Hello, new to TeaChat and somewhat to tea drinking

[ladywolfsong]

Hi everyone! I found Adiago Teas yesterday through StumbleUpon...it's a...well, you register, check boxes in areas your interested in, there's a wide variety of things like photography, parenting, foreign languages, music, all kinds of stuff, and then you install a small program that puts a "Stumble" button on your browser. When you click the button, it takes you to random sites on the internet based on your interests. I've become addicted!
So that's HOW I got here, but not WHY. I've always enjoyed tea, and often find it very soothing, but I am a relative tea novice. I'm one who has only had tea in boxes from supermarkets. I know this isn't "real tea", but I do love Celestial Seasonings. I had toy tea sets as a little girl, and loved to play with them, but first as a teenager and then as an adult, I've only had tea out of coffee mugs or styrofoam cups. I've never had a real tea set!
I'm very low-income, so I've never been able to justify to myself spending money on teapots and teacups and things...but I find myself wanting more and more to become involved in the world of tea. So many flavors to try, so much to learn. I'm starting with just coffee mugs here, could you help me figure out what are the most important supplies to start with? I'll have to pick up things gradually, but I'd like to know if I ordered tea next week, what would I need to brew and drink it with?
I guess I should introduce myself a little too, lol. My name is Heather, and I'm 35 years old and live in Vermont. My favorite color is pink and roses are my favorite flower. I have 2 daughters, ages 13 and 7, though I only see them on weekends. I'm back in college part time, but on disability right now for Bipolar Disorder, PTSD, and Panic Disorder. Hoping to get back to work eventually, but until then money is extremely tight! If there's anything else you'd like to know, feel free to ask!

[Victoria]

Hello and welcome! Well one of the easiest and best starter solutions for a newbie on a budget is Adagio's IngenuiTea starter set. For $19 it will brew anything. And it comes with 4 samples. You can add more so you can try various types. PM me and I'll send you a coupon for $5 off if you are interested.

http://www.adagio.com/gifts/holiday_ing ... 24e1a9ef07

[Herb_Master]

Welcome to a friendly tea community.

Try not to get addicted to expensive teaware, it can be infectious, and there is plenty of good tea to suit all kinds of circumstances and which can be brewed as effectively as you need in all manner of ways.

[hop_goblin]

Welcome to a friendly tea community.

Try not to get addicted to expensive teaware, it can be infectious, and there is plenty of good tea to suit all kinds of circumstances and which can be brewed as effectively as you need in all manner of ways.

True that!

[Trey Winston]

Welcome

StumbleUpon is excellent. So excellent, in fact, that I had to disable it. I've never seen such an effective timewaster - and I used to be quite the gamer.

[ladywolfsong]

thanks for your welcomes everyone! Really glad I found this site! I'll save the expensive stuff for the future...I just wasn't sure whether I needed a tea ball or any other specific stuff to get started.

[Mrs. Chip]

Welcome ladywolfsong to our forum. Hope to see you around, and let us know what's in your cup in TeaDay!

[olivierco]

Welcome!

[Chip]

Greetings, ladywolfsong. I hope you enjoy many cups of tea with us. Enjoy your TeaJourney.

[DJ3riple]

It's exciting to see someone starting on their tea journey! This is a fun place to be

I too think the ingenuitea gift set in the gift section is great for beginners and I would recommend that you choose the greens.

Have fun and make sure to share with your daughters!

[Riene]

*smiles* Hi, and welcome to the TeaChat!

What kinds of teas do you enjoy?

[sriracha]

Welcome!

I love roses too.. =)

[ladywolfsong]

*smiles* Hi, and welcome to the TeaChat!

What kinds of teas do you enjoy?

hello...I'm afraid I haven't tried many yet. I used to love Red Rose tea with peanut butter sandwiches to dip in as a teenager, but haven't had it in years. I love Celestial Seasonings' Tension Tamer, Sleepytime, and their Mint Magic is my favorite. I also like their Raspberry Zinger. Lipton regular and green teas are ok. My problem is that I don't take time to pamper myself. I have a box of Lipton Vanilla Caramel Truffle that sounds yummy, but I bought it about 4 months ago and haven't even taken the plastic off the box. I don't own a tea kettle, teapot, or single teacup. I love those things, but always make my tea with a coffee mug full of hot water heated up in the microwave.