Are you a *serious* tea lover?

43 Replies

Ok, here goes.

Are you a serious tea lover?
Or are you just having fun?

Hmm. I think I’m just having fun. Though I become more serious the more fun I have. It’s kind of like the eye opening experience when I first had real bread after having the packaged white sliced stuff as a kid. There’s bread, and then there’s bread you can love. I think that’s true of tea as well.

Would you say you are obsessed with tea?

Nah. I’m obsessed with being a dilettante. I’m a dabbler. Pretty much everything interests me, and every now and then one thing stands out and becomes more interesting and takes over for a while. There are things that are the flavor of the month with me that I may or may not cultivate a lasting attraction to, and then there are things that I go back to time and time again. It’s too early for me to tell where tea fits in. Or maybe I’m just in denial. The fact that I currently have more tea than I ever thought possible may belie my protestations otherwise.

Are you serious about other foods or drinks – wine, beer, chocolate? Or just tea?

Not to this extent. The closest I come with other things is wine. I like it, and it’s hard to live where I do without knowing a lot of people who know a lot about it and are very into it. I’ve not become a serious wine buyer because I don’t have a proper cellar and I don’t have a place to put a portable one, but I enjoy being with people who know wines and having them talk me through tasting them.

How much would you pay for one cup’s worth of the finest quality tea leaves? How much do you pay for an “everyday” tea?

I can’t really answer this question. I don’t have an everyday tea. I also haven’t knowingly come across the finest quality leaves. I think of those as being the type that are sold at auction, and out of my league. I could see spending a lot for something that I liked and that was fine quality. I appreciate fine quality across the board, and especially in leather goods and jewelry.

Is no tea at all better than tea of inferior quality?

Again, too early to tell. I can see myself becoming snob enough to say that no tea is better than inferior quality, but while I’m in testing and tasting mode, I know I’m going to kiss quite a few frogs for every prince I find, so I’m up for pretty much anything except something I’ve already tried and know I don’t like.

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thw said

This is intriguing. I need to reply.

Are you a serious tea lover?
Or are you just having fun?

I consider myself a ‘serious’ tea drinker. A seasoned one at least. I leave the manager at the local Lupicia, asking me questions sometimes! But, in the end, it’s just a beverage. I can go a day without tea no problem. A week? Now, your pushing it.

Would you say you are obsessed with tea?

‘Obsessed’, has such a negative connotation to it. It’s more like a heavy appreciation.

Are you serious about other foods or drinks – wine, beer, chocolate? Or just tea?

I used to drink coffee a lot, until the caffeine was too much to handle, and eventually I stumbled upon tea as an alternative from my history teacher. As for other foods that I’m serious about, I guess I’d say beer, though I’m not technically…* cough * well my brother is a serious beer guy, I’ll leave it at that. I love really good sushi, and I mean really good sushi, it’’s all about the fish, a single slab of toro nigiri over a whole pizza anyday. I’m very particular in building a sandwich. And I really love artisan bread, and beautifully simple but humble pie.

Other than ‘consumables’. I’m a design student, and I love well crafted products. Whether it be a Colin’s By My Side everyday bag with it’s handcrafted red leather exterior and turquoise insides. A beautiful Japanese fountain pen like my cobalt blue Ohto Tasche, or my red classic white top bonnet striped Mini Cooper JCW.

How much would you pay for one cup’s worth of the finest quality tea leaves? How much do you pay for an “everyday” tea?

Well, I’ll say one of the most expensive teas I’ve purchased was, a 1980 Charcoal Tung Ting from Red Blossom that went for $6.25 an ounce. My favorite everyday tea is Bancha from Rishi Tea that goes for let’s say around $1.15 and ounce.

Is no tea at all better than tea of inferior quality?

Of course I need tea in my life! I’d take that three year old Tetly satchel that has been sitting in the back of the cupboard over no tea at all, any day.

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Compared with the general population, I am very serious about tea. Compared with the Steepster segment, not so much.:) And I am definitely having fun drinking and exploring it!

In the past I was similarly serious about wine. I pursued some formal wine education, attended some major-league tastings and did everything I could to expand my knowledge and sharpen my palate. But I was always quite clear in my head that I was not a “collector” — I bought every bottle with the intention of consuming it in the foreseeable future (most often with that night’s dinner!), and my goal was not to taste every wine on the planet, but to identify the categories and producers that I enjoyed most and focus on them.

I’m the same way with tea. I enjoy tasting what’s new and different, but I’m more set on finding those “sure bets” that I can rely on to bring me satisfaction. And just as with wine, I try to concentrate on selections that fit my everyday budget and deliver great value. In the wine shop, I’m the queen of the $10-$15 category. Most of my favorite teas run $20-$25 per 500 grams.

The beauty of tea is that, like wine or gardening, it’s an interest that will never grow stale. I will never know all there is to know, as the landscape changes with each harvest!

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[[ Are you a serious tea lover?Or are you just having fun? ]]
Both, i guess. I thought I was pretty serious about tea, but then steepster proved me wrong. I wouldn’t really say I’m having fun with tea either though. I just like having the small little ritual of making tea and feel satisfaction when the cup i made tastes delicious :)

[[Would you say you are obsessed with tea?]]
Compared to my obsession with asian culture, no. I am not addicted to tea. I really love tea, and especially in the fall and winter if I don’t have a cup I feel like something’s missing… even in the summer when its too hot I feel like tea is missing in my life because I haven’t gotten the iced tea making routine down to a T.

[[Are you serious about other foods or drinks – wine, beer, chocolate? Or just tea?]]
Not so much… but chocolate is my guilty pleasure. I /must/ eat some sort of chocolate a day or else my day feels completely incomplete, but on terms of the quality of chocolate i’m not so “serious” about that. Any chocolate is good enough for me. I’m just an addict. I used to be the same with coffee, but I’ve slowly cut coffee out of my diet because my stomach was not happy with me drinking so much.

[[ How much would you pay for one cup’s worth of the finest quality tea leaves? How much do you pay for an “everyday” tea? ]]
I’m really cheap about my tea, just because I don’t have that much money to actually spend on tea. I’ve also tried to stay away from high quality teas because I don’t think I could steep them or even realize the quality difference. In general I try to spend less than $8 on 2 ounces. depending on the tea it varies though.

[[Is no tea at all better than tea of inferior quality?]]
I drink so much “inferior quality” tea that I would have to say no. The household staple iced tea all year round is crystal light, i drink bagged teas when I go to study in my department building all night…. etc. I don’t really see much of a difference, tea is tea. It’s like if i were to avoid hershey’s chocolate because its not that good. Its cheap, satisfying, and chocolate. better than none ;)

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Lori said

Thought provoking questions!

Would you say you are obsessed with tea? Yes! Tea has become my sole source of caffeine and I drink lots during the day. I love to try new tea and purchase tea and mail tea, read about tea, etc. But I would love to learn more about high quality non-flavored teas…..

Are you serious about other foods or drinks – wine, beer, chocolate? Or just tea?
Not a big wine or beer fan (just don’t like the taste) but generally, I love food and cooking AND chocolate..

How much would you pay for one cup’s worth of the finest quality tea leaves? How much do you pay for an “everyday” tea? So far, I have not purchased any wildly expensive tea just yet (ex. $50/oz. ) but I don’t know where to find any. I could be tempted to purchase, if someone (whose judgement I trusted) claimed that this is the BEST yunnan, etc), just to experience a higthest quality cup of tea at least once.. Really, most of the vendors discussed in this website are priced similarly.

Is no tea at all better than tea of inferior quality? Even a bag of the ol’standby Lipton’s is drinkable and can pep you up at work….

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VegTea,

Love these questions…as you can imagine we are obsessed with tea which probably goes without saying. We have some fun videos you can find on YouTube where we ask some similar questions.

Love that you can enjoy your cup of Bigelow Tea now and then!

Now, come on over to our blog (www.bigelowteablog.com) and answer some of our tea survey questions! We always want to know what makes a tea lover tick!!

Valorie for Bigelow Tea

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CheapCats said

When I drink tea I get so happy that I could fire lasor beams at baby squirrels!

MegWesley said

You have no idea how much that made me grin. Love it!

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MegWesley said

Am I a serious tea lover?

Not at all. Or at least, not yet. I am in it for the exploration and because it tastes good. I never would have believed you if you told me a month ago that I would be able to drink and enjoy black tea without sugar or honey. Now, I can.

I’m not as obsessed over tea as I am about good writing or knitting. My friends would say otherwise because I have been talking to them about tea almost non-stop right now. We will just have to see how that goes.

I’m learning how to cook and cook well. So I guess I’m semi-serious about food. That won’t stop me from cooking chicken in a brown sugar and maple syrup glaze though. (Haven’t tried it yet but it sounds good!) I really really like chocolate. I am hoping I can find some good chocolate teas that I can use to curb my hot cocoa craving when I am at school. I can drink a cup of their cocoa but our cocoa is better and I shouldn’t be drinking it all of the time during the winter.

I’m cheap about tea right now. I’m hoping that I might be able to talk mom into helping me get some loose leaf tea samplers when I go back to school for the fall semester so I won’t be dependent on the cafeteria providing me with different flavors of tea. I can only stand the same flavor of anything only so many times in a row before I get fed up with it.

Right now I am just getting started in this big world of tea. I don’t know the quality from the inferior yet. So I’ll drink tea of any sort if I can get my hands on it and if I’m in the mood to have tea.

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Bourgea said

Would you say you are obsessed with tea?

No doubt in my mind I am. I want nothing more than to change the way people view tea. I could talk about tea 24/7 and love every second of it. I read every tea book I can get my hand on and buy every tea I can afford. I have a number of different tea pots. I also want to work in the tea industry as much as I can. haha

Are you serious about other foods or drinks – wine, beer, chocolate? Or just tea?

I’m starting to get into wines and I’m loving it. I wouldn’t say I’m as serious though. If someone talked about wine all day there is a good chance I would have no idea what they were talking about.

How much would you pay for one cup’s worth of the finest quality tea leaves? How much do you pay for an “everyday” tea?

I would pay up to $500 for a rare cup of tea. Not that I have done this, but if I could get my hands on a really old Pu-erh thats been aged a really long time I would for sure do this. I would say that my average cup of tea costs around 30 cents. Considering I usually brew the leaves three times or so the cost might be even less.

Is no tea at all better than tea of inferior quality?

I’m going to have to say that no tea is better than having inferior quality tea. The reason for this is that the inferior quality isn’t going to taste as good and I’m tired of people saying that they don’t like tea because the only tea they have ever had is dust/fannings.

Cofftea said

RE: “I’m tired of people saying that they don’t like tea because the only tea they have ever had is dust/fannings.” I completely agree! Although it’s my own opinion that once a person knows delicous tea exists in large quantities, I think a lot of tea drinkers would pick the low quality tea if the other options are water, juice, coffee, soda, etc knowing that it definitely is not the majority of teas.

Bourgea said

Agreed!

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