Retrospection

[hop_goblin]

I always find it humorous to reflexed back on my tea experiences. I have noticed that I have grown a lot since my first cup of earl grey. From my humble beginings to now, I feel that my growth has come more in the form of snobery which consequently has given me a disdain for flavored teas.

Is this a natural progression? How do you guys feel? From the once "OHH got to have the bubble gum flavored oolong" to now trying to find which of the 5 yan chas I like the best. I always told myself that I would never be get too serious about food and drink, but now I find myself failing miserably! At times, I even catch myself judging people for what they drink!! I know that is so wrong! I don't want to be "that guy". I feel that my 'snobery' if that is what it is may be severely limiting my tea experience only because I am becomming too discrimnative!

Do you consider discrimination as a natural process of acquiring tea knowledge and therefore unavoidable? Does discriminating mean snobery? Am I the only one that thinks this way??

[Victoria]

You are not the only one who thinks that way. I'm not really sure why, but it happened to me too. I really enjoyed flavored blacks and whites but now, I just can't do them. As for oolongs, well that never took, except for one.

Maybe it is just about wanting to experience the true taste of the tea, and not have it covered up. Not so much a snob thing, but more of a connoisseur thing.

Are we tea snobs? Yeah probably. But only in thinking. We need to remember from whence we came and not judge.

That's my two cents.

[Chip]

Interesting topic, Hop! Actually, awesome!!!

A lot of us have had similar paths since USA is a flavored market. I used to buy any new flavor I saw, as long as it was tea. Then like a light switch was turned on, I found unflavored teas and felt everyone needed to know that there is life beyond flavors and sweeteners.

I remember highly agitating Teaspoon and others over NOT adding sugar very early on. I used words like enlighten others to pure tea. That is pretty elitist. There were other posts that I was not proud of either.

For me, it was part of growing I guess. Now I try to accept wherever others are on their journey, still cannot shake the need to tell them about plain old tea, but I accept now and try not to condemn. But I had to get slapped along the way!

Hate to mention this, but this was a primary building block of TeaDay, accepting others regardless of their tea choice, realizing that was ME not so long ago drinking flavored tea out of the microwave. But I have also found, that through exposure to TEA in its pure forms, so many flavored tea people have made the leap all by themselves w/o any pushing.

I think there is a big difference between being a TeaSnob and being a snob. I am a TeaSnob, but I try to not be a snob in the process.

[joelbct]

I don't think it's snobbery. Some things are just best enjoyed without adulterants, as they are. Good C. sinensis can be so delicious and complex, it just doesn't want to be covered up. Everyone's heard the comparison that you wouldn't add sugar or flowers or herbs to a fine wine or a high-end microbrew beer... you want to taste them as they are, right?

I mean, if you like sweet things or herb-ey things or flowery things mixed with tea, that's fine, but it's not really the same thing as liking 'tea' itself, I don't think...

[olivierco]

The only flavored tea I drink is Jasmine tea, mostly jasmine pearls or jasmine silver needles. Just because I like it (difficult to have Jasmine without tea because direct jasmine flower infusion would be too bitter I think) and I haven't tasted any other flavored tea to my taste.

I don't care whether other people like to put sugar, honey, milk or herbals in their tea. I just refuse that they put sugar, honey, milk or herbals in my tea. Which sure could make me a snob in their opinion. Chacun voit midi à sa porte.

[olivierco]

I feel that my 'snobery' if that is what it is may be severely limiting my tea experience only because I am becomming too discrimnative!

I feel quite the opposite. With so many high quality teas so easily available, I would actually like to be able to be more discriminative.
15 years ago when internet shopping was just a bizarre idea (Amazon was only founded in 1994, ebay in 1995), you could consider yourself happy just to be able to have about 5 different leaf teas. Ceylon, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Breakfast and Jasmine. Twinings or Lipton.
Today I would like to be able to try at least 20 or more different teas of each kind.

[Proinsias]

Judge away, don't beat yourself up about it. You've spent years getting to know tea so of course you're going to think yourself better than others when it comes to tea - they're probably horrified at your eating habits, posture, use of language, knowledge of classics, dislike of the series Friends etc.

When I go over to a friends house and they make me some lovely Moroccan mint and orange or whatever because they know I like tea a little bit of my brain is naturally going to cry out 'peon', I just go ahead and let it. Appreciate the tea, which is never as bad as you've built it up to be and sometimes is pretty good. The snobbery gets in the way of enjoying some teas but the ignorance of others gets in their way of trying to select their favourite yancha. It's tough to have it both ways.

I have often had large slabs of ignorance removed by someone sipping a cup of sugary milky tea - not often tea related, but still.

I would have no problem if someone thought my taste in classical music as rather pathetic as I've not really spent much time getting into it. One day, one day.

Alternatively I could send you a rather large, special sword with which to kill your ego and that would be that.

[Proinsias]

I'm sure there is some comedy in the fact that this has been posted to a secret select few of intense tea discussers.

[Chip]

I'm sure there is some comedy in the fact that this has been posted to a secret select few of intense tea discussers.

Hmmm, a teaday poll? This is actually a defining ITD topic.

[fencerdenoctum]

Hello, my name is Dustin and I'm a tea snob.

Much like Hop, my love of tea started with a cup of earl grey loose leaf that was purchased on accident. From there, I leapt head first into tea and have made countless friends and wonderful tea finds along the way.

I curse you all everyday for my rampant teaware addiction.

I don't sugar my tea, and I've become quite particular about the way I brew things. Does that mean I won't enjoy a 5 gallon bucket full of "southern style" sweet tea? Absolutely not.

If someone doesn't like tea, thats fine. If they don't like my "fancy hot teas" that is equally fine as well. I just try to show people that there is more to life than a bag of lipton and 5oz of sugar in a 6oz glass. I tell anyone "It's your cup, its your business."

Then I wait till they are out of earshot and talk about them.

*top hat and monocle*

[hop_goblin]

I'm sure there is some comedy in the fact that this has been posted to a secret select few of intense tea discussers.

Good Freakin Point! It is sort of like "Crazy people don't know they are crazy!"

[chamekke]

Although I confess to drinking the very occasional flavoured tea I do recognize the syndrome! (In fact, I rarely drink flavoured teas nowadays, aside from jasmine pearls.)

Someone was asking me recently about incense. Looking back now, I remember discovering: that I preferred whole-incense sticks to dipped sticks ... that I preferred natural ingredients to artificial scents ... that I liked Japanese incense better than most other incenses ... that the pricier lines were generally worth the investment ... that I preferred aloeswood- and sandalwood-based incenses and no longer wanted to explore florals and other "non-woody" types. I'm now on a trajectory that leads inexorably to even more expensive incenses and the eventual acquisition of a full koudou set. C'est la vie!

[Victoria]

Unfortunately I started with the pricer line of Japanese incense - there is no going back. Aloeswood is by far the best - agreed. Incense snobs, unite!

[chamekke]

Unfortunately I started with the pricer line of Japanese incense - there is no going back. Aloeswood is by far the best - agreed. Incense snobs, unite!

Not just yer basic jinkou, either. Kyara FTW!!!

[Victoria]

Si.