Sarai here

[Sarai]

Hello everyone. Thought I'd post my own introduction thread. I had been browsing TeaChat for a while and I've been wanting to become part of a different community than the other online forums I've been participating in for the last year and a half, so I finally decided to join up.

I grew up loving various herbal teas and from a very young age I preferred the taste of black tea over coffee. My personal classics would be fruit flavored black and herbal teas. I am from the South, specifically Texas, we love our Sweet Tea and Peach Tea! Over time I've been growing to love green teas and white teas even more.

I enjoy almost everything about tea: the taste, the beauty, the classicness of it, the health benefits and antioxidants, the less caffeine than coffee but still just enough, the overall feel and aura it gives to my soul and body.....

A few years ago I discovered the world of bubble tea and haven't looked back since. I know it's a rather looked down upon drink in the world of elite tea drinkers, but I still love it. Around the same time I discovered Teavana, which was truly my first foray into the world of loose leaf tea. At the time when Teavana first opened in Houston, it was the only loose leaf tea shop I personally knew of in my area.

When my current pantry stock from Teavana runs out I plan to order from some other chain loose leaf shops such as Adagio and DavidsTea. I counted all the tea bags I've racked up in my collection yesterday and it totaled up to a whopping 291. I also recently recently found out about a locally independently owned and operated organic loose leaf tea shop here in Houston called The Path of Tea and I plan to go check it out sometime soon. I could also always venture into my city's Chinatown and see what loose leaf they have to offer there.

When I was younger the cups of tea I made at home paled in comparison to the ones I make now. Back then I never used a thermometer and I always microwaved my water instead of boiling it stovetop! It also helps to use exact amounts of tea, water, sugar, etc. For me personally, using more tea than desired or brewing longer than desired is better than less because I prefer a strong pronounced taste over a light one.

Well, that sure was a rather longer than most that I've seen here in the Introductions section introduction that I've written! I really look forward to meeting you all and getting to know you all and becoming as much of an integral part of this particular online community known as TeaChat as I possibly can.

[daidokorocha]

Hello, welcome to the forum! When I do drink flavored teas, I tend to drink flavored blacks. I find they stand up the best to flavoring. Peach, orange spice, Earl Grey, Pumpkin etc. can all be a nice cup (especially iced!) when you're dealing with a black. Okay, maybe not the pumpkin iced, but you get the idea. It is a shame that most people around here don't really care for herbal teas. While my love of herbal is nowhere near my love of tea, I do drink plenty of it and am always looking for new flavors to try.

As for Bubble tea.... I LOVE THAT STUFF! I haven't had it in a bit now because it can be rather fattening but there are so many delicious bubble teas out there. My favorite flavor happens to be taro. I'm taking a trip to Toronto tonight and I plan on getting myself a big cup of taro bubble tea, that is for sure. It is a vacation after all!

I'll tell you that when I first started drinking tea, my sister tried to "teach me" how to make it. Here were her steps:

1) Fill up cup with water from tap.
2) Put a tea bag in without bothering to care about how much water was used in step 1
3) Put the cup with the tea bag in it into the microwave and microwave for 2 minutes
4)Take it out and drink it over 30 minutes while the teabag still sits in the cup the entire time

Let's just say I didn't stick to this method very long... meanwhile she always goes on about how she hates green teas and I always wonder why that might be!

[Sarai]

Hello, welcome to the forum!

Thank you!

When I do drink flavored teas, I tend to drink flavored blacks. I find they stand up the best to flavoring. Peach, orange spice, Earl Grey, Pumpkin etc. can all be a nice cup (especially iced!) when you're dealing with a black. Okay, maybe not the pumpkin iced, but you get the idea. It is a shame that most people around here don't really care for herbal teas. While my love of herbal is nowhere near my love of tea, I do drink plenty of it and am always looking for new flavors to try.

I'll always love herbal tea/tisanes since they're fruity, very relaxing, help you fall asleep, make great iced tea, are caffeine-free, the list goes on and on. I always loved black tea but I'm loving it more and more these days in addition to green tea. I do find myself staying away from most whites and oolongs mainly because they are more expensive, but I'm looking to widen my palate as much as possible.

As for Bubble tea.... I LOVE THAT STUFF! I haven't had it in a bit now because it can be rather fattening but there are so many delicious bubble teas out there. My favorite flavor happens to be taro. I'm taking a trip to Toronto tonight and I plan on getting myself a big cup of taro bubble tea, that is for sure. It is a vacation after all!

I've developed quite an addiction to it. At one point I was literally getting my fix at the local teahouse at least every other day. I love Thai Tea, Almond Green Milk Tea, and Taro Smoothies off the top of my head. It's easier to cut down when I make a plan to make tea for myself all week and stick to it everyday. All the milk, sugar, and tapioca intake isn't healthy and ruins the point of the healthy drink that teas is; and surely doesn't help in maintaining a 120lb figure, hehe. It also doesn't help that one of my favorite teahouses in town offers a $4.00 coupon everytime you've racked up $40.00 spent in their system!

I'll tell you that when I first started drinking tea, my sister tried to "teach me" how to make it. Here were her steps:

1) Fill up cup with water from tap.
2) Put a tea bag in without bothering to care about how much water was used in step 1
3) Put the cup with the tea bag in it into the microwave and microwave for 2 minutes
4)Take it out and drink it over 30 minutes while the teabag still sits in the cup the entire time

Let's just say I didn't stick to this method very long...

Oh my goodness, your sister is terrible! Lol!

Even the average person who doesn't know much about tea puts the mug of tap water in the microwave for 2 minutes, then places the tea bag in the mug to steep for about 5 minutes, then takes it out!

As for tap water, these days I usually alternate between using tap water and bottled water for making tea. It's true that boiling the water cleans out a lot of the impurities found in the tap, but using bottled water still gives a more clean, crisp, and smooth taste. Plus it can be mental all in your mind that you're drinking a much better cup of tea since it was made with bottled water instead. I give my cat bottled water and I drink it by itself too, so I don't want to use it all up everytime for the tea.

meanwhile she always goes on about how she hates green teas and I always wonder why that might be!

Clearly because green tea should be brewed in a teapot at 175F/79C and for 2 minutes max!

[daidokorocha]

Thai tea really is great and I crave it all the time, but again all that sugar! It is very great when they get it super strong! You sound like you would agree with that statement. As for bubble tea, I also enjoy coconut, red bean, honeydew, and many more. There are a lot of great flavors to try. Jackfruit, pandan, durian, lychee, etc are all fantastic. I could spend a whole 5 paragraphs listing my favorite flavors, that is for sure. I hear you on those cards they give you for returning customers! Sadly, I lost mine during a move! I was so close! If you like bubble tea and have a Chinatown near you, you should try making it all from scratch sometime. It is not difficult to do!

As for Almond, that is an excellent flavor too. If you didn't know, Adagio sells a cheap almond flavored oolong if you'd like to try it. I haven't tried it myself yet, although I actually do have some in my home. I'm waiting for another few days until I try it. Oolongs are really a fantastic tea and represent such a huge variation. If you are getting into green teas and already like black, I see no reason why you wouldn't like a full spectrum of oolongs. They are truly a special tea! They come in a full range of prices too, so have a look around. In fact, member debunix actually recommends for cheap oolong a Sea Dyke brand oolong that can be found in a red tin probably in any Chinatown for about $6 and I think that is for 4 OZ. I believe this (in the link below) is the one. I have had other sea dyke oolong and I will say they are good quality for cheap price. Apparently this one is better than the others, but I have not had the honor of trying it as of yet. Soon though.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bsIKj4uMJik/T ... C04651.JPG

Whites can be expensive, especially for some good stuff. If you're into flavored teas though, I think white makes the second best for flavor. Some people vehemently disagree, but a peach, raspberry, or pomegranate white really is a nice iced drink. They will usually blend these with lower quality whites, making them a more affordable option. That doesn't make them any less delicious though.

Also, I agree that my sister is horrid for her abuse. And yet she refuses to let me make any tea for her. She's very stuck in her ways.

[Sarai]

Thanks for the info and kindness Daidokorocha; I'll be sure to check out the Oolongs you've recommended!

[Classica]

Welcome to the forums, Sarai! You have such a beautiful name, like Sarai/Sarah in scripture. Your sister's tea abuse! I have many friends that do this as well, and only make tea "when they're sick." How do you enjoy tea with a stuffed up nose and horrid microwaved water? It's a small wonder they don't like tea.

And hooray! Southerners stick together! I am from SC, but my aunt has family in Corpus Christi. Hope your oolong experiment goes well!

[Chip]

Hi Sarai, have seen you around the forum, but never welcomed you ... welcome to the forum!