I haven't chimed in with the obligatory "I'm New Here" post yet. But I guess that's what this is.
I've been exposed to tea since I was a kid. Sadly, it was always tea bags or Tisanes like Celestial Seasonings.
I've "grown up" so to speak, and now I enjoy a full range of teas (mostly loose) and tea products. I even review them on my own blog.
As I continue to learn more about tea and enjoy more and more different teas I find myself becoming less enthused with my 'day job' and more interested in working with tea.
What is it that got you into tea? How have you "grown up" over the years?
Mar 12th, '09, 11:39
Posts: 131
Joined: Feb 10th, '09, 12:13
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Contact:
tea-guy
Hello and welcome! I am originally from Ohio! I grew up having teas ocassionally. Of course everything was bagged. Around 3 years ago
I moved into loose leaf teas, but coming from only really knowing Ceylon
that is what I was drawn to. It all got crazy when I discovered oolongs.
Welcome!
I moved into loose leaf teas, but coming from only really knowing Ceylon
that is what I was drawn to. It all got crazy when I discovered oolongs.
Welcome!
- Victoria -
http://victoriasown.blogspot.com/
http://victoriasown.blogspot.com/
Mar 12th, '09, 12:10
Posts: 88
Joined: Feb 8th, '09, 10:57
Location: Buffalo, New York
Contact:
Nexius8510
Hey there and welcome! I too grew up on the bagged stuff! Red Rose to be precise 
That is until I got heavily into coffee a couple years ago. I drank coffee 3-4 times a day, and yeah, it kept me wired but it just wasn't healthy. So, I was looking for an alternative and then one day about 9ish months I found Adagio being advertised on a web series I watch. I came here, checked it out, ordered a black tea starter kit and haven't been the same since! 
So yeah, that's my story. Black tea was a really nice switch from coffee to tea, but now that I'm hooked I'm definitely a sencha and white tea kinda guy! Glad to have you here! Hope to see you around!
I too grew up on the bagged stuff! Red Rose to be precise That is until I got heavily into coffee a couple years ago. I drank coffee 3-4 times a day, and yeah, it kept me wired but it just wasn't healthy. So, I was looking for an alternative and then one day about 9ish months I found Adagio being advertised on a web series I watch. I came here, checked it out, ordered a black tea starter kit and haven't been the same since! So yeah, that's my story. Black tea was a really nice switch from coffee to tea, but now that I'm hooked I'm definitely a sencha and white tea kinda guy! Glad to have you here! Hope to see you around! 
Mar 12th, '09, 14:12
Posts: 255
Joined: Jan 12th, '09, 22:49
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: RI, USA
Contact:
hooksie
Welcome to Teachat.
I was never really that fond of tea (everything in my house had never been that good). Then I found a wayward link somewhere in the comments section of a news article on tea to Adagio. When Adagio sent me a $5 coupon it was enough to convince me to give looseleaf a shot.
I was never really that fond of tea (everything in my house had never been that good). Then I found a wayward link somewhere in the comments section of a news article on tea to Adagio. When Adagio sent me a $5 coupon it was enough to convince me to give looseleaf a shot.
We were fated to pretend.
Mar 12th, '09, 17:59
Posts: 495
Joined: Jan 31st, '09, 12:41
Location: midwest, Sanibel wannabe
Contact:
Dreamer
Welcome to the chat!
As a kid my family only ever drank instant iced tea (with LOTS of sugar) and not very often either.
Grandma would brew tea for iced tea, again with LOTS of sugar...that was good especially for a busy kid on a hot afternoon. That special treat didn't come very often either.
My husband's family did drink hot tea...Lipton bags...so he got me started. I got away from it for awhile...staying away from caffeine and not knowing what was in those bags!
I have a tea buddy at work who got me back into tea last winter...then I was looking for a healthier tea and found Japanese greens early last year...yummmmmmy!!! Now I'm back to some good loose leaf blacks and I think I need some more oolongs!
You've found an awesome community...lots of great folks and great info!
Have fun,
Dreamer
As a kid my family only ever drank instant iced tea (with LOTS of sugar) and not very often either.
Grandma would brew tea for iced tea, again with LOTS of sugar...that was good especially for a busy kid on a hot afternoon. That special treat didn't come very often either.
My husband's family did drink hot tea...Lipton bags...so he got me started. I got away from it for awhile...staying away from caffeine and not knowing what was in those bags!
I have a tea buddy at work who got me back into tea last winter...then I was looking for a healthier tea and found Japanese greens early last year...yummmmmmy!!! Now I'm back to some good loose leaf blacks and I think I need some more oolongs!
You've found an awesome community...lots of great folks and great info!
Have fun,
Dreamer
Welcome!
To answer your questions which sound like daily poll questions (probably asked many times before but I'm new too so): my mother and some friends of my parents were always into tea, along with my grandparents so I was introduced to tea at a young age. Most of my relatives and their friends are or were 'old school' milk and sugar in black tea so that's how I began drinking tea even as a child. While coffee for a child would have been considered inappropriate, tea was not for some reason. Much of the tea was loose leaf but in the, again old school, way of using a metal "tea ball" that you hung from the top of the teapot. They were probably even worse than the little strainers... but it was how they made it and many still use them today.
I drank black tea for years, plus coffee and some herbal teas (the usual, chamomile, jasmine, mint, lemon, various fruits, etc.) before discovering green tea. Over time I discovered Japanese green tea which used to be rare here but is now very popular; first bags, then loose leaf, and finally matcha which I consider to be the ultimate way to take tea: throwing none away, injesting all. Loose leaf is wasteful and messy by comparison, throwing away the used leaves, but I can't really make matcha properly at work so I enjoy sencha there instead.
At first I just had a tea bowl, a whisk and a tea scoop but after a few years of doing this I purchased a proper tetsubin and started researching the tea ceremony. A tea master from Kyoto who happened to live here got me interested in doing it properly. I learned a tray (bon) ceremony first, then the ceremony with the stationary kettle (kama), water ladle and the rest. Now I have several bowls, whisks, water contains, scoops, caddies, etc.
I don't have coffee that often any more, just when I am out for the most part. Same for black tea and herbal. Green tea is about the only thing I drink during the day now. I consider that growing up but others might see it some other way.
To answer your questions which sound like daily poll questions (probably asked many times before but I'm new too so): my mother and some friends of my parents were always into tea, along with my grandparents so I was introduced to tea at a young age. Most of my relatives and their friends are or were 'old school' milk and sugar in black tea so that's how I began drinking tea even as a child. While coffee for a child would have been considered inappropriate, tea was not for some reason. Much of the tea was loose leaf but in the, again old school, way of using a metal "tea ball" that you hung from the top of the teapot. They were probably even worse than the little strainers... but it was how they made it and many still use them today.
I drank black tea for years, plus coffee and some herbal teas (the usual, chamomile, jasmine, mint, lemon, various fruits, etc.) before discovering green tea. Over time I discovered Japanese green tea which used to be rare here but is now very popular; first bags, then loose leaf, and finally matcha which I consider to be the ultimate way to take tea: throwing none away, injesting all. Loose leaf is wasteful and messy by comparison, throwing away the used leaves, but I can't really make matcha properly at work so I enjoy sencha there instead.
At first I just had a tea bowl, a whisk and a tea scoop but after a few years of doing this I purchased a proper tetsubin and started researching the tea ceremony. A tea master from Kyoto who happened to live here got me interested in doing it properly. I learned a tray (bon) ceremony first, then the ceremony with the stationary kettle (kama), water ladle and the rest. Now I have several bowls, whisks, water contains, scoops, caddies, etc.
I don't have coffee that often any more, just when I am out for the most part. Same for black tea and herbal. Green tea is about the only thing I drink during the day now. I consider that growing up but others might see it some other way.
I've been drinking tea now and then all my life. Three years ago I had a lot of tea at home, mostly bags and flavoured, some gunpowder and genmaicha. My favourite then was reaaally strong English Breakfast with lots of milk. I had a friend that was tea-nerdy and I remember having a roasted tea and a Lapsang at her place but I never thought to much about it, I was so in love with my flavoured tea bags.
Late in 2007 I started a blog called Thoughts of the Teacup and sometimes wrote about tea. I got a comment from someone that said I drank crap and would someday realize what real tea was. First I got angry, then I wanted revenge. My revenge was to buy ten teas at a tea store. Jasmine, Keemun, Lapsang, some herbals... I really liked some of them and bought more now and then. Yerba Mate, Yunnan Gold, Darjeeling First Flush, cheap Sencha, cheap Tie Guan Yin. Then I got a gaiwan and started going to a really good tea store and hanging around at the snobby tea blogs and TeaChat. Soon I was a totally snobb/nerd.
I still haven't been drinking to much Sencha or Darjeeling but I'm really into oolongs and chinese blacks. My last buy was an aged oolong from Hou De that I'm eagerly waiting for. I have a special shelf and a special cupboard for my teas. I have several pots in different styles and sizes. I have a list with all my teas, how much is left, when I drank them last time. I also have long lists with all the hundreds of teas I want to buy so I can plan my tea-future. And I have book where I write the date I first went to a tea ceremony, first drank matcha, first drank da hong pao... I hate being away from home to much because then I can't drink good tea every hour!
I also really want to work with tea and I have tried to get those jobs but had no luck so far. Hope you're luckier!
Late in 2007 I started a blog called Thoughts of the Teacup and sometimes wrote about tea. I got a comment from someone that said I drank crap and would someday realize what real tea was. First I got angry, then I wanted revenge. My revenge was to buy ten teas at a tea store. Jasmine, Keemun, Lapsang, some herbals... I really liked some of them and bought more now and then. Yerba Mate, Yunnan Gold, Darjeeling First Flush, cheap Sencha, cheap Tie Guan Yin. Then I got a gaiwan and started going to a really good tea store and hanging around at the snobby tea blogs and TeaChat. Soon I was a totally snobb/nerd.
I still haven't been drinking to much Sencha or Darjeeling but I'm really into oolongs and chinese blacks. My last buy was an aged oolong from Hou De that I'm eagerly waiting for. I have a special shelf and a special cupboard for my teas. I have several pots in different styles and sizes. I have a list with all my teas, how much is left, when I drank them last time. I also have long lists with all the hundreds of teas I want to buy so I can plan my tea-future. And I have book where I write the date I first went to a tea ceremony, first drank matcha, first drank da hong pao... I hate being away from home to much because then I can't drink good tea every hour!
I also really want to work with tea and I have tried to get those jobs but had no luck so far. Hope you're luckier!
The noise comes from the other side of the mirror
Mar 19th, '09, 09:40
Posts: 131
Joined: Feb 10th, '09, 12:13
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Contact:
tea-guy
Thanks a Ton! I myself am really just starting to discover the wonderous expanse of Oolongs! There's so much to try, I'm SUPER excited!Victoria wrote:Hello and welcome! I am originally from Ohio! I grew up having teas ocassionally. Of course everything was bagged. Around 3 years ago
I moved into loose leaf teas, but coming from only really knowing Ceylon
that is what I was drawn to. It all got crazy when I discovered oolongs.
Welcome!
You've no idea how awesome I find that statement! :-pboywoodhe wrote:Welcome to teachat!
May all your tea dreams come true.
yours in tea
boywoodhe
@hpulley, It sounds like you've had a fantastic journey! I hope I can learn some things from you! I'm lucky enough to live in Cincinnati, Ohio... just across the river from Toyota's North American headquarters. They put a lot of money and support into the local Japanese culture groups and there are several opportunities a year to learn traditional ceremonies. I look forward to taking them.
@Beidao, your journey is equally impressive and admirable! You can always take tea with you. I travel with a few sachets of Genmaicha or Winter White Earl Grey from Harney & Sons, but I have close to 70 teas at my desk at work I share openly, and nigh on 145 or so teas at home. Most of those I've received in the last couple months as I've been reviewing teas on my blog (www.tea-guy.com). I have a spreadsheet I keep with a list of which teas I have from which brands, how much I got and when, and lots of other things. I also have a list from each brand of the teas I want to try next... usually every brand has 5 - 10 I'm looking forward to.
===
I really want to start my own tea company. I'm pushing so hard on this that I've invested almost $1000 already and am working on getting myself out to the World Tea Expo in Vegas in May. Bonus to review it on my blog). There I hope to make all sorts of contacts to get myself started.
Initially the idea was for a retail store, but the current economy isn't friendly to that costly of an investment. So online I go! Instead of $70k initial investment, it's more like $5-6k.
---
Tea-Guy
Tea-Guy