Calling on all noobs and not so noobs!

[teashel]

I have the latest generation 6" Kindle. I have had one since the 2nd came out. I keep getting new ones - gives me a good reason to pass them to family members. We have 4 on our account now so we can share books. How about you?

My favorite pastime is reading my Kindle while sipping tea

I have the Sony 950, and we share favorite pastimes, LOL.

[Takarabune]

How long have you been drinking tea?

-For as long as I can remember, tea was always either iced Lipton's or bagged Celestial Seasonings. It wasn't until five years ago that my eyes (and taste buds) were enlightened to various loose leaf teas.

What was your first Tea?

-Lipton iced tea.

What is your favorite Tea currently?

-"Maharaja Chai" Oolong by Teavana. However, that might change since my boyfriend has started introducing me to a plethora of Adagio's samplings.

What is your next purchase?

-Hard to say, really. Chai seems to fill my cupboard the most, but I'm quite partial to Adagio's candy cane flavored black tea. Don't get me started on tea ware; it's as much a passion of mine as the tea itself.

Where is your favorite spot to brew up?

-The kitchen table; focal zen point of all brewing, Nook reading, & web browsing.

[teashel]

How long have you been drinking tea?

-For as long as I can remember, tea was always either iced Lipton's or bagged Celestial Seasonings. It wasn't until five years ago that my eyes (and taste buds) were enlightened to various loose leaf teas.

What was your first Tea?

-Lipton iced tea.

What is your favorite Tea currently?

-"Maharaja Chai" Oolong by Teavana. However, that might change since my boyfriend has started introducing me to a plethora of Adagio's samplings.

What is your next purchase?

-Hard to say, really. Chai seems to fill my cupboard the most, but I'm quite partial to Adagio's candy cane flavored black tea. Don't get me started on tea ware; it's as much a passion of mine as the tea itself.

Where is your favorite spot to brew up?

-The kitchen table; focal zen point of all brewing, Nook reading, & web browsing.

Oh cool, now we have a Nook, a Sony, and a Kindle!

[Takarabune]

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me." -C.S. Lewis

[Juno]

Hi there everyone! This is such a cool forum!!

Technically I've been drinking tea since my first time to a Chinese restaurant which would probably be around when I was 5 years old. But I don't know if I'd really count that now, because I put so much sugar into every cup that it was more like lightly tea flavored sugar water. Haha. That and ever since my Japanese teacher practically branded it into my head that tea was meant to be appreciated without sugar I've avoided sugary teas like the plauge. The only time I put sugar into my tea is when it tastes so terrible that it needs something to cover it up so that I can drink it without being rude to the person serving it to me. Haha.

My first tea was (I'm assuming) some kind of Oolong tea.

I love Pu-Erh tea. I picked it up almost by accident at a Canadian Chinese garden and bought it just because the can it came in was cute. Then I got home and looked at the label. "Pu-what??" I said to myself. Then I actually tried it and fell in love. It was so delicious. Much better than any other cup of tea I've ever had. So now I'm basically addicted and am exploring the realm of the most wonderful Pu-Erh tea.

I'm acually craving a nice Oolong right now, but I also want to explore more kinds of Pu-Erh so I'm looking around for recommendations and thinking about starting a collection.

At that Chinese garden in Canada there was a poster behind the cash register that talked about where and when you should drink tea. What I remember the most about that poster was that it said that you should drink tea in a very peaceful mood when there is nothing disturbing you and when you're relaxing. Unfortunately I cant have every pot like this. Haha. Most of the time I drink my tea in the morning with my news, after dinner with my homework, or on the go wherever that may be.

[Elovitz]

Excellent thread!

I'm noob by name--I've been on the forum before a few years back and then disappeared for quite some time. Decided on a new name and a fresh start

How long have you been drinking tea?
Drank tea all my life but seriously started 3 years ago so I'm still learning.

What was your first Tea?
My first tea was probably lipton with lemon and sugar.

What is your favorite Tea currently?
My current favorite it Uji koicha matcha. I am addicted!!

What is your next purchase?
Next purchase will be either a new teaware or matcha.

Where is your favorite spot to brew up?
My favorite spot to brew up is anywhere with sunlight. I love a good tea in the afternoon with the sun pouring in the windows.

Nice to read these all!!
~E

[sherubtse]

Greetings:

Although I have been a member for about a year, my first posting was today. As I plan to be a bit more active on TeaChat [impossible to be less active!], it seems like a good idea to introduce myself via the questions previously-listed:

1.How long have you been drinking tea?

For about 15 months.

2.What was your first Tea?

I have no idea -- can't remember back that far. But it was probably a bagged green from the local grocery store.

3. What is your favorite Tea currently?

Well ... perhaps nice deeply-steamed sencha.

4. What is your next purchase?

Probably some nice Chinese greens as "core" teas.

5.Where is your favorite spot to brew up?

In my kitchen, using my gaiwan. In fact, I brew almost all of my teas with the gaiwan.

I'll add one more, just to be a bit contrarian:

6. What is your least favourite tea currently?

Matcha!

I live in Toronto, Ontario, and enjoy getting around to the various tea stores in the area. I would love to hear from others in the Toronto area and get their feedback on the tea scene here.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[Cicada Lady]

Hi, everyone! I'm brand new as a member, although I've been lurking for awhile ..

How long have you been drinking tea?

Since I was a child. I'm also an espresso geek (to the extent of roasting my own beans and having a commercial one group machine in my kitchen), but have always loved tea, as well. I brewed Western style until I was in China a couple of years ago on a business trip and was introduced to the intense results of gongfu brewing. That started my real tea journey.

What was your first Tea?

Probably A&P tea bags. I do remember my grandmother giving me some Constant Comment.

What is your favorite Tea currently?

It depends what's going on at the moment. I love pu-erh (raw, aged or cooked, depending on mood) in the mornings. I'm more apt to go for roasted oolongs in the afternoons.

What is your next purchase?

More pu samples. And more Yixing pots to put them in!

Where is your favorite spot to brew up?

At my desk at work. There's no "coffee" at work that I'd consider drinking, so it's wonderful that I can have a quality tea experience there. At home I brew up at my kitchen table close to my laptop and a good book, with the cat on the table and the dogs at my feet.

[sunnyinny]

How long have you been drinking tea?
Not sure really when I started, but I am a tea addict! Love it! Take away everything, but leave me my tea!

What was your first Tea?
I would imagine it was Tetley or 4C. I know that's what my mom always had in the home.

What is your favorite Tea currently?
Tough one to answer being this changes based on my mood. Since I received my first (of many) Adagio purchases last night, I can say that the coconut black tea I bought is currently my favorite. I expect this answer to change later when I brew a pot of White Monkey.

What is your next purchase?
A big bag of the coconut tea I had last night. And then a few sample packs of flavors my friend Kathy told me to try. And I'm definitely ordering more of the Amber Sugar Crystals.

Where is your favorite spot to brew up?
At home. I am actually here because I am planning to hostess a tea party to celebrate my birthday this year. So after doing a ton of on-line research & stumbling onto this site, I am thisclose to being ready for a tea party. I expect to get tons of ideas from the people here. I love reading everyone's thoughts on the teas.

[SimoneinATL]

Hi all. I'm new here, but not too new to the tea culture.

How long have you been drinking tea?
What was your first Tea?
What is your favorite Tea currently?
What is your next purchase?
Where is your favorite spot to brew up?

I've been drinking tea on a regular basis only just recently. I started collecting teas for about 7-8 years now. It started with a friend of mine sending me containers of loose tea and it just went from there.

My first tea was probably a green tea. My mother is Japanese and green tea is certainly her tea of choice.

Personally, I love love love chai. Chai of any kind really. My second favorite is a black tea (I like that bit of caffeine in the morning), followed by a white tea.

Well, my next purchase will probably be a chai tea of some sort. I had been going to Teavana, but in honesty their prices are pretty outrageous. An online friend of mine sent me the link here... and if the quality is as good as she says it is... I'm sold. I was curious about the chai sampler, but I see that it's sold out... I'll be searching a bit more and maybe asking around as to what others like in a chai.

Not sure what this last question is asking. Where do I drink tea? Usually in my car in the mornings. But I have quite a collection of tea pots and tea cups, and I like to "chill out" and drink it at home as well.

[el gringo]

Great reading all of these posts. I'm surprised how popular Lipton teas seem to be in the US as they are not so well know in the UK. Most people over here drink PG Tips or Tetly's as far as I can tell.

How long have you been drinking tea?
Since I was a little kid, but that was just black tea from teabags with milk. I've only just started to get into loose leaf in the past 6 months or so.

What was your first Tea?
My first was probably from a bag of PG Tips, but my first loose leaf would have been a jasmine tea that my wife bought from a small tea shop in London.

What is your favorite Tea currently?
At the moment it would have to be sencha, although I haven't tried enough to narrow it down any further.

What is your next purchase?
I'm planning on picking up a load of puerh samples soon as I've only tried one up until now.

Where is your favorite spot to brew up?
I mostly brew in my kitchen as thats where the kettle is, but its nicer when I get everything together and make tea in my living room (much more comfy).

[Shangers]

First, I just want to say thanks. There are so many posters on here sharing their wealth of knowledge, and I really appreciate the time they put into answering others.

How long have you been drinking tea?
Growing up in the South (NC), we always drank tea... The iced variety with tons of sugar. Parents thought it healthier than Cokes and Pepsis, especially if you put lemon in it. Ah... the Vitamin C

Started drinking lose leaf tea back in the UK while doing my graduate studies around 10 years ago.

Been in China since 2003 and have enjoyed Chinese teas since being here. Started with Green teas, as most of the textile factories I work with are located in Zhejiang/Jiangsu and they love to give gifts of tea every year (I've noticed the quality increased proportionately to the amount of product I ordered from them) . If they only knew, I prefer Wuyi rock oolongs and pu'er.

What was your first Tea?
Pretty sure it was probably some bagged Orange Pekoe that was Sun Brewed "Southern Style".

What is your favorite Tea currently?
As it is still cold, I am still drinking Shu Pu, Older Sheng and Lapsang. However, as the weather started to improve in the last couple weeks, I have noticed that I am enjoying some of my younger Shengs again.

What is your next purchase?
As I spend 2-3 days a week in the tea markets, it is hard to say. Anytime I find a tea or teaware that I like, I will buy. Much to the dismay of the wife.

Where is your favorite spot to brew up?
Anywhere friends can come together over a good pot.

[ErikaM]

It's been so long since I've posted on TeaChat that I thought I should introduce myself again.

How long have you been drinking tea? What was your first Tea?

A couple of years. I used to think I didn't like tea until a friend brought back some from China as a gift. It was an eye-opening gift, to say the least. Now I have three cupboard shelves full of tea and two more of teaware.


What is your favorite Tea currently?

I don't have a single favorite, I change teas throughout the day. Recently I've been drinking a lot of momoko green from Lupicia (peach-flavored green -- heresy, I know). I've also discovered green puer, and have been chipping away at a big cake from Pure Puer.


What is your next purchase?

I just ordered Sencha 7132 from O-Cha and am waiting impatiently for it to arrive.


Where is your favorite spot to brew up?

Kitchen counter. I have dogs, so that keeps the teaware above nose-level.

[Windy_City_TeaCup]

Hi Tea Chatters!

I'm new to this site ...just found it today. I'm learning navigate all the boards and it seemed this was a popular thread. I'm looking forward to learning from all you tea masters out there!

How long have you been drinking tea?
I started getting more interested in tea about 8 years ago. I was given a gift of a variety of teas and loved trying new flavors. I enjoyed drinking them but didn't know much about what I was drinking. I decided to start learning some more about the history of tea, how it was made, and of course all the different types.

What was your first Tea?
I know I had the some when I was a child but nothing really interesting ...more the lipton variety.

What is your favorite Tea currently?
I love anything in the chai family but I'm trying to experience with new flavors too.

What is your next purchase?
No idea what is next up. I received a sample kit over the holidays and have been enjoying trying some new brews...some very interesting fruit infusions.

Where is your favorite spot to brew up?
Really could be anywhere...a quite weekend morning with a hot cup of looking out at the birds is always fabulous! I usually brew at the office. It helps keep the stess at bay and is a delicious treat!

[jaderabbit]

How long have you been drinking tea?
From what I can remember, since I was 10. Didn't stunt my growth though.
What was your first Tea? Probably longjing or some other green cuz my family is from Shanghai
What is your favorite Tea currently? Dongding oolong!
What is your next purchase? Planning to dip into pu'er again soon.
Where is your favorite spot to brew up? In the kitchen with a lot of natural light.