Happy Steepsterversary to ME!! Yes, on December 1, 2009, I joined this cool looking tea site thinking maybe I’d check it out every once in awhile. Who would have thought that it would become such a rich source of happiness and fun for me! :) Thank you Steepster Overlords – you’ve created something wonderful :) and thank you Steepsterites! It’s been so great to read what’s in your cup each day and talk tea. I like you guys enormously!!! :)
I chose Harney & Sons Hao Ya ‘A’ for my Steepsterversary cup, because it typifies how my tastes have changed AND stayed the same over the year I’ve been on here. What has stayed the same? My favorite place to order online was Harney & Sons when I joined, and it still is :) (and I ordered A LOT of tea from all over the place to come to this conclusion). Also, I loved black teas the best when I joined, and that still holds true.
What has changed (dramatically!) is that I used to favor Assams and flavored teas with lots of milk and sugar, and now my absolute favorites are Chinese teas taken without milk and sugar. Now take this Hao Ya A. I think I would have just about died if I drank it on December 1, 2009. Now, I’m swooning over the dark roasty chocolate notes, deep sweetness, and slight smoke. It’s absolutely delicious and so satisfying. I adore it! It reminds me of Queen Catherine alot, but richer and more…single minded. Catherine has quite a few things going on, but Hao Ya A is a laser beam of roasty chocolate smoke. I think now that I’ve had both, I understand better why I thought Catherine would make a good afternoon tea.
Ah, I’m a happy Steepsterite today :)
Two more funny facts before I close this note. 1. One year ago today, I didn’t know that you could resteep tea! 2. Since December 1, 2009 I have had 552 cups of tea (NOT counting resteeps!).
