ok people at my work are wondering about my sanity
from the dollar store i bought small tupperware type containers that hold 12-15 grams of tea each 8 for a dollar. at work i have 24 different types of tea - white, green, various oolong, blacks, puerh covering various regions like yunnan, darjeeling. each container is labelled. monday morning all the teas are in my drawer label side facing up. with my digital tea scale and ceramic infuser. as i have a tea, i turn over the container label down, so i know that i have had some of that type that week. normally i have whites and light greens in the morning, light oolongs after lunch, then darker oolongs, black or puerh teas mid afternoon. each day i choose from different teas from the remaining choices. by friday i have flipped over 15 or so teas, the next week i use those, until all the teas are flipped over. then turn all label side up. i find after a year my tea tasting and appreciation has improved greatly. each tea is unique unto itself. i do not dislike any tea properly prepared. i have learned how to adjust steeping and temperature for what were at first bitter greens, now they are lovely prepared properly. i find each person appreciates tea differently, for various reasons. teas i love, some people detest. a nice white i love, my wife refers to as dish soap water. i gave her a cup of her first puerh thinking she would hate it, and she said, now that is a nice tea!
my workplace used to be hectic, now it is a place to enjoy nice tea while working. i look forward to monday as my white teas are reserved for work. as for some reason i do not drink them at home on the weekend.
i was planning on rating 9 teas i received recently. i have learned that taste, smell and other senses are subjective and depend on the person. so, my thoughts would only be my own. others may not share the same thoughts regarding taste etc. all i will say is that, of the nine received, i will be ordering all again, perhaps in larger sizes, perhaps same sizes so i can order more variety, all are perfect examples of the type they represent, in closing, please explain how an order placed to yunnan llc in china on a friday morning reaches my doorstep in ontario canada on the next tuesday at 9:30am ? yes i chose the quicker shipping, but 1 busines day + 1 hour, from china to canada ? wow, simply amazing!
thoughts from a converted fannings grade, $1.99 pound, tea bag type person. alanj