How Did YOU Learn About Tea?

[Dinahsaur]

I've been learning more about tea each day. However, I'm never quite sure if I'm learning in the most effective way. My interest in tea is pretty wide and varied. I'd like to have general knowledge on most topics and eventually detailed knowledge into many. So here's a question I'd like to send out to all of you: How did you learn about tea? Did you read books, blogs, attend classes, pick it up in bits and pieces around the internet (like I'm doing now), or did ?

Do you have any particular books you would suggest? Are there any particularly educational blogs, YouTube channels, etc?

[debunix]

Two books I learned a lot from, especially helpful in getting ideas about new teas to seek out, and trying to match described flavor profiles with my tastings:
The story of tea, by Heiss & Heiss
The Harney & sons guide to tea, by Harney

Several online forums:
TeaChat
egullet
Archives of the Tea-Disc group (a quiet group now, but very informative)

And lots and lots of comparative tastings, both those organized through one of the above forums, or attempting to match the tastings suggested in the Harney & sons book, and just random teas.

[Dinahsaur]

Thanks, Debunix! I'm especially excited to try the tastings as you described. For some reason, my brain hadn't made the connection that if I compare as I taste them together, I'll gain better understanding. Oh, how silly of me.

[Acaelus]

I'm just a novice, but I peruse about seven blogs, two of them being Tea Master's Blog and MarshalN's blogs, all of which contain amazing information. And then the rest are just tasting blogs. And then Teachat, talking to some sellers of tea's owners (Red Blossom, pure-puer, norbutea), and slowly writing a teablog beginning with newbishness and taste testing notes.

[ljfnord]

I started by going on a Google quest for Jasmine black tea (tea with jasmine blossoms), which my memory brought up through long-ago childhood fragments. I quickly found out that the closest I could get was jasmine oolong, until I dropped the black tea requirement and started trying some of the jasmine dragon pearl green tea. I saw a lot of other teas along the way and tried some of them. I also got some hints from friends in a forum who were serious tea drinkers. That's how I found out about pu erh.

My favorite discovery was from a webcomic called Wapsi Square. There's a page where a Chinese character says to her potential boyfriend, "I'm surprised. Not too many people like Lapsang Souchong," or words to that effect. I researched that one and found out that it's a love-it-or-hate-it tea. I wound up loving what I got from Teavivre.

It's a fun pastime, but I have to keep it in check: my wife doesn't like hot tea, and she has a budget line drawn that I can't cross (or see, for that matter). So, I have to stick to Western brewing (no gongfu for me) and keep the orders from Teavivre to a minimum.

[jayinhk]

I started by going on a Google quest for Jasmine black tea (tea with jasmine blossoms), which my memory brought up through long-ago childhood fragments. I quickly found out that the closest I could get was jasmine oolong, until I dropped the black tea requirement and started trying some of the jasmine dragon pearl green tea. I saw a lot of other teas along the way and tried some of them. I also got some hints from friends in a forum who were serious tea drinkers. That's how I found out about pu erh.

My favorite discovery was from a webcomic called Wapsi Square. There's a page where a Chinese character says to her potential boyfriend, "I'm surprised. Not too many people like Lapsang Souchong," or words to that effect. I researched that one and found out that it's a love-it-or-hate-it tea. I wound up loving what I got from Teavivre.

It's a fun pastime, but I have to keep it in check: my wife doesn't like hot tea, and she has a budget line drawn that I can't cross (or see, for that matter). So, I have to stick to Western brewing (no gongfu for me) and keep the orders from Teavivre to a minimum.

Indonesians LOVE black jasmine. It's very popular there.

[ljfnord]

Indonesians LOVE black jasmine. It's very popular there.

Wonderful! Would you happen to have a link to a source?

[12Tea]

The first time, I learned about tea was when I discovered a huge tea market in China. I regret that I didn't buy enough tea back then. Later on, I started to check more online sources for tea. Forums like Teachat are great besides several blogs like WorldofTea and Teaformeplease. Vendors like Teasenz also have a great blog. But reading only helps to speed up the learning in my opinion. To really understand the stuff you read, you've to simply steep more tea and reflect on you tea sessions.

[12Tea]

I started by going on a Google quest for Jasmine black tea (tea with jasmine blossoms), which my memory brought up through long-ago childhood fragments. I quickly found out that the closest I could get was jasmine oolong, until I dropped the black tea requirement and started trying some of the jasmine dragon pearl green tea.

You could contact Teasenz. They helped me with a lot of purchases that aren't listed online.

[jayinhk]

Indonesians LOVE black jasmine. It's very popular there.

Wonderful! Would you happen to have a link to a source?

I don't know of one, but I'm sure you can find one with a little Google-fu. Might be some on eBay or Amazon.