I guess influence of someone would be the best way to put it. My father would often enjoy a pot of tea after dinner, so it was something common in my household as I grew up, and I always enjoyed it. I wanted to be able to drink coffee since I needed something caffeinated in mornings, but it turned out that coffee makes me sick to my stomach and way too jittery so I decided that I was going to be a tea drinker. From there, I found some loose leaf green tea while traveling. When I ran out of that, I searched online for tea, found Adagio and a whole bunch of other tea sites, and have been incredibly happy since then.
Oddly enough, I have gotten my father back into loose leaf teas as well. He used to drink loose leaf Earl Grey that he found at a shop when he went to college, but switched to teabags when he moved out of the college town and no longer had a place to buy tea. I left a PersonaliTea teapot and some random tins of tea at home and he's been happily trying them.
I had some Malaysian Highlands this morning to wake up and just made some Kenyan Pekoe to take to class with me. I managed to catch another cold so strong black teas are one of the few things I can taste at the moment.
In my work cup this morning Teahome Verdant Peak.
My second attempt with this tea - rather boring unfortunately.
My second attempt with this tea - rather boring unfortunately.
- Victoria -
http://victoriasown.blogspot.com/
http://victoriasown.blogspot.com/
My sister got some flavored black tea from Adagio at some point. I ordered some other oolongs and blacks from them and then recently discovered the chat. It is safe to say my options and number of teas to try has expanded exponentially since. I think I will be busy for a while 
Right now I have some yunnan noir in my cup.
Right now I have some yunnan noir in my cup.
Growing up there was always a pot of sweetened black tea available in the kitchen. At first I tried tea but quickly moved over to "the dark side" and started drinking coffee. I still continued to drink tea during that time and started getting interested in green tea because of its health benefits and great taste. I am now a dedicated tea drinker although I like a good double americano every now and then when I'm traveling 
Shincha this morning. Genmai matcha with lunch. Pouchong this afternoon
Shincha this morning. Genmai matcha with lunch. Pouchong this afternoon
I voted "other". I've enjoyed the occassional cup of tea over the years and drank tea regularly with meals while living on Okinawa but never "committed". Being a Southern boy, I grew up on "sweet tea" - iced of course. We hosted a couple of guys from Scotland when I was in high school and don't think we ever convinced them it wasn't colonial heresy to drink iced tea!
A couple of months ago I watched David Lee Hoffman's documentary "All in this Tea" on the Sundance channel and got intrigued. I was fortunate to find a good source of loose tea locally and the rest is "history".
Finding TC has definately added to the enjoyment.
I finished off my Pai Mu Tan yesterday afternoon and need to stock up on the way home tonight!
Margaret's Hope in the mug today -- I think I'm on the 4th infusion at this time.
A couple of months ago I watched David Lee Hoffman's documentary "All in this Tea" on the Sundance channel and got intrigued. I was fortunate to find a good source of loose tea locally and the rest is "history".
Finding TC has definately added to the enjoyment.
I finished off my Pai Mu Tan yesterday afternoon and need to stock up on the way home tonight!
Margaret's Hope in the mug today -- I think I'm on the 4th infusion at this time.
I've always been a bit of tea drinker; the odd cup of orange pekoe here and there, but I was never really into tea that much.
But then I started hearing about the health benefits of drinking tea, and more specifically, about the contributions it could have towards weight loss. So I started my real tea drinking with some super cheap oolong (it was something like $2 for a whole pound of the stuff). It wasn't very good, and I was inexperienced so I kept on over steeping it (2tsp per mug + never removing the leaves = one really bitter cup of oolong).
So after a few weeks of drinking that awful mess religious twice a day, I wandered into a local tea shop here in Halifax, where I learned the proper way to make oolong tea, and I bought some good quality Iron Goddess Oolong.
I still appreciate the health benefits of tea, but I drink it more now for the enjoyment I get from it. And at the office, which is often quite dull and dry, a cup of hot, delicious tea always perks my spirits. It's now a full fledged addiction of mine, and I drink anywhere from 4 to 8 cups of tea a day. My mother told me that I'm addicted, but she said it's certainly not a bad addiction. She often takes part in tea with me.
In my cup now is some homemade genmai cha with home-toasted basmati rice and some sencha. A bit too much sencha, actually. The first few steeps just tasted like grass.
But then I started hearing about the health benefits of drinking tea, and more specifically, about the contributions it could have towards weight loss. So I started my real tea drinking with some super cheap oolong (it was something like $2 for a whole pound of the stuff). It wasn't very good, and I was inexperienced so I kept on over steeping it (2tsp per mug + never removing the leaves = one really bitter cup of oolong).
So after a few weeks of drinking that awful mess religious twice a day, I wandered into a local tea shop here in Halifax, where I learned the proper way to make oolong tea, and I bought some good quality Iron Goddess Oolong.
I still appreciate the health benefits of tea, but I drink it more now for the enjoyment I get from it. And at the office, which is often quite dull and dry, a cup of hot, delicious tea always perks my spirits. It's now a full fledged addiction of mine, and I drink anywhere from 4 to 8 cups of tea a day. My mother told me that I'm addicted, but she said it's certainly not a bad addiction. She often takes part in tea with me.
In my cup now is some homemade genmai cha with home-toasted basmati rice and some sencha. A bit too much sencha, actually. The first few steeps just tasted like grass.
Nov 19th, '08, 17:22
Posts: 90
Joined: Nov 2nd, '08, 09:21
Location: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Any interesting local shops you've discovered? So far I've found the Chinese cultural centre on Lower Water and a newer Japanese teahouse in the Granville pedestrian area.teaguru wrote: So after a few weeks of drinking that awful mess religious twice a day, I wandered into a local tea shop here in Halifax, where I learned the proper way to make oolong tea, and I bought some good quality Iron Goddess Oolong.
I've always been partial to hot drinks made from plants. (Coffee, tea, hot chocolate... sake?
) I was introduced to the range of tea culture thanks to a friend and a cup of genmaicha, and then started exploring on my own from there.
Nov 19th, '08, 19:11
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Very interesting posts. I think I enjoy the topics where we discover bits and pieces about each other the most!
Had cold(er) brew sencha that was qute good! Some matcha a little while ago. And currently some (pink) Monkey Picked TGY that is pretty good, for an oolong. Well, it is a greener version.
NEXT! Quickly before it is too late.
Had cold(er) brew sencha that was qute good! Some matcha a little while ago. And currently some (pink) Monkey Picked TGY that is pretty good, for an oolong.
Well, it is a greener version. NEXT! Quickly before it is too late.For me the last tea of the day will be Sweet Flower Oolong from TeaSource.
It's been a hectic day and I expect tomorrow to be just as crazy.
It's been a hectic day and I expect tomorrow to be just as crazy.
- Victoria -
http://victoriasown.blogspot.com/
http://victoriasown.blogspot.com/
Nov 19th, '08, 20:29
Posts: 316
Joined: Jul 23rd, '09, 10:30
Location: Concord, New Hampshire
Sal, your cup looks superb. I love the wear it shows.
I grew up drinking tea occasionally, mostly an orange spice black and apple cinnamon herbals, all bagged. I'd also always enjoyed the oolong served at Chinese restaurants. Everything got sweetened heavily. A few years ago, I saw loose leaf online (no idea how I got there!) sold by a now-defunct store here in New Hampshire, and decided to give it a go. I miss that place--the base for their flavored teas was Assam, which I prefer to the more commonly used Ceylon.
Currently working on a cup of Adagio's Oolong #8, an old friend after a rough day.
I grew up drinking tea occasionally, mostly an orange spice black and apple cinnamon herbals, all bagged. I'd also always enjoyed the oolong served at Chinese restaurants. Everything got sweetened heavily. A few years ago, I saw loose leaf online (no idea how I got there!) sold by a now-defunct store here in New Hampshire, and decided to give it a go. I miss that place--the base for their flavored teas was Assam, which I prefer to the more commonly used Ceylon.
Currently working on a cup of Adagio's Oolong #8, an old friend after a rough day.
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Please join us in voting for your favorite teacup!
Voting is open to any registered member.
You may vote in BOTH polls!
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Poll #2 - http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=7060
Here in the midwest, we've always consumed a lot of iced black tea. My parent would make it from loose leaves and it was always a treat. My parents would also make the occasional pot of oolong tea, and when I was a teenager, I found I vastly preferred it to the taste of coffee. When I was deemed old enough to join the adults in the Sunday afternoon coffee-conversation, I'd make a cup of tea so I could have something to drink out of pretty cups, too.
I became an anglophile in late college, and decided to try hot black tea just because it seemed the thing to do. With milk and sugar the inexpensive tea I had access to was wonderful. A few years later I introduced my husband to my h"ot black tea at breakfast" habit, as he thought Pepsi was an acceptable source of breakfast-caffeine. *shudders*
On our first trip to England I hovered around the tea aisle in grocery stores to covertly discover what the "locals" were drinking and brought home a basketfull of teas. Wow, what a difference! With the advent of online shopping a few years ago, my tea selection grew, and my tastes changed as well.
I became an anglophile in late college, and decided to try hot black tea just because it seemed the thing to do. With milk and sugar the inexpensive tea I had access to was wonderful. A few years later I introduced my husband to my h"ot black tea at breakfast" habit, as he thought Pepsi was an acceptable source of breakfast-caffeine. *shudders*
On our first trip to England I hovered around the tea aisle in grocery stores to covertly discover what the "locals" were drinking and brought home a basketfull of teas. Wow, what a difference! With the advent of online shopping a few years ago, my tea selection grew, and my tastes changed as well.