Tuesday TeaDay 8/11/09 Back to your TeaFuture?

[Chip]

Hello one and all. You are all welcome to come in and share what is in your cup with us throughout the day.

Yesterday we discussed getting back to basics. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. Semantics maybe ... yesterday was getting back to basics, today back to the future. Do you ever go back to your TeaRoots, where your TeaJourney began? Please share your TeaRoots.

I am looking forward to sharing this TeaDay with everyone. Bottoms up.

[Salsero]

I think my tea roots may be too shallow to go back to them.

[olivierco]

When I started drinking tea, loose leaf tea wasn't available: as I don't intend to go back to teabag, I won't get back to my Tearoots.

Ippodo shincha this morning.

[Jack_teachat]

The first tea I drank was extremely weak/cool/milky bagged black tea when I was still a toddler, so I don't think I will be revisiting any time soon! However I do still keep some bags in the house and do very occasionally brew one up, usually if people are over who are not really "into tea" (aka most English people!)

In my department early today, started the day with a tea gifted to me by my wife's aunt from Calgary, a blend of Ceylon and Indian black flavoured with Maple from http://www.totalitea.com. Usually not my sort of thing, but this is surprisingly pleasant! Good sized leaf, nicely balanced sweetness, and when taken black, virtually no bitterness. I was also quite impressed with the selection of tea on their website.

Have a great day everyone!

Jack

[J.]

I now mostly drink oolong and japanese green.
I began drinking tea with yunnan black and teas from nepal and I used to add sugar.

Now, I like drinking that kind of tea but I only add sugar when I drink it with friends.

[Drax]

My earliest attempts at getting into tea involved trying to wade through a friend's gift box of Tazo tea that he didn't want. That was mostly successful, but I can't say it propelled me onward. I think the real spark was having an awesome green tea at a Japanese restaurant. So in that case, I often go back to that root when I visit a Japanese restaurant and order tea.

This morning, I'm continuing with the Jasmine #9. I don't foresee this particular journey lasting much longer...

[Trey Winston]

Back to apple-flavored bagged green tea?
Hmm, let me think.

No.

Back to basics with some Silver Needle today.

[Herb_Master]

I have never thought of it that way, but when in Malaysia, Teh Susu is fairly close to the tea that I drank as a 5 year old.

In Moslem restaurants and cafes, I often drink wonderful tropical fruit juices with my meal or hot Teh O Limau (Black Tea with Lime), sometimes Teh O Halia (Black Tea with Ginger) which is much superior with freshly squeezed Ginger Juice rather than powdered Ginger. But Occasionally I ask for Teh Susu which is sweetened and milky. This must resemble the tea I drank as a youngster, though is made from bags, which if they had been invented were certainly not available when I was young. Straight Teh Susu is normally made with condensed milk which makes it an inferior (my subjectivity) version of Teh Tarik, but Teh Susu Lembu is made with cow's milk and is close to the tea of my childhood.

Preference is given in Mamak (Indian) restaurants to Teh Tarik or stretched tea. Triple strength black tea with copious amounts of condensed milk poured at great height from jug to jug until thoroughly mixed and very frothy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPuIybnQemc

[Aphroditea]

Like most folks I began with teabags and I never go back there willingly!! My first loose leaf tea was Earl Grey and now I cannot stand Earl Grey....so not going back to those roots either.

On the other hand, the second bagged hot tea and the second loose leaf tea I ever had was Darjeeling and it is still one of my favorite black teas.

This morning: Yunnan Noir

[Riene]

I occasionally revisit the bagged-Lipton-in-a-cup when I'm in a restaurant and desperate.

Dublin Morning Breakfast tea in the cup this morning--gift from a friend.

[Victoria]

My tea roots, like many of us here, are Lipton's bags.
So Nooooo. BUT, I've been toying with the idea of
searching out some top notch Ceylon. That's as close
as I'll get to my roots.

In my cup this morning my new morning favorite Japanese
black; Koucha from Yuuki-cha.

Currently Ali Shan from Camellia Sinensis, this is a beautiful
example of finely crafted High Mountain Oolong.

[Mrs. Chip]

My tea roots, like many of us here, are Lipton's bags.
So Nooooo.

+1

Currently in my cup, home-roasted mugicha, up next ... waiting for the call.

[Maitre_Tea]

I think growing up around tea has probably left me with a better experience than most people here. Growing up, my grandfather visited often from Taiwan, and the first thing he did when he entered our house (before even organizing his luggage or using the restroom!) was prepare some High Mountain Oolong Gong Fu style. I didn't know much about tea, but from a very early age I thought that was the only way to brew tea...

I'd seen teabags before, but for some reason they weren't considered as "tea" in my mind, only as a caffeinated beverage. When I first got into casual tea-drinking it didn't occur in my mind I could purchase high-quality tea/tea-ware on the internet, so I casually brewed whatever teas my grandfather left here, using a French Press. I would've used his Yixing teapot, but he always brought it with him! I asked him a long time ago to let me borrow it and he said that I needed to personally raise my Yixing myself, so I can really appreciate them and learn about brewing tea properly.

I think that my tea past, tea present, and tea future are all intertwined in a single continuity. I don't know think that they can exist independently of one another. My present today is because of my past, and these two will influence my future...

Anyway, enough with the philosophical diatribe...some O-Cha Organic Kabusecha. I thought that I ran out of this...luckily I found it before it turned stale.

[Chip]

Pretty much a no brainer it seems for most of us. I definitely will not be going back to my roots, but still when I first really jumped in 10 years ago, even though the tea would be really bad by what I drink today, there were still seeds planted. I remember early teabags of Keemun, which to this day remains my fave black I think.

But 95% of what I had access to back then would never be brewed by me today.

Began the TD with Kawane asamushi from Rishi, quite good today as SweeTea would attest to. Wulong just hung out while Fuji was doing kitty burnouts, quite entertaining.

[amarie]

My tea roots are in the south where we drink sugar with a bit of tea added for color.

I very rarely drink sweetened tea anymore, and bagged tea less frequently than that.

Traditional Earl Grey this morning while waiting on an order to arrive.