Because we can't all physically meet...here's a thread to post who your Secret Santa is and what they sent you!
This thread will be unlocked on Christmas Day. No peeking!
Dec 24th, '07, 12:06
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
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Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Remember, this will be opened for your SS gift announcement posts. Post them here on Christmas after it is unlocked...per Mother Mary's request. That is assuming I am able to unlock it for her.
Share your Christmas cheer here with your tea friends.
What the heck, we almost all have opened our gifts already...I am unlocking it now, so, post now if you want.
Share your Christmas cheer here with your tea friends.
What the heck, we almost all have opened our gifts already...I am unlocking it now, so, post now if you want.
Dec 24th, '07, 15:49
Posts: 1559
Joined: Jan 28th, '07, 02:24
Location: Fort Worth, TX
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Space Samurai
Dec 24th, '07, 16:29
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
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Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
My SS was very generous and got me dong ding, dan cong, and tky oolong.
And a tin of burnt rubber tea, aka lapsang along with a note asking me not to kill him... he is no longer with us having been deleted and banned. He will be the pesty anon in the future.
His name is Even Odd....er, was Even Odd, is now Evil Odd.
But joking aside, the gift was much more than I expected, Thanx Steven!!!
Sorry, no pics.
And a tin of burnt rubber tea, aka lapsang along with a note asking me not to kill him... he is no longer with us having been deleted and banned. He will be the pesty anon in the future.
His name is Even Odd....er, was Even Odd, is now Evil Odd.
But joking aside, the gift was much more than I expected, Thanx Steven!!!
Sorry, no pics.
blah blah blah SENCHA blah blah blah!!!
My Secret Santa was Andy (Warden). 
He sent a package full of green goodness. The batteries in my camera are dead so I scanned the packages:
Two awesome teas from Den's; Maki and Guricha. Andy also sent a nice bag of Da Hong Pao from Dragon Tea House (my first good oolong), a sample of a Chinese green, and a yellow tea. Thank you, Andy!
He sent a package full of green goodness. The batteries in my camera are dead so I scanned the packages:Two awesome teas from Den's; Maki and Guricha. Andy also sent a nice bag of Da Hong Pao from Dragon Tea House (my first good oolong), a sample of a Chinese green, and a yellow tea. Thank you, Andy!
Dec 25th, '07, 00:08
Posts: 5151
Joined: Dec 20th, '06, 23:33
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Location: Gainesville, Florida
ONLY A REAL MAN GIVES LIPTON!
I vote my SS, Fencerdenoctum, The Tea Sipping Swordsman, as most creative packaging artist! Fencer's packaging skills wove an entire saga as I wended my way, like a medieval pilgrim seeking truth through allegory, so I -- through layers of meaning and confusion -- sought the yummy center.
Starting with the always elegant duct tape exterior wrapping, things got scary as I worked my way toward the inner sanctum. What ... is it ... no! Could it be more Lipton teabags than I have ever seen gathered in one place!
No, no, has the ITD Secret Society been penetrated by the vilest form of Camellia sinensis purveyor, the Liptonite? But wait, a note, scrawled as if by an innocent child, wiser than an ancient monk, but clear as daylight: "fragile."
Even the fiendish Liptonite would never stoop to such a base untruth as to label these flow-through bags as "fragile." Could it be ... yes, yes prying a little tape here and pulling away the horrific curtain of tea bags ... it is an ingeniously crafted inner container, wrought all of teabags, resistent to the bumps and bruits of postal handling, a novel alternative to bubble wrap, "bubble tea wrap?" ... I begin to see something emerge, gleaming, bright as the sun rising on a cold December morning, shining like the star of Bethlehem, the symbol and true meaning of Christmas (as well as of the Iron Buddha of Compassion):
TI KUAN YIN
Which is actually a favorite tea I have just run out of! Thank you so much Fencer!!
Happy holidays to you and to all our friends at TeaChat, especially Mary for her efforts to make it all happen! A wonderful tea-time event for Christmas.
Starting with the always elegant duct tape exterior wrapping, things got scary as I worked my way toward the inner sanctum. What ... is it ... no! Could it be more Lipton teabags than I have ever seen gathered in one place!
No, no, has the ITD Secret Society been penetrated by the vilest form of Camellia sinensis purveyor, the Liptonite? But wait, a note, scrawled as if by an innocent child, wiser than an ancient monk, but clear as daylight: "fragile."
Even the fiendish Liptonite would never stoop to such a base untruth as to label these flow-through bags as "fragile." Could it be ... yes, yes prying a little tape here and pulling away the horrific curtain of tea bags ... it is an ingeniously crafted inner container, wrought all of teabags, resistent to the bumps and bruits of postal handling, a novel alternative to bubble wrap, "bubble tea wrap?" ... I begin to see something emerge, gleaming, bright as the sun rising on a cold December morning, shining like the star of Bethlehem, the symbol and true meaning of Christmas (as well as of the Iron Buddha of Compassion):
TI KUAN YIN
Which is actually a favorite tea I have just run out of! Thank you so much Fencer!!
Happy holidays to you and to all our friends at TeaChat, especially Mary for her efforts to make it all happen! A wonderful tea-time event for Christmas.
Last edited by Salsero on Dec 25th, '07, 12:22, edited 1 time in total.
While I can't weave such an intriguing yarn as Salsero (glad you liked the gift!), I must say I squealed like a little girl when I opened my SS package.
I received the thing a week early, and it tore at my sanity and draconian 19th Century moral code not to open the box as soon as I had it in my mitts. Although when it did get the best of me, I found three brightly wrapped packages. Which I must admit was far more exciting. I was a good boy and waited till Christmas Eve though.
Enough story telling!
The ornament was my own addition, and along with the cups and gaiwan I received a absolutely delicious green oolong. The gaiwan is going to be quite the adventure!
As to my most excellent Secret Santa, lets just say I had a Mary Christmas.
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!
The Tea Sipping Swordsman,
Fencerdenoctum
I received the thing a week early, and it tore at my sanity and draconian 19th Century moral code not to open the box as soon as I had it in my mitts. Although when it did get the best of me, I found three brightly wrapped packages. Which I must admit was far more exciting. I was a good boy and waited till Christmas Eve though.
Enough story telling!
The ornament was my own addition, and along with the cups and gaiwan I received a absolutely delicious green oolong. The gaiwan is going to be quite the adventure!
As to my most excellent Secret Santa, lets just say I had a Mary Christmas.
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!
The Tea Sipping Swordsman,
Fencerdenoctum
Dec 25th, '07, 16:24
Posts: 1936
Joined: May 22nd, '06, 11:28
Location: Trapped inside a bamboo tong!
Contact:
hop_goblin
Upon receiving the package, I checked where it was from because I wasn't expecting a package (or at least not one shipped by ups). "Hmm, I didn't order anything from Dens.....this must be the secret santa package." For a while, I thought it would be impossible to guess who sent it, when Dens was the one who shipped it. Then I noticed the letters "WE" in bold with the rest hidden by a sticker. Peeling the sticker revealed that it was a gift from Wesley.
Deva vu:
Thank you very much, Wes. I've been enjoying both very much.
Deva vu:
Thank you very much, Wes. I've been enjoying both very much.
Dec 26th, '07, 12:36
Posts: 5151
Joined: Dec 20th, '06, 23:33
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Location: Gainesville, Florida
Well, it looks like Guricha and Maki are the two Tea of the Month selections for December, since Ed got some from Andy, Andy got some from Wes, I suppose Wes has some in that Oregonian green tea Shangrila he lives in, I ordered some at the prompting of Ed and Andy, and Chip probably has a couple kilos just on principle!
Hop -- You know that some of us thrive on details. What vendor does the First Flush come from with that cute little satchel? Love your jack-o-lantern understudy although it looks like he has had a little too much Camellia juice for one day. Or is he just bi-polar?
And Mary, our MC... Her absence as den mother and voice of conscience is like a gaping black hole in our Christmas revels. I have an imperfect understanding that she is lost somewhere in the tealess swamps of Florida. Is it time to organize a rescue party?
Hop -- You know that some of us thrive on details. What vendor does the First Flush come from with that cute little satchel? Love your jack-o-lantern understudy although it looks like he has had a little too much Camellia juice for one day. Or is he just bi-polar?
And Mary, our MC... Her absence as den mother and voice of conscience is like a gaping black hole in our Christmas revels. I have an imperfect understanding that she is lost somewhere in the tealess swamps of Florida. Is it time to organize a rescue party?
Tealess swamps of Florida? No...I am basking at the tea-filled shores of St. Petersburg. Well, tea-filled might be pushing it, but I *am* enjoying the generous gift of one Chip Creitz. Pictures and details will (eventually) follow...I'm coping with a lack of technology at the moment. My condo has internet access, but apparently wants to charge me $100 to use it for one week. Um, no.
So I have to go to a rather lackluster public library. When I do remember my jump drives and things, however, you'll get to see what Chip sent me! It's purty.
So I have to go to a rather lackluster public library. When I do remember my jump drives and things, however, you'll get to see what Chip sent me! It's purty.
Sent by master Hop Goblin:
My small pu supply, and not wanting to wait 2 MONTHS (here's Hop:
), led me to crack this open long ago. I have been enjoying it very much, thank you Hop.
My collection has now gotten to 3 beengs, 1 minibeeng, and a couple of tuochas and some random crap.
Hop was also so kind to send me a couple samples before christmas. They might have gotten snatched out of the mail cycle, but should be here soon.
My small pu supply, and not wanting to wait 2 MONTHS (here's Hop:
), led me to crack this open long ago. I have been enjoying it very much, thank you Hop.My collection has now gotten to 3 beengs, 1 minibeeng, and a couple of tuochas and some random crap.
Hop was also so kind to send me a couple samples before christmas. They might have gotten snatched out of the mail cycle, but should be here soon.
Jan 3rd, '08, 16:30
Posts: 1598
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Location: SF Bay Area, CA
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scruffmcgruff
I haven't taken any pics yet, but I wanted to give a BIG thank you to Xine for her generous secret Santa gifts! She sent a smattering of teas, including some sencha, tie guan yin, yancha, taiwanese oolong, a thermometer, and a candy cane. 
I haven't tried them all yet, but what I have had so far has all been great! Thanks Xine!
I haven't tried them all yet, but what I have had so far has all been great! Thanks Xine!
I was taking some TLC time with my amazing SS gift when it occurred to me that I hadn't formally done my reveal! Bad Mary!
So I whipped out ye olde Kodak...
and the inaugural cup...
Chip rules. It's easily the best sencha I've ever had, even though I have yet to fine tune my brewing process, and I've enjoyed it tremendously. (Chip also sent the most detailed brewing instructions I've ever had too).
So I whipped out ye olde Kodak...
and the inaugural cup...
Chip rules. It's easily the best sencha I've ever had, even though I have yet to fine tune my brewing process, and I've enjoyed it tremendously. (Chip also sent the most detailed brewing instructions I've ever had too
).