Thursday is of course TeaDay, 2/28/08

[Chip]

Good TeaDay to all this next to last day of the month...March is close and with it Spring...can you believe it...Winter is almost over.

Welcome to all TeaChatters to TeaDay, where we all share what's in our cups. So, sit a spell and sip, slurp, gulp, chug, sniff your tea with your fellow TeaChatters.

All are welcome to TeaDay, newbies...help us to get to know you...and get to know us. Visit TaDay often throughout the the day and post as often as you want.

Speaking of sipping...today's TeaPoll and discussion topic deals with our enjoyment of our cup of tea...that is...do you sniff, sip, slurp, gulp, or chug your tea? So, share with us...how do you enjoy your tea. Are you a sniffer, a sipper, a slurper, a gulper, a chugger? And why?

Have a great TeaDay everyone!

[Eastree]

FIRST POST! >:D (Chip is still writing the main post)

I do a combination of the above, especially with my better teas.

Sniff the dry leaf, the wet leaf, the pot after each infusion, the cup on every steep, after emptying the cup.

Slurp a little to pull some of the flavor from the tea that I wouldn't otherwise find.

Sup slowly to lavish the qualities of the brew.

Gulp when I just can't help it any more.

Chug only when I've brewed western style and I'm in a hurry.

Other? Is there another way?

>:D

Edit pending the main post!

[tenuki]

Where is the 'drink' button and what are all these strange things people are doing to tea!?!?

[omegapd]

I guess I'm a "slurper" from my days of trying to be a wine and coffee connoisseur and trying to get a fine spray of flavor all over the palate.

It's a habit thats hard to break. I do it with just about everything I drink now...

EW

[olivierco]

Although sniffing the leaves (dry or wet) is enjoyable, the best part of tea drinking is drinking it.

This morning Keemun with my breakfast. Now (lunchbreak) houjicha.

[Victoria]

I love smelling the aroma, and as olivierco says:

Although sniffing the leaves (dry or wet) is enjoyable, the best part of tea drinking is drinking it.

First brew this morning: 2007 Spring Gaba

[Salsero]

Happy B + 1 day!

Third infusion of Assam in my cup.

[hop_goblin]

I slurp as it is the best and perhaps the most proper way to taste gongfu tea. It is intended to mix air into the tea to make it more fragrant and separate the layers. However, it is very annoying doing this with other a bout. Unless they off course are hard core tea drinkers like yours truly!

[Selaphiel]

I tend to slurp to draw in some oxygen to make the aromas more pronounced. I only do this if Im alone or in the presence of people who understands my passion for tea

Right now I`m enjoying some black tea for a change. Some Yunnan black buds together with my lunch, this one is really good and has a complex mixture of different aromas. It`s wood, it`s a hint of tobacco (the juice from a scandinavian tobacco product known as snus) and a hint of moccha.

[JM]

When it comes to enjoying tea I do all of the above.

This morning I had English Breakfast and Earl Grey.

[cloudyday]

Well, I foresee “sip” coming out on top, so I’m opting for the underdog “sniff.” Like wine, I enjoy smelling my drink just as much as tasting it - but with tea, as Eastree mentioned, tea has many facets of olfactory enjoyment. I think bouquet is very important and worthy of attention.

This morning began with Eastern Beauty, but then I got called away from my desk too long and it got cold. The leaves were leftover from yesterday afternoon so they were spent. Makaibari 2nd Flush is happening now.

[xine]

I like to slurp. Having a big old pot of fancy oolong then taking napz. xine is sick like no otha.

[TimeforTea]

Interesting question. First I sniff the dry leaves. As soon as the tea is in my cup, I craddle the cup, and inhale--big sniff. Then I sip. Once my tea goes cold, no more sipping. I find I am not enjoying my tea as much once it gets cold. I think being that I used to be a coffee drinker, I need to change how I drink this "other" hot beverage... My coffee had to be pipping hot to enjoy it.

After reading your posts, I am now curious to try slurping...in the proper company, of course!!

This morning I enjoyed my adagio white blueberry oolong...de-lish!! Eager to try Victoria's oolongs later this afternoon.

Edit: This afternoon I tried Zen from Republic of Tea. It was decent for bagged tea! It didn't have a lot of bitterness as other RoT bagged teas have.

[Katmandu]

I start off with good intentions and sipping and sniffing the fine tea in my cup but then as it slowly gets to a warm temperature that is great for gulping I can't hold back. I wish I could because my tea would last longer...

This morning I started off with some Irish Breakfast ,2 pots worth and now I just got finished with a 2nd steep of my Guricha from Den's which is seeing its last day I'll definitely have to get more of that!!

Cheers tea mongers!

[Proinsias]

I'm probably a gulper most of the time but I slurp at the very least once per cup and that's what I voted for.

The slurp helps me identify the good stuff, or bad stuff, and they are then easier to identify when gulping. If I slurped every time it would be very difficult for me to drink far too much tea and may result in lack of company for tea drinking.

In my gaiwan for the past few hours: Orchid Flower Oriental Beauty Oolong from Teamasters - my favourite tea to accompany a nice lunch of cold meats, fine cheeses, fresh bread, good olive oil and fruit.
Some teas were just meant to be drank with certain foods although it has taken me a while to come out of my 'tea purist' shell and admit this.