I voted that I was influenced by someone, and that would be my dad. He and my mom divorced when I was young and in the mornings, my mom would drop me and my brother at his house when she went to work. My dad always had a cup of hot tea and he would let me have sips. This was like a little secret thing we did and it made me feel really special. I've always loved tea for that reason but only started getting "into" it in the last year or so. Strangely enough, my dad doesn't drink hot tea anymore, just iced.
Tonight I'm trying some Nilgiri Poabs Estate from Strand Tea.
Nov 19th, '08, 23:43
Posts: 344
Joined: Jan 23rd, '08, 00:59
Location: Williamsburg, VA
Nov 19th, '08, 23:51
Posts: 233
Joined: Feb 16th, '08, 11:51
Location: Bayonne, NJ
Contact:
horsencl
I grew up drinking the occassional milk and sugared cup of orange pekoe with my mother but was never a tea freak until I went away to college. First, being a poor college student I learned to live without milk and sugar. Then I started experimenting with flavored grocery store teas and herbals. A few years ago I came across a magazine story about blooming teas and thought they were the best thing since sliced bread. That soon lead to many internet searches and the discovery of loose leaf. I joined Teaviews first and then found teachat a little while ago. My tea interest has expanded exponentially ever since. Right now I'm drinking some random flowering tea leftover from my originial stock. Not too bad since it is probably pretty stale 
.
.
Nov 20th, '08, 01:10
Posts: 5151
Joined: Dec 20th, '06, 23:33
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Nov 20th, '08, 01:17
Posts: 344
Joined: Jan 23rd, '08, 00:59
Location: Williamsburg, VA
My first stint in Taiwan (don't ask how long ago THAT was!) I was studying Chinese pretty seriously, and got into writing calligraphy. My teacher's sister would always brew up some good oolongs for us during class, and it became a habit. The tea really helps focus the mind, and even on a really bad day, I could stop in for class, have a cup of tea, forget all my problems, and get into a proper frame of mind for painting characters.
Then I started brewing a big mug at home during my late-night calligraphy sessions, and began asking more questions about varieties, tea ware, etc. My teacher then took me to a tea shop in Taipei (now in it's 4th generation - over 100 years in business!) to learn about different teas. I bought a starter set, and haven't looked back!
While living in Seattle, I dropped the calligraphy for a few years, but have kept up with the tea drinking and pot collecting. I'm now back in Taiwan, and my current tea master was doing some brushwork a few months ago. He suggested I start doing calligraphy as a way to better appreciate tea - I picked up his brush and whipped out a few lines of poetry for him - wish I had a picture of the look on his face!! Since then I've gotten back into the painting/tea drinking habit, and don't know why I ever stopped.
One of the things I really love about tea drinking is that you don't have to just be a 'tea nerd' - it's a very versatile beverage and accompanies a wide variety of hobbies and interests very nicely. Maybe we should have a poll about that some time. What do you think Chip??
Then I started brewing a big mug at home during my late-night calligraphy sessions, and began asking more questions about varieties, tea ware, etc. My teacher then took me to a tea shop in Taipei (now in it's 4th generation - over 100 years in business!) to learn about different teas. I bought a starter set, and haven't looked back!
While living in Seattle, I dropped the calligraphy for a few years, but have kept up with the tea drinking and pot collecting. I'm now back in Taiwan, and my current tea master was doing some brushwork a few months ago. He suggested I start doing calligraphy as a way to better appreciate tea - I picked up his brush and whipped out a few lines of poetry for him - wish I had a picture of the look on his face!! Since then I've gotten back into the painting/tea drinking habit, and don't know why I ever stopped.
One of the things I really love about tea drinking is that you don't have to just be a 'tea nerd' - it's a very versatile beverage and accompanies a wide variety of hobbies and interests very nicely. Maybe we should have a poll about that some time. What do you think Chip??
Nov 20th, '08, 08:18
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Nice story, teaguy. (actually many nice stories and I enjoyed reading them and getting to know everyone just a little more). What is the name of the teashop?teaguy wrote:My first stint in Taiwan (don't ask how long ago THAT was!) I was studying Chinese pretty seriously, and got into writing calligraphy. My teacher's sister would always brew up some good oolongs for us during class, and it became a habit. The tea really helps focus the mind, and even on a really bad day, I could stop in for class, have a cup of tea, forget all my problems, and get into a proper frame of mind for painting characters.
Then I started brewing a big mug at home during my late-night calligraphy sessions, and began asking more questions about varieties, tea ware, etc. My teacher then took me to a tea shop in Taipei (now in it's 4th generation - over 100 years in business!) to learn about different teas. I bought a starter set, and haven't looked back!
While living in Seattle, I dropped the calligraphy for a few years, but have kept up with the tea drinking and pot collecting. I'm now back in Taiwan, and my current tea master was doing some brushwork a few months ago. He suggested I start doing calligraphy as a way to better appreciate tea - I picked up his brush and whipped out a few lines of poetry for him - wish I had a picture of the look on his face!! Since then I've gotten back into the painting/tea drinking habit, and don't know why I ever stopped.
One of the things I really love about tea drinking is that you don't have to just be a 'tea nerd' - it's a very versatile beverage and accompanies a wide variety of hobbies and interests very nicely. Maybe we should have a poll about that some time. What do you think Chip??
Thanks for the poll suggestion. I did a similar one a while back, but can maybe spin it differently enough. PM me if you have an idea, always appreciated!!!!!
blah blah blah SENCHA blah blah blah!!!
Well some years ago I had a friend who really loved tea. She would give me Lapsang Sounchong and a lot of other teas that I never cared to learn the names of. I remember that some tea was roasted. At that time, I loved tea but only flavoured in bags. Then I got some Pai Mu Tan for a Christmas present and really liked it. My mum got Genmaicha from somewhere from and I drank it a lot. Drank my first puerh at a restaurant, really apprecieted it. But I still mostly drank teabag tea and did not really care about other sorts of tea.
Then I posted on my blog about how much I liked tea and someone anonymously commented that I drank crap and did not know what tea was. First, I just became angry. Then I thought "Well lets drink some really good tea then". So I went to a teastore and bought Keemun. Started buying tea now and then. Started reading tea blogs. Drank Darjeeling, Darjeeling First Flush, Yunnan, Yunnan Gold... this was the spring 2008.
In May, I drank oolong for the first time. And then it just went faster and faster and I became more and more obsessed. Now I have 40 sorts of tea and three gaiwan. Drank my first Wuyi and Gyokuro last week. I have a teablog and really love writing reviews. I only touch tea bags if I'm desperate.
I see tea as one of the most important things in my life.
Then I posted on my blog about how much I liked tea and someone anonymously commented that I drank crap and did not know what tea was. First, I just became angry. Then I thought "Well lets drink some really good tea then". So I went to a teastore and bought Keemun. Started buying tea now and then. Started reading tea blogs. Drank Darjeeling, Darjeeling First Flush, Yunnan, Yunnan Gold... this was the spring 2008.
In May, I drank oolong for the first time. And then it just went faster and faster and I became more and more obsessed. Now I have 40 sorts of tea and three gaiwan. Drank my first Wuyi and Gyokuro last week. I have a teablog and really love writing reviews. I only touch tea bags if I'm desperate.
I see tea as one of the most important things in my life.
The noise comes from the other side of the mirror