Tea Rut
Ugh, guys. I keep making tea and then not finishing/sometimes not even touching the cup I’ve made. What do I do? It’s a waste…but I really want some tea inspiration so I keep trying. Has this happened to any of you? How do you get out of it?
What kind of tea do you drink? maybe it’s time to try some new ones.
Or… take a break for a week or two, I find that always brings me back with a robust appetite!
probably just tired off the tastes u got used to,i always keep new stuff in the house that i never tested before!
Yes, that’s why I like having a variety. My Dad’s idea of tea variety is Bigelow’s Earl Grey and Constant Comment, regular and decaf optional. Rolls Eyes Nothing wrong that in general, after that is where I started, but I just wish he would try some other stuff out.
I drink mostly black. I don’t think variety is a problem though. I have a lot of small amounts of tea that I’m not overly fond of, and I sort of feel pressure to drink them even though I’d rather be having something else.
If the teas don’t clash horribly with each other, maybe just blend them all up and use them for iced tea? That way you can even make a pitcher and serve to guests. It’ll be gone faster. Then you can go back to enjoying the teas you want to have.
Also, I agree with others that you should take a break. Drink tea when you feel like it. Otherwise you’re just forcing yourself and that’s no fun.
Hah, I do that too. I spend all my time forcing myself through the tea I don’t enjoy while the tea I love just ages and gets stale. Though I don’t often do it, I suggest you try a swap with someone and unload some of your lesser liked teas on them – you never know what someone else will love and the things you get in return can be surprising!
I’ve had to take breaks when I feel like that. In fact, I took the summer off. (I know! It was weird!!!) I’m not saying that you have be away from tea for that long, but sometimes forcing yourself to drink something you don’t love takes the fun out of it.
I’m currently working through all of the little bits in my stash that need to get used up. I don’t want to buy any new teas until these are finished, but it can get a little boring. I’ve found that blending my own teas is fun. I’ve made a few bad blends, but for the most part, it’s been a way to have “new” teas without a purchase, so that’s good.
I tend towards green tea, have not been thrilled with most blacks,(love traditional chai masala, and enjoy select others) but have started switching things up between my sencha or genmai/ bancha and White teas for a while now to stay out of a rut.
most recently I have been discovering pu erh tea through Numi, focusing on that for about a month now, and rotating back to my bancha again now :)
Will also add in an herbal with White to mix things up, a white tea bag with celestial seasonings tangerine zinger is now a real treat!
I have taken some breaks at times too, sometimes focusing on other warm beverages I enjoy (cocoa and cider being other loves.)
Thanks for all the advice, guys! You’re right, tea drinking should be a pleasant experience, not a chore. But making iced tea out of samples is also an excellent suggestion.
Not questioning your experience or trying to sound like a female dog, but maybe you should try a reboot with your technique and processes. I know that at one time i felt like tea was merely tea…. and until I discovered yixing and the gungfu idealology it was lame. After i discovered it though, it unlocked a new world for me. I then learned that those same boring teas weren’t boring, but rather I never listened to the tea and developed technique around it. Learning how to find teas for you, not to scorch them, not to use too much nor too little, having proper vessels, and knowing the source is all but some of the challanges that I’ve overcame.
Most people love cheese, but most people don’t want to eat a lot of cheese by biting into a huge cheese wheel….. rather tiny insignificant cubes on a toothpick will make you desire each cube, and you’ll soon realize that you’ll consume much much more in the end. That examplifies how I use small cups and tea portions to better enjoy my malty liqueur. I think we all hit bumpy roads throughout life, and finding the solutions… like working through the equation is what we live for.
Totally approve of this and it’s something I’ve been wanting to mess around with, but I kind of feel like I don’t have space, time or resources. I’m in a college dorm…I like drinking tea when I’m studying or listening to a lecture in class. I dunno, if you have more suggestions, I’d love to hear them.
I’m not sure why you’d need room. As a minimalist, I have three items in my room- a seating place for two, my hammock, and a cheap waist-high bookshelf in-which i dedicate a mere two shelves to tea stuff. I’m not sure why people associate yixing and whatnot with space consumption…. they’re 1/20th the size of a normal teapot. Same with the cups.
But even if you really don’t have the extra cubic foot of space, I would still recommend trying to rebuild you technique with normal tea. Also, I’m sure that you currently have other things on your mind- you’ve been dealing with finals crap, family stuff, you’re trying to decide on life-changing decisions….. or a combination of various things. Perhaps it simply isn’t the tea that is causing it.
You know what? If you have but a sample, and you have a cup out of it and you don’t like it, you may throw away the rest of the sample! HORRORS! clutching pearls I’ve just started doing that because I had little nibs and nabs of samples that just didn’t do it for me but weren’t really enough to send to anyone else. They just sat there and made me feel guilty. Well, the guilt train doesn’t stop at this station. Toss ’em out. NEXT! ;-)
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