Hi I'm Caitlin

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Apr 30th, '17, 09:35
Posts: 5
Joined: Mar 31st, '17, 13:39

Hi I'm Caitlin

by caitlinwinson » Apr 30th, '17, 09:35

Hi tea community! I'm caitlin, a nomadic massage therapist and recent Alice in this rabbit hole of a tea world. I lived in Burlington Vt for a while and would frequent Dobra's. My friend Ben of Setting Sun Teahut who used to work there, has mentored me a bit (he showed me a beautiful proper Chanoyu in feb and has answered so many of my beginners questions) im looking forward to his retreat in June.
I am making way to carve a steady lifelong practice of tea, to serve others and weave tea ceremony into my massage practice. Find me at @Cait_w_sun on instagram.

So, Im new to the tea world. I've begun reading the ancient art of tea and gth. Wondering; 1. Is well water ok to drink with tea- do you notice a difference? 2. Does storing or boiling hot tea in aluminum/stainless steel change the properties? 3. How do you know if there's chemicals/pesticides or not in your tea source? 4. Where do you find affordable tea bowls and little leaf display plates? 5. How do you store your tea ware when you travel? / how do you keep your teaware at home when living in cramped spaces? 6. Where do I find a scale /is there a specific name for tea to get used to measurements? 7. Do you have a bowing ritual to create a sacred ritualized environment? 8. What do you like to drink seasonally?


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Apr 30th, '17, 10:59
Posts: 666
Joined: Feb 12th, '10, 13:09
Location: Cambridge, USA

Re: Hi I'm Caitlin

by steanze » Apr 30th, '17, 10:59

caitlinwinson wrote: So, Im new to the tea world. I've begun reading the ancient art of tea and gth. Wondering; 1. Is well water ok to drink with tea- do you notice a difference? 2. Does storing or boiling hot tea in aluminum/stainless steel change the properties? 3. How do you know if there's chemicals/pesticides or not in your tea source? 4. Where do you find affordable tea bowls and little leaf display plates? 5. How do you store your tea ware when you travel? / how do you keep your teaware at home when living in cramped spaces? 6. Where do I find a scale /is there a specific name for tea to get used to measurements? 7. Do you have a bowing ritual to create a sacred ritualized environment? 8. What do you like to drink seasonally?


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Hi Caitlin! Welcome to the forum!!
1. Good water is very important for making tea. I imagine the water from different wells tastes different. You can buy some bottled water and do a comparative tasting.
2. You usually don't want to store boiled tea, but to drink it just after you steeped it. Boiling tea is uncommon (usually used for Chai or for aged puerhs after 15-20 infusions).
3. The only way to know for sure about pesticides is to have your tea tested by a lab. Some pesticides can be tasted and can leave a roughness in the throat.
4. That depends much on where you live. Maybe try an antique store?
5. I keep teaware in a cabinet, for teapots I usually put a thin cloth or something similar between the lid and the body, and use an elastic on the spout and handle to keep the lid down. Make sure that the elastic is loose enough: you don't want to damage the spout or handle! Then I wrap the pot in bubble wrap, and I keep it inside a small food-grade plastic box.
6. You can get a scale on Amazon or ebay. I didn't get the second part of the question, could you tell me a bit more?
7. I don't have any ritual. I don't like to have a sacred ritualized environment, tea is wonderful on its own, there is no need to make it into anything else.
8. I drink a bit of all kinds of tea in all seasons for variety. I tend to drink a bit more aged sheng in winter and a bit more Taiwanese gaoshan oolongs in the summer.

Apr 30th, '17, 11:03
Posts: 5
Joined: Mar 31st, '17, 13:39

Re: Hi I'm Caitlin

by caitlinwinson » Apr 30th, '17, 11:03

Thank you for taking the time to answer!
Clarification. 2. Storing tea/boiling water in aluminum vs in ceramic? 6. Is there the a name for a scale that measures tea?

Sorry for the confusion! Thanks for the help!
Caitlin

quote="steanze"]
caitlinwinson wrote: So, Im new to the tea world. I've begun reading the ancient art of tea and gth. Wondering; 1. Is well water ok to drink with tea- do you notice a difference? 2. Does storing or boiling hot tea in aluminum/stainless steel change the properties? 3. How do you know if there's chemicals/pesticides or not in your tea source? 4. Where do you find affordable tea bowls and little leaf display plates? 5. How do you store your tea ware when you travel? / how do you keep your teaware at home when living in cramped spaces? 6. Where do I find a scale /is there a specific name for tea to get used to measurements? 7. Do you have a bowing ritual to create a sacred ritualized environment? 8. What do you like to drink seasonally?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hi Caitlin! Welcome to the forum!!
1. Good water is very important for making tea. I imagine the water from different wells tastes different. You can buy some bottled water and do a comparative tasting.
2. You usually don't want to store boiled tea, but to drink it just after you steeped it. Boiling tea is uncommon (usually used for Chai or for aged puerhs after 15-20 infusions).
3. The only way to know for sure about pesticides is to have your tea tested by a lab. Some pesticides can be tasted and can leave a roughness in the throat.
4. That depends much on where you live. Maybe try an antique store?
5. I keep teaware in a cabinet, for teapots I usually put a thin cloth or something similar between the lid and the body, and use an elastic on the spout and handle to keep the lid down. Make sure that the elastic is loose enough: you don't want to damage the spout or handle! Then I wrap the pot in bubble wrap, and I keep it inside a small food-grade plastic box.
6. You can get a scale on Amazon or ebay. I didn't get the second part of the question, could you tell me a bit more?
7. I don't have any ritual. I don't like to have a sacred ritualized environment, tea is wonderful on its own, there is no need to make it into anything else.
8. I drink a bit of all kinds of tea in all seasons for variety. I tend to drink a bit more aged sheng in winter and a bit more Taiwanese gaoshan oolongs in the summer.[/quote]



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Apr 30th, '17, 14:12
Posts: 666
Joined: Feb 12th, '10, 13:09
Location: Cambridge, USA

Re: Hi I'm Caitlin

by steanze » Apr 30th, '17, 14:12

caitlinwinson wrote: Thank you for taking the time to answer!
Clarification. 2. Storing tea/boiling water in aluminum vs in ceramic? 6. Is there the a name for a scale that measures tea?
You are welcome!

Depending on the tea you want to make and the effect you want to obtain, you can use kettles of different materials. I prefer ceramic over steel (Lin's ceramic kettles work well), for some teas you might prefer cast iron (tetsubin).

For the scale, you can look for jewelery scales (that's the range you need), something like this should do the job: http://www.ebay.com/itm/0-01g-500g-Gram ... SwMmBV47c-

May 6th, '17, 17:26
Posts: 5
Joined: Mar 31st, '17, 13:39

Re: Hi I'm Caitlin

by caitlinwinson » May 6th, '17, 17:26

Thank you!


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