Friday/Saturday TeaDay 5/20-21/11 Settled down?

[Chip]

Welcome everyone to a whole new TeaDay. You are invited to stop in throughout the day and share what is in your cup. Also discuss the day's interesting topic.

Yesterday we discussed resteeping. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. Flydepiper asks "as a new tea drinker, how long did you explore different teas until you settled on a particular type or types of tea you drink regularly?" Please share!

We are looking forward to sharing this TeaDay with ... everyone. Bottoms up.

[Chip]

Gooooood morning TeaChat, happy TeaDay!

[Drax]

It's Friday! I think everybody's taking the day off.... a lot fewer cars on the road this morning, that's for sure.

Hmm, then what am I still doing here? Oh well. Lots of work to do!

I have been drinking tea in earnest for a little over 2 years now and have not settled into one or two teas, and I don't think I'm likely to do so. I really enjoy pu'erh, oolongs, and greens (Japanese and Chinese). I don't drink too many black teas, though, but I enjoy the others enough to want to continue drinking them.

I had two different with gyokuro yesterday. I'm not sure what my two @work tea sessions will be today..... sencha, matcha, gyokuro, or dan cong? Maybe I should flip a coin...

[Chip]

Back in the day ... ... well there was not so much easy access to good teas nor information! So the experimentation took me a while. And while I still like so many different general types of tea, I settled into greens, Japanese and Chinese as soon as I found the good stuff. But this likely took me around 2 years.

I could live with just greens if that was suddenly all the world had to offer, no problem. Not so sure about the inverse. A world with no greens? Oh my!!! But I am thankful there is such a wide variety of types of teas available to the West these days.

Began the TD with the last of the last of Kurogi from Yame from Umami-Chaya with the Mrs. I would rebuy this tea! Has a nice green taste, yet also has an almost fermented quality to it, very unusual.

[jaderabbit]

It's a big tea world out there but I've pretty much given up on purchasing pu, these days just trying out oolongs and greens. Maybe some day I'll get around to exploring "black tea", white and yellow tea.
Matcha today!! :9

Drax - I'm in the Virginia Beach area too and it is rather quiet on the roads today...a bit odd considering the usual traffic. Anyway, know of any good tea events or hangouts in town?

[tortoise]

I'll let you know.

Still sampling. Still exploring. I think it's possible one could "settle down" for a while with a few favorites, then push out to sea again on a brand new adventure.

Shincha Kirameki this morning. Happy Tea-day to one and all.

[Drax]

Drax - I'm in the Virginia Beach area too and it is rather quiet on the roads today...a bit odd considering the usual traffic. Anyway, know of any good tea events or hangouts in town?

Indeed, the road home might actually be pleasant!

I haven't really found any good tea place in this area (granted, I haven't check too hard). There's Quintin's Tea over on Virginia Beach Boulevard (sorta near Rosemont) -- more of a 'high tea' sort of place; some of the teas are decent, but a fair number (especially on the 'green' side) looked sort of sad.

The Asian Market over on Great Neck at Laskin/Virginia Beach Boulevard is an interesting place to see the bulk (and I mean bulk) teas that they've got. I picked up a pound of gunpowder tea there for like $1.50 in a tin many years ago. Good for "bulk" tea...

I keep hoping, though....

[debunix]

The current phase of exploration has been going on for about 4 years, and so far the only thing settled is that I have given up on CTC black teas.

[Chip]

The current phase of exploration has been going on for about 4 years, and so far the only thing settled is that I have given up on CTC black teas.

I am exploring some Chinese Zhu Ye Qing green right now from a TCer!

[teaisme]

hum maybe never?

Very drawn to japanese greens, older sheng, chinese/taiwanese oolong, chinese/taiwanese reds
About to get my first shipment of darjeeling so...

I honestly couldn't see myself settling down, after all I decided to explore more then just taiwanese oolongs which had been a staple for a long time alone by itself

There's so much tasty variety, it is a big part of my tea enjoyment.
A touch of different cultures, a sip of different parts of this earth. Keeps me constantly changing how I approach this or that. I enjoy the experience.

Some things I have waned away from though, like whites. Though now I am craving an eggy silver needle. Staples I would not want to be without are japanese greens, and oolongs. Red and Pu pretty close behind. Pu is growing fast on me.

Today some houde 90's dancong. I've enjoyed both aged versions.

[tortoise]

Shincha Aoi now after lunch.

Thinking about the question a little further, I do think it's all about phases.
I love sencha, and Japanese tea in general. I have probably drunk more of this than any other. However, I'd say that Yancha is probably my favorite so far, and I drank a lot of greens before ever arriving at that.

Do all roads lead to pu'er? Sometimes I wonder. I am not there yet though if that is the case.

[gargoylekitty]

I'll always tend toward greens and oolongs, but I wouldn't call myself settled on any one nor do I think I'd ever cut out other teas completely. Always keen on variety.

Having some of Maiko's Nan-zen at the moment. Next tea will be at work, haven't decided what yet.

Drax - I'm in the Virginia Beach area too and it is rather quiet on the roads today...a bit odd considering the usual traffic. Anyway, know of any good tea events or hangouts in town?

Indeed, the road home might actually be pleasant!

I haven't really found any good tea place in this area (granted, I haven't check too hard). There's Quintin's Tea over on Virginia Beach Boulevard (sorta near Rosemont) -- more of a 'high tea' sort of place; some of the teas are decent, but a fair number (especially on the 'green' side) looked sort of sad.

The Asian Market over on Great Neck at Laskin/Virginia Beach Boulevard is an interesting place to see the bulk (and I mean bulk) teas that they've got. I picked up a pound of gunpowder tea there for like $1.50 in a tin many years ago. Good for "bulk" tea...

I keep hoping, though....

Another VA Beach resident butting in, Haven't been on the roads today, so can't comment on that. Though I've seen some decent daily drinking quality sencha, pop up every so often over at Fresh World, my main grocery store, on Lynnhaven Parkway. Also, if you can stand the place, a Teavana just opened up not too long ago in MacArthur Mall.

Other than that, I've only seen the typical odds and ends of the cup, glass teapot, and bulk grocery store tea variety in the Asian Market Drax mentioned, Fresh World, and a few other Asian grocers. Nothing worth boasting over, alas.

[KiKi]

I'm a really big fan of Earl Grey and Lemon-grass with mint.... Irish breakfast usually works out too!

[AdamMY]

I am going with, "I'll let you know...." The truth is the more teas I try the less I actually want to settle, so I keep on trying more teas and making room for them in my storage system.

[entropyembrace]

It´s been about 5 years since I got "serious" about tea and there´s no signs of settling in with one or two types yet...I still drink tea from every broad category and I more often try something new than re-order something familiar.