Why do you LOVE Steepster?

I love it for allot of reason.
One it opened my mind to other teas when I first got on and only liked Black tea lol. its also because of the swaps helped me Branch out and try new teas to figure out what I love ,
I also love that everyone is so Friendly and care about others opinions and dont get offensive if someone dues not like the tea or has a different opinion on it.

There are no election campaign Commercials or adds on here!

But most of all it shows me that my new tea obsession is Normal and its ok, Granted I have a sister in law who loves tea the rest of our family is not all that in Love with it as much as we are this includes my husband who has banned me from ordering more tea for a while! I understand, I have LOTS of teas that I have not tried yet And need to drink before then too! So i get it! lol But I’m glad here everyone gets me!

Obviously for the community! I love how tea can bring so many great people together – and we also have Steepster to thank for that. Seriously, I have never met a tea lover that was rude? LOL. Maybe that’s another benefit of tea ;)

I also love to find out about new teas and companies so I can write about them at my blog. It’s great to read other people’s opinions before making a purchase.

I agree with Sare…. the no election campaign on here is a bonus!! :P

I also agree with Sare that it shows me that my tea obsession is perfectly healthy and there’s nothing to worry about ;)

Steepster is my facebook!

Seriously, I visit facebook maybe once a week. Maybe. Usually much less. It is here where I can talk about tea and people understand my love for it. Here people know that there is more to the world of tea than that yellow, white and red box from the grocery store.

This is where I can love my tea, obsess about it even. It can be all about tea and people here understand that. I feel that I am among “my” people.

And, while I didn’t think about it before reading this thread, it is nice that there is nothing about the elections here. It’s a very welcome detour from all of that nonsense.

I agree that the community is what really attracts me to steepster more than anything else. The site and functionality are very useful as well. However, I have repeatedly stressed a need for a steepster app for smart phones. I think it would be amazing to take this experience on the go.

I have to agree that it’s all about community. It does a great job of bringing people close over a shared common love. It both educates and entertains. It serves as a place of learning/sharing.
A place that can accomplish all that is a truly special place indeed. It (along with the great people I’ve met [virtually]) is the reason I keep coming back.

I feel safe here. I don’t know many people in real life who like tea as much as everyone here, but honestly, the tea is secondary. It’s the people who make it. I love reading everyone’s stories about their days. I love being able to share my own. I love all you guys! :)

I agree a lot with Michelle. I have no idea how many members are active on Steepster, but I feel like it’s a really warm, tight knit community here.
On the tea side…man oh man, I have so much more tea now, and so much more tea knowledge! A blessing and a curse, haha.

Where else can one celebrate “enabling” as such a good thing? :)

One more in the community chorus. Without the interaction it isn’t half as much fun.

Dinosaur Mode
Back in the days of Yore when I first came across Steepster, the site was still, I believe, relatively new. That was in April 2009. There were tasting notes, other people’s tasting note and you could follow people. And that was it. No likes, no comments, no PMs, no discussion boards, no places. I don’t even think we had the cupboards yet, but I’m uncertain of that one. It held my attention for some time, but after a little while I just stopped using it. Then some time later, mostly in a moment of curiosity I came looking again, and once more, it held my attiontion for a while. During that while, however, comments and likes were introduced. An interactive element! And I’m still here. Then we had the boards, then PMs and then places. I think. Not sure about the correct order, but the boards definitely came before the PMs.
/dinosaur

So yes, the community is definitely the primary thing to hold my interest. If I use a site and feel like I’m talking to a void, I’m not likely to hang around.

And of course with the community comes the getting to know people better than just that they drink tea. I would never have met my taste-twin Auggy otherwise. I would never have truly discovered the wonder that is vanilla-flavoured tea if not for JacquelineM. I would never have learned that rooibos, when blended with fruit, can actually be very pleasant if not for Cteresa. I would never have got to try so many interesting things. I would never have even known the majority of my now favourite shops even existed.