Newbies to Steepster who want to jump right in and make friends!
Hi everyone!
I joined a month or so back, but I’m trying to be a bit more active on here other than just writing reviews. I’ve been seriously into tea for a little over a year now, but this summer my obsession really began when I dedicated most of my time to studying teas and tea culture and getting my palate oriented to as many teas as I could. I have a real fascination for oolongs, especially tieguanyins and dan congs. I started out drinking only flavored teas (especially chais), but now I usually stick with unflavored teas. However, I recently started making my own chais, and they turned out pretty well.
I’m currently in college and live in Florida. I play guitar and in addition to tea, I love food. I’m crazy about the food network and have a bit of a hobby of finding and trying out interesting and obscure places to eat.
Can’t wait to learn more and trade tales of tea experiences with all of you!
Hi, Cody, welcome! Funny you should mention dan congs, wokeupfuzzy posted right above you and mentioned the exact same thing. I also love the food network and playing guitar, although I’m a lot better on my ukulele.
Hi Rachel, thanks! That’s awesome about the ukulele. I’ve always wanted to learn to play. I was just given an old Kamaka soprano from my grandparents that they had in their attic. I did some research and found it was made in the 1970s! It needs some work, though. :/ There’s a pretty big crack in the neck and all its tuning pegs need replacing, but I’m hoping I can get it into playing condition.
Hi everyone,
I joined a few weeks back when I was searching for new teas to try, then I stumbled across this awesome community! Quite excited to know that theres so many tea lovers out there. From as far back as I can remember, my family has always enjoyed tea – mainly chinese tea and a key part of our daily life. Instead of ornaments in our display cabinets at home we have tea tins and tea cakes. At the moment I love dragon well tea. Living in Australia, there doesn’t seem to be a huge variety of good tea out there and I’d love to see, expand and share the greater traditions and quality of tea to people. Look forward to the tea journey!
Hi, sz03, I stumbled on Steepster as well, when I was trying to find a way to clean an unglazed teapot! I too have tea in my display cabinet at home. Where do you get your teas?
Welcome! I’m in Australia too! I feel the same way about tea here. There’s only a very few tea companies in Australia, and to try almost anything that’s not mainstream you’ve got to look overseas (and hope customs doesn’t frown upon your order).
Rachel,I’ve got alot of relatives in China who love tea, so I get alot from them. In China,I remember going to the tea markets and that in itself is an experience that every tea lover should try.
Devvyleys, that is very true, I only know of T2 as the more mainstream, do you know of any other tea places/cafes in Sydney? Be very interested to try :)
What a great idea TeaEqualsBliss,
A big welcome to all new members and congrats! You’ve joined the BEST place to share your passion of tea!
Hey New Friends!
I just came across this site, & I feel I’ve found a new home. So far today I’ve been sipping 2 teas from the London Tea Room, a tea house here in St. Louis. It’s a wonderful place to sit & have lunch (I highly recommend the curry chicken salad, & the strawberry salad), & they have a wide variety of teas to enjoy. I started today with Parisian Breakfast, a mix of black teas with hints of orange (which I’m not usually a big fan of), and vanilla (which I love). It’s a nice breakfast tea, & I enjoyed it with a frittata (mushroom, spinach, roasted garlic, & kamata), sausage patties, & asparagus.
My 2nd tea of the day was the Naughty Vicar, a black tea rich with Vanilla (did I mention I love vanilla?) & the tartness of black currants. I’ve always found that fruity teas smell wonderful, but rarely deliver the flavors they promise without a little sweetness added, so I added a pinch of stevia (sweetleaf brand). I also enjoyed a couple (paleo) apple muffins.
So, by way of introduction:
I’m a musician (harpist – electric & acoustic).
I’m a food freak with a huge veggie garden, lots of food allergies
(former vegan, now Paleo & loving it, especially the way I feel).
I love all varieties of tea. My tea journey started in the 70s with celestial seasonings herbal teas & there was a brand (who’s name I can’t remember right now) that had a tea called “Nuclear Casual Tea”, very popular during the anti-nuke rallies in Springfield, MO, where I attended college (BA in Music on Harp). It was a blend of rose petals, mint, & camomile, etc.
In the 80’s I gave up coffee, discovered House of Hezekiah in Kansas City, and ordered herbal teas from them, my favorite being a licorice blend (I’ve always loved licorice teas). I also got into Medicinal teas, which I still enjoy & sip for health. I get most of those from Cheryl’s Herbs, another shop in St. Louis, & I grow some in my yard.
I’ll never forget the first time I saw a Republic of Tea display. They were a new company, & I loved their packaging. I’d been off caffeine for about 10 years (along with alcohol, & some other substances…), so I tried their orange ginger mint. Then I tried the Spring Cherry. Then the Dragonwell…the story goes on & on. I was in love. One of my CD’s includes an original song dedicated to that company, TeaMind. If you’d like to hear it, drop by my website http://www.harpsinger.net/Terri_Langerak/My_Original_Music.html.
Over the years I’ve explored a wide variety of herbals, whites, blacks, greens, etc. I tend to become obsessive & drink the same teas for days/weeks, & then switch to something else. Some of my alltime favorites: Matcha (plain, please!), Dragonwell, Black Dragon Pearls, Puehr with chocolate, Dragon Jasmine Pearls, Peach Oolong, Orchid Oolong, and over ice it’s Republic of Tea’s Ginger Peach! Yes!
I have an entire cabinet (3 shelves!) dedicated to tea, have tea parties at my house regularly, & I’ve made a rule for myself that I can’t buy any more new teas until I systematically drink everything I have on hand. Yeah….right….
Nik, we can try! Somehow, I suspect we’ll be more likely to help each other cheat…LOL!
Hi! I’m a tea lover who lives in Northern Illinois and who’s also thrilled to have discovered steepster. I love greens, whites, and a good rooibos. But I’ll try anything and I’m always open for new suggestions. My favorite tea is Adagio’s pi lo chun and I Teavana’s dragonwell.
I signed up on Steepster this spring, finding it by accident as I was seeking opinions on teas and tea companies. I got started with tea in an effort to find something healthier to drink than diet cola and it has developed into a hobby. My husband and I became empty nesters last year, sending our last two off to college. At about that time, I entered a Teavana at my local mall in Atlanta, and tried many of their selections, but decided to see what else was out there. (I highly recommend the Teavana Perfect TeaMaker for steeping.) Lately, thanks in part to discovering Steepster, I have ordered from Teavivre, Verdant, and Golden Moon, and there are others I hope to try. I picked up the utiliTea kettle from Adagio which has been a huge help to get the water ready quickly and at the correct temp. I also got a small digital scale and am amazed at the difference that has made. Initially, I enjoyed many flavored teas, but recently I have been gravitating more toward pure teas. So far, I lean toward Chinese blacks, pu-erh, and oolongs, but I have found some whites and greens that are great too. I’m still in a phase of trying things out and seeing what my preferences are. My husband has jumped on the bandwagon too, but not to the extreme that I have! I have fun reading what others are saying on Steepster. Thanks to everyone who keeps this site alive and interesting.
welcome to the boards Donna! Nice to hear that your husband has joined the tea movement as well, even if it’s not to the extent that you have :)
Hello all!
I just discovered Steepster this week! I discovered loose tea last year and have gotten into DAVIDsTEA this past summer. Last year I found out I’m slightly intolerant to caffeine, which killed my coffee drinking. I cut caffeine entirely for about 8 months and discovered herbal teas, lifesaver!! I love my herbal teas to take to class (university student) and recently have been able to begin drinking a bit of caffeine again, mostly white and green teas. I also have gotten my boyfriend into drinking tea!
So happy I found Steepster!! A group of people who love tea as much as me! Hoping to get some good herbal tea recommendations as well as rooibos and white teas. I would like to expand where I purchase my teas from as well. Hope I can provide some feedback about my favorite teas as well!
Maybe we can help here a little with the caffeine problem. I bet you know already that the color of the tea doesn’t mean that the caffeine is higher of lower. White and green tea’s can have more caffeine than black tea’s for instance. Puerh’s can have half the caffeine many times. Juggling which types you drink may help your problem. Welcome to Steepster!
That’d be great! Yes, I currently am drinking mostly blends that specify low caffeine, but if I could find some pure greens and blacks that are low that’d be fantastic! I haven’t tried any puerh’s yet either, I’d definitely like to test them out. Thanks for the welcome as well!
I am new-ish to Steepster and would love to make more friends! My reviews can be a bit sporadic due to being out and about a lot. Some of my favorite teas are greens, especially Japanese green tea, and oolongs, but I will try just about any tea.
In my daily life I’m a student studying English Lit and getting ready to apply for grad school for a Master’s in Library Science. I work part time, cook a lot, read a lot, and hang out with my partner and my cats when I can.
Steepster is so fun and I have read about (and lusted after) so many teas because of this great forum!
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