChat here, you never know what you may find!


Today's TeaPoll/Discussion topic. What percentage of your tea purchases are made in your "comfort zone" of teas you already know you enjoy, verses taking risks with teas you do not know?

100% in my comfort zone
2
10%
90% in/10% out
0
No votes
80% in/20% out
3
15%
70% in/30% out
0
No votes
60% in/40% out
2
10%
50/50
6
30%
40% in/60% out
0
No votes
30% in/70% out
3
15%
20% in/80% out
1
5%
10% in/90% out
1
5%
100% out of my comfort zone
2
10%
 
Total votes: 20

User avatar
Sep 15th, '12, 08:16
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Been thanked: 2 times

NewTeaDay 9/15/12 Are you in the ZONE?

by Chip » Sep 15th, '12, 08:16

Happy TeaWeekend TCers! Looks like it is going to be a gorgeous September weekend here, perfect for brewing lots of tea! :mrgreen:
Please share your teas with us here in TeaDay or in each of the specific type of tea topics located under Tea and TeaWare.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. What percentage of your tea purchases are made in your "comfort zone" of teas you already know you enjoy, verses taking risks with teas you do not know? Please share.

I am looking forward to sharing TeaDay with everyone, outside of their "comfort zones." Bottoms up!

Sep 15th, '12, 11:01

Re: NewTeaDay 9/15/12 Are you in the ZONE?

by brlarson » Sep 15th, '12, 11:01

Sadly, I have been 100% in my comfort zone, tea-wise, for the last couple of years. Work has kept me so busy that I haven't been willing to distract myself with anything new.

Had Seven Cups lao cong shui xian this morning. O-Cha's yutaka midori shincha is next on the menu.

User avatar
Sep 16th, '12, 18:26
Posts: 5896
Joined: Jan 10th, '10, 16:04
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Contact: debunix

Re: NewTeaDay 9/15/12 Are you in the ZONE?

by debunix » Sep 16th, '12, 18:26

Guessing 80/20, always open to new but when I really like a tea I want to enjoy that one again.

Today, just one tea so far (sad!), a session with some of the floral/fruity Xue Dian Mei Lan green tea from Norbu. It's wonderful when I get it right, but it does get bitter if I get sloppy. It's been around for a while, a 2010 spring tea bought in late 2010 and now it's 2012, so some of the better qualities are a little faded. Still, a pleasing tea, and the sessions are even more pleasing since brewed with my Petr Novak Shiboridashi and drunk from my Nakao 'spring' galaxy cup from Magokorodo.

User avatar
Sep 16th, '12, 19:27
Posts: 2228
Joined: Jul 22nd, '09, 10:55
Location: Capital of the Mitten
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact: AdamMY

Re: NewTeaDay 9/15/12 Are you in the ZONE?

by AdamMY » Sep 16th, '12, 19:27

"Life is too short for bad tea" so now that I have found a few vendors I am rather fond of, or hear about a very well respected vendor and some of their offerings that are great, I tend to go with teas I feel more comfortable with about 60% of the time now. In contrast to a year or two ago, in which I am not sure I have ordered from a single vendor more than twice in my entire loose leaf tea drinking life. I do like to try and find new teas so about 40% of the vendors I try are new.

I will say though that even with those 40% I wouldn't say I am shooting blindly in the dark, there usually is something that convinces me it is worth taking a shot on trying. Examples of which for me from the past year are Phoenix teashop and Maiko, both of which I had people I trusted who felt confident with their offerings so I decided to take the plunge.

Sep 18th, '12, 16:56
Posts: 78
Joined: Jun 17th, '08, 00:50
Location: San Francisco, CA

Re: NewTeaDay 9/15/12 Are you in the ZONE?

by Tadpole » Sep 18th, '12, 16:56

For every tea in my comfort zone, I allow myself to try something different. Excessive? No way!

Current comforts are: AliShan, TungTing, Fukamushi sencha, Yunnan black, Wuyi oolongs.

The "special" ones right now: Matcha iri genmaicha, Keemun, Lapsang souchong, Charcoal roasted TungTing, and a phoenix oolong.

User avatar
Sep 18th, '12, 17:21
Posts: 1312
Joined: May 27th, '09, 16:55

Re: NewTeaDay 9/15/12 Are you in the ZONE?

by teaisme » Sep 18th, '12, 17:21

I went 20/80 since I am still sampling away pretty heavy, still a little child in a big big world, I give myself a couple more years before I settle down a little bit more, but having so much fun right now....don't know....maybe I won't ever settle down :mrgreen:

Most tea sessions are still very comfortable though, only two or four disappointments in a myriad of samples/50-100g orders. I have teachat and others more versed to thank for this nice success rate

User avatar
Sep 19th, '12, 12:18
Posts: 375
Joined: Jun 15th, '09, 07:05
Location: Lat: N 59º 37' 3.79" Long: E 17º 49' 35.49" or thereabouts

Re: NewTeaDay 9/15/12 Are you in the ZONE?

by sriracha » Sep 19th, '12, 12:18

Hmm... if 'teas I already know' means a tea type I'd say perhaps 50/50, if it means any tea within a type it's lower than that. I don't often repurchase the exact same tea, I prefer trying new ones.

A nepalese black so far today for breakfast, decent for the price but I've had better.

User avatar
Sep 19th, '12, 12:26
Vendor Member
Posts: 397
Joined: Feb 2nd, '12, 03:03
Location: RSA
Contact: SilentChaos

Re: NewTeaDay 9/15/12 Are you in the ZONE?

by SilentChaos » Sep 19th, '12, 12:26

I always try as far as I can at the time to discover the character of each individual tea I drink, so my 'comfort zone' is more a matter of a number of teas which were so tasty I just had to get them again. :mrgreen:

User avatar
Sep 24th, '12, 11:36
Posts: 22
Joined: Aug 30th, '12, 22:28
Location: Madison, Wisconsin

Re: NewTeaDay 9/15/12 Are you in the ZONE?

by Kathy Marie » Sep 24th, '12, 11:36

I'm just beginning and loose leaf tea is pretty far from Constant Comment!

I want to see about getting some sampling packs, buying two ounces each of everything adds up.

Kathy Marie

Sep 25th, '12, 11:56
Posts: 504
Joined: Oct 7th, '09, 21:31
Location: South Carolina

Re: NewTeaDay 9/15/12 Are you in the ZONE?

by bryan_drinks_tea » Sep 25th, '12, 11:56

I really enjoy switching it up and finding unfamiliar tea. I have my usual Yencha, Sencha, and puerh, but sometimes I'll grab bags of off the wall hei cha for fun.

Locked