Jason select said

Welcome to discussions, introduce yourself!

Thanks for making Steepster what it is today. We’re super-excited about this latest round of updates. If you have any feedback on the updates, let’s hear them! Please let us know if you see anything bugs too.

Otherwise, play nice and have a good time meeting fellow tea-lovers, expanding your knowledge of tea, and just shootin’ the breeze.

183 Replies

Hi there! Thank you soooooo much for adding even more features! That’s the way to get people to come back, ya know!? I think we have a great core of people here and know it will just grow even more from here on out!!!

As if I wasn’t here enough…now I will be here even more! Hope you aren’t sick of me yet! LOL

Thanks again for this wonderful site!

Jason select said

It’s our pleasure. And we will never be sick of you :)

Login or sign up to post a message.

takgoti said

Perhaps we should make this l’official Welcome to Steepster Thread as well? TeaEqualsBliss seems to have some sooper sekrit way of sussing out the new folks, but I am not as skilled.

Hello everyone! I’m takgoti, I also go by Heather, or “Hey, You!” I am not new to Steepster, but I am somewhat quirky and I like to write a lot. By that, I mean both that I really like writing and that I am sometimes debilitatingly verbose. I have also been known to drift off topic sometimes. Wanna go ride bikes?

I am 25, and I live in Northern Virginia. People here are close enough to DC that they often tell people that they just live in DC, but between you and me, I think that’s kind of lame. Regardless of what you may be told, they are not practically the same. I’m a full-time student who’s taken forever to get around to finishing her undergraduate degree and hopes to find herself in California [northern] in the near future. I am an adopted Korean who knows approximately 20 Korean words and derives too much pleasure from confusing “actual” Koreans on the street. If I sound really overwhelming right now, it’s because I’ve been up for WAY too long studying. [But also, I can be kind of an overwhelming person.]

I came to Steepster because the stars aligned and I happened to discover it RIGHT as I was starting to REALLY get into tea. What started out as a lovely little distraction has evolved into an excellent learning tool. I’ll drink pretty much anything at least once, but ironically am somewhat of a picky eater. I heart Steepster and I heart Steepsterites and I heart our Steepster Overlords.

Your turn!

Login or sign up to post a message.

Angrboda said

I like Takgoti’s suggestion of intrudocing ourselves!

I go by Angrboda around these parts and I am, so far as I have seen the only danish person around. If I’m not, do pipe up. I wonder if there might be a title in this for me if I am? Like… I don’t know, ambassador or something. :p

I’ve been around this site since… uh… earlier this year or something, I think. I haven’t looked. I used it a lot in the beginning and then my account lay dormant for a few months until I suddenly rediscovered it relatively recently. I can’t actually remember how or why this happened.

I’m a terrible snob when it comes to quality of my tea. If I’m out somewhere I’ll drink whatever I’m offered and not complain about it (until later when I give it dreadful review here) but at home I’m quite picky about what I buy.

Herbals and tisanes hold absolutely no interest for me. They are not tea, therefore they are not interesting. I have a few that I use to experiment with in blends, but the only time I’ll drink a pure tisane is if I’m sick, in which case tea, proper tea that at one point came from a tea bush, tastes strange.
The only real tea that I can say I don’t much like without it having something to do with the quality or an added flavouring is chai. I’m not too fond of that, but I’ve been on a learning experience lately with various chai drinks to go, trying to learn to like it better. I think it’s working, but it’s too early to say for sure.

Apart from tea I like writing fiction, although it’s not really something I’m very good at, and I’m terribly addicted to my LJ account as well. I wonder if this is the source my long and rambly entries here at Steepster stem from. It seems to be impossible for me to just write about what I’m drinking without writing a setting for it first.

I love adding new people to follow here which is why I’ve ended up with a slightly unwieldy dashboard page. Seems like only last week I complained about having somehow ended up adding 70 people and that I might have to clean it up a bit. Oh wait, that WAS just last week. You would think some of them would have gone inactive, wouldn’t you? That’s what I thought too. But I went through the lot and could only remove three or four that had been completely inactive for more than two months. In the meantime I seem to have picked up a lot more people, so I’m back at 84. I think we can call Project Clean Up a bit of a failure. Before the recent site upgrade I had a habit of checking the front page to see who had posts shown there, and adding anybody I didn’t already have added. Seems I can’t really do that anymore without logging off first, and I suspect maybe it’s for my own good… :p

Erm, I can’t think of a proper way to round this off, so I’ll just leave it here.

I love Following people here too and also have an unwieldy Dashboard. I’ve been thinking that I’ll have to cull it periodically in the future. Good to know ahead of time that this might be a fruitless occurrence. I suspect the Latest Activity live stream will only add to my Following.

Angrboda said

Ha, since then I’ve decided that it was useless anyway and it was much more fun just adding people… So…. I’m up a few *cough*hundred*cough* since then. :D

Login or sign up to post a message.

Cofftea said

I have pretty much everything there is to know about me so please check it out. If you have a question, just ask- my life is pretty much an open book:)

Login or sign up to post a message.

Steepster Admins:

What is your opinion that subjects like politics and religion should be forbidden topics on Steepster? I come here to get away from all of that crap, but they do pop up.

Carolyn said

I don’t know how easy that will be to forbid. Current politics that have nothing to do with tea, sure, forbid away. But what about political discussions about the Chinese attempt to enforce a rigid definition for Pu-Erhs? Or political discussions on whether fair trade teas are better or even effective at what they try? Or a political discussion on the Ethical Tea Partnership’s (ETP) decision to start monitoring South American tea estates? Or the economics of tea across the world. All of these political discussions seem on topic to me. By contrast, a discussion on domestic policy that doesn’t involve tea seems inappropriate.

Religion has similar problems when it is designated as off-limits. Tea has a venerable tradition as a religious and spiritual pursuit. While I am not spiritual or religious myself, I certainly would not want to prevent other people from discussing the miracle of spiritual enlightenment they might find in a cup of hot green sencha or pu-erh or the tea ceremonies that bring them to a calm, centered spirituality.

Tea is more than a drink. It is an embedded cultural, religious, and political object with meanings that go beyond simple pleasures into our deepest pursuits. Stripping our discussions of these aspects seems like a shame to me.

teaplz said

Carolyn, while I agree with what you’re saying, I would like to see politics and religion only come in to play when discussing tea. I certainly don’t want to come on here and be berated by some random person for not having a similar political leaning (not interested), or religious faith (I’m agnostic). For on-topic discussion, sure. But for off-topic, I really don’t want to hear about either politics or religion.

I’ve been involved in internet forums for a good 12 years now, and whenever religion/politics come up, it gets really ugly and messy.

Jason select said

New topics and discussions within those topics should remain focused on tea. That doesn’t mean there cannot be political/religious discussions that involve tea. As Carolyn mentions, I think it would be appropriate to discuss, for example, “the Chinese attempt to enforce a rigid definition for Pu-Erhs” so long as you are discussing how it affects tea and the tea industry. Once you start discussing the merits of the politics themselves, that would be unrelated. So, just be aware and sensitive of this fact if you initiate/participate in such a conversation as those tend to escalate and get off topic quickly.

We will also be putting out a “Forum Rules & Guidelines” post soon, so hopefully that will help.

Carolyn said

I think we generally agree then. Posts on the topic of tea: Yes. Posts that leave the topic of tea: No.

As to being berated for religious or political differences, I’d rather not be berated at all. I would hope that people could maintain politeness whether we are talking about whether one should put milk in pu-erhs, whether drinking matcha brings one to a spiritual space, whether one should re-steep, or whether we disagree on some facet of tea politics.

Angrboda said

Rules & Guidelines, THANK YOU!

As for the politics/religion, I’m indifferent. I’m pretty good at walking away from those, but if restrictions can keep wank away from our doorstep I’m all for it. Anyway, we do have the ‘report anything inappropriate’ link to use if something appears to be heading towards Dramatown and needs a mod to step in.

takgoti said

“but if restrictions can keep wank away from our doorstep I’m all for it”

<3.

Erm, actually I did mean posts about either religion or politics that had nothing to do with tea. Sorry — I should have been more specific.

Cofftea said

While I completely agree that public convo about such things as politics and relgion can get messy especially if a convo between 2 people can be seen by everyone, we need to remember that right now private messaging is not available where those convos could take place. Just my two cents. And we have already proven that tea related topics can get just as heated lol.

Hopefully a new log to rekindle this fire with -
What about profanity?
I’ve censored myself a few times on here, fitting the kind of clean atmosphere that’s been going on, but occasionally I’m rubbing out a word that fits naturally for me. Obviously, I’m not like most people from my generation who think that “f***ing” is the only adverb in existence, but from time to time I’d like to say something like “this tea was f***ing amazing”, to add the appropriate, though slangly, emphasis to my statements.

Jason select said

Let’s keep it clean and friendly :)

Login or sign up to post a message.

Linda said

I have been on other totally different sites where “hot” topics have emerged. I come to my computer to relax, enjoy and learn from other like minded people (tea drinkers etc). I do not wish to share my political or religious view with people I really don’t know, so I will walk away from any such discussion.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Jason & Admins

I just want to squee over the new Discussion section here on Steepster. Thank you so much! I’m addicted already.

Login or sign up to post a message.

all the new updates are pretty awesome in my opinion :p

im Kitch3ntools, or Sarah :) im a 24 year old college student trying to get my registered nursing degree. i work part time as a medic in the air national guard, and at a dog kennel (i get payed to play w/ dogs<3)
im kinda shy so im forcing myself to break out of my shell by getting involved in discussions and such. i found steepster through a link on adagio.com and its kinda gone from there :) i drink mostly black and flavored black teas but im making myself try new things i wouldnt normally try (oolongs and rooibos) just by reading posts on here so this is a great educational tea tool :D

Cofftea said

Dogs and tea! And your name is Sarah!:) I think we’d get along great.

:D i agree!

Cofftea said

My middle name is Mae even though I was born in September… but I guess my 1st name was supposed to be Jennifer up til I was born.

Is that your kitty in your avatar? He/she’s a cutie.

mines Ann :) my mom decided on my name when she was 16 (she was 23 when she had me).
yes :D her name is Zoie. she loves to hamm it up for any picture ever :)

Serenity said

Another Tuxedo cat! : )

Login or sign up to post a message.

Blahhhh
Daniel.
J.M.Kauftheil for the penname .
My screenname on some sites is “i’m dead – go away”, which was what I changed my screenname to on a poetry site as a message to a girlfriend as our relationship was going up in flames… Didn’t bother changing it afterward, and I started to like the ring of it, so it’s stuck.
Some people still call me Jue (or Jew), as was my nickname through high school (long story, but I am a full-blooded Jew), or JM as is, I guess, a shortening of J.M.K – go figure.

Hardly 19, in college, but not for long. Dropping out of the university after this semester, because the city, Northridge, is a pit. Especially without a car. And I’m not a “school person”, though I can write great essays (as I’ve been told by my roommate, who is a grad student in English.) Also returning because I miss my hometown of San Jose (it’s near San Francisco). Bay Area is where I grew up… I can never be away for too long. Though I do need to get out every few months XD.

I’m extremely impulsive, though rather antisocial. I like meeting people, but I generally have a hard time tolerating groups of people – I honestly enjoy hanging out one-on-one more than anything. I’ve noticed that the people I tend to hang out with most are people that are really different from me in most ways, but share my obscure sense of humor. I like it – I get to see into different walks of life.

Been writing since my freshman year of high school, because a girlfriend convinced me to try it out. Found my niche in erotica, and once I gained confidence from the positive feedback I got online, I started to really take off with writing and pursue other topics, styles and ideas. I’m pretty prolific with my output – a lot of poetry, a lot of prose. Some serious stuff, some light-hearted stuff, some pieces based on wordplay, some emotional, some abstract…
If you want to check out my stuff (and I’d appreciate if you did),
or you want, basically, my life story told through hundreds of pieces of writing,
http://imdead-goaway.deviantart.com/

I sometimes feel like my personality is split between the sides of Daniel and J.M.K
I’ve been meaning to write about it a bit, but I haven’t gotten around to it. If you’re interested though, I do have this piece which I wrote as kind of a joke project with a friend.
http://imdead-goaway.deviantart.com/art/An-exploration-of-the-ego-133309826

Oh, and apparently I look like a dragon when I smoke hookah.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Fred said

I am a 28 year old pc/tech/game enthusiast. I consider myself to be part Asian due to the way i look when I laugh and the fact that I love Asian cuisine and culture, but my real ethnicity is way more mixed. I am 25% Palestinian, 25% Hungarian, Irish and PA Dutch(German).

I remember always being fond of my mom making me a cup of lipton black bagged tea with milk and sugar in it. I have since graduated to drinking loose leaf after much reading up on the subject and realizing that the world of tea is very diverse.

My favorite type of tea is Oolong. I tend to like the less oxidized and more floral Oolongs(Jade Oolongs) better, but I also like the often nutty flavor of the more oxidized Oolongs as well(Da Hong Pao, Royal Red Robe, or Wuyi would be two examples of the kinds I like.

The first green teas I tried were Japanese style. You know, steamed and tasting like grass? I laugh at myself sometimes because, having a fascination with Japan I thought that Japanese green tea was superior to Chinese tea until I had sencha and realized that I don’t like drinking tea that tastes like grass.

Thank god for Rishi being relatively inexpensive enough for me to try out some Chinese made varieties of tea. I now realize that in most cases, in my opinion anyway, Chinese Tea’s have so much more to offer in the complexity and flavor department.

I like Chinese green and yellow teas as well, with black being my least favorite, although I have had some great black tea. Curly Golden Buds from Tea Trekker is a prime example of what a good black tea should taste like.

You will see me rate and talk about two sites mostly on Steepster, http://www.teatrekker.com, and http://www.rishi-tea.com/.

I started out drinking Rishi tea and my local supermarket Wegmans carries Rishi so I can get their tea if i ever run out of the better quality tea I buy from Tea Trekker.

You will hear me talk about Tea Trekker a lot because I have not had a bad tasting tea from them yet and their customer service is great. I live in Pennsylvania and if I order a tea on a sunday night its usually sent to me by Tuesday, if not Wednesday at the latest and they seem to know even their online customers due to the fact that they have given me samples of some of their best tea and even included post it notes on their samples telling me they know I will enjoy it. The tea they gave me a very small sample of was 20 dollars or more for just 2 oz. They know how to treat their loyal customers right. They source their teas themselves and have been in business for thirty years, writing a great book on tea called “The story of Tea”. I would recommend the book to anyone wanting to know the ins and outs of tea. It is very comprehensive.

If you want to know anything else about me or my boring life just ask.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.