Tea Is Hard

Tea is what you make of it — you can’t really go wrong as long as it tastes fine to you! Just have fun with it. It’s probably the only thing I don’t stress about, so I don’t think you should either. :D

The problem is that there is no real set of rules for tea. Ultimately, it comes down to trying stuff, developing your palate so you can pick out notes you like (or not, just drink it because you like the taste, not necessary to analyze it at all if you don’t want to). Especially things like “what should it taste like” have no concrete answers. Just reading some reviews here should make it pretty apparent that 3 people can taste the same tea, even prepared in the same way, and get different tastes from it.

You’ve begun a journey. The joy in this one is truly not the destination, but the travel. If you have samples, that is honestly what Steepster excels at – letting people learn about a complex topic at a relatively low price point.

My suggestion is to start with the reading. Get a good base to build on and then branch out. If the descriptions of Japanese green teas interest you, look up some of them here on Steepster, follow some folks who review them and eventually start looking for swaps or stash sales so you can try samples.

Google stuff like this:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/03/how-to-taste-tea.html

http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/02/more-tea-for-everyone.html

http://www.teaclass.com/

http://www.worldoftea.org/category/tea-education/

There are tons of interesting sites out there that will further a tea education.

Above all, I’d say to remember that this is a huge topic that has been hundreds of years in the making and it is still evolving. Take it pieces at a time, develop your knowledge and tasting skills to whatever point you want and go from there. Don’t get bogged down in what is “right” because the only true “right” is the way that gives you enjoyment.

You can narrow down what you’re most interested in exploring. You could start with a kind of tea, say black tea. From China, Sri Lanka, or India? Then there are regions and cultivars (cultivated varieties) in each country. Still, that is a lot, but it’s somewhere. My pure tea drinking began with Japanese green teas when I studied abroad in Kyoto. It gave me a solid start on how to smell and taste each tea.

When I discovered Steepster, that’s where I really got into Chinese teas, mostly black, green, and pu’erh. I also found my love for Taiwanese oolongs and African teas. This takes YEARS. Years. I’ve been on Steepster for three years and still in “try ALL the teas” mode, despite definitely knowing what I like and dislike. If you’ve got plenty of time on this earth, take it slowly and be careful to not let your stash get out of control :]

What also helps is reading blogs, such as Tea for Me Please, Rambling Butterflies, Oolong Owl, booksandtea.ca, tealover.net, and deathbytea. There is a thread dedicated to blogs but these are some of my favorites.

Yunnan Sourcing is a huge store. When I wanted to get into pu’erh, I made the mistake of first going to their selection xD Upton is also overwhelming, but they have teas from so many countries. Upton was one of the very first vendors I ordered from. They’re an excellent place to kick off an interest in a certain country/region. There are plenty of smaller online vendors that specialize in certain teas. Anyone here can point you to the direction you want to travel in.

If you think Yunnan Sourcing has a lot of tea, try Aliexpress King Tea, they have about 4000 different puerhs that they sell. However, I don’t think he keeps them in stock. I think he orders from TaoBao when you place an order. This explains why it always takes him five days to ship your package.

I feel the same way!! My whole life I’ve been drinking bagged black tea (good ole Lipton) and had it down to a science. Then I decided to explore the world of tea and now I’m hooked learning about real tea, each type and just how to make it perfectly. At the end of the day if you enjoy it, that’s all that matters, but I feel your pain of being overwhelmed and addicted to the information! And it does get expensive when you are constantly making tea to try different types or the same types at different amounts and different steep times!

I think of tea the way I think about art. Everyone has their own taste, and what is important for you as the taster or collector is what you, personally, like. There are some teas that people with knowledge tend to agree are excellent examples of their kind, just as art experts agree on the talent of Monet. But not everyone who appreciates looking at paintings loves Monet more than, say, some other impressionist or some abstract expressionist or Dutch Master. And not everyone who appreciates art is buying paintings for investment purposes, or to fit some objective definition of what is “good.” Sometimes you just really like a drawing some indie artist put up on eBay and think it would look good in your home.

In other words, as long as you aren’t buying some very expensive pu-erh for investment purposes, you aren’t going to go “wrong” by trying things and seeing what you like. Over time you’ll get a better idea of your own tastes, and you may find that your tastes change. You’ll also get a better idea of what you prefer in a particular type of tea, and you’ll start to compare the new things you try to what you’ve already tried. It really does come down to, do you like this one better than that one? The only way to find that out is to try a lot of things, read a lot, talk to other people who like tea, and give it time. It should be fun, not stressful. :-)

Personally, I like to keep things simple. I was completely overwhelmed when I first started diving into the massive world of tea. Honestly, I sometimes still feel like that, for I am always learning something new. I just bought stuff and drank in the beginning. I’ve used a lot of money on tea that is just collecting dust right now. You can’t really make a mistake in the tea world. Even though I’ve spent quite a bit on fake dayi puerh, Laobangzhai puerh, and gfz puerh. I’ve bought trail mix (cough cough teavana), and I’ve bought painted yixing teapots. Point is, I’ve learned through all these “mistakes” and I will continue to learn as I make new ones. So, at first just buy, drink, and have fun. Talk to people and ask questions.

Also, I didn’t start reading articles until much later on, for I thought all the information overwhelmed me, and I didn’t know which articles to trust.

This is only my experience, so try different things out.

I guess a good question is to ask how ‘new’ are you to tea? If it’s not already a habit for you, maybe try finding one nice daily drinker that you enjoy and then explore from there. It doesn’t have to be expensive, it doesn’t have to be amazing either, but it’ll help you balance yourself in a way, and give you practice in brewing at least that type of tea. I find tea not a habit that always benefits from diving into the deep end first. Rather, test the waters, and get lots of samples, even if they’re on the inexpensive side of price ranges- even the less expensive samples can help you narrow down your taste preferences.

There is time to build a collection, and you don’t suddenly have to have 200 teas in your cupboard, less is sometimes ideal, especially if you end up finding yourself liking those types of teas that tend to not hold up to age as well. If nothing else, you can go to the supermarket and see what you find. There is a bit of stigma against tea bags in the tea communities, but they are mass produced for a reason, and that is because they appeal to a wide audience and it sells. If you’d rather go the loose leaf route, most asian groceries will carry a variety, as well as World Market Cost Plus, Whole Foods, etc. For beginners in the US I usually recommend Adagio.com, they have a easy to navigate website that isn’t too overwhelming, and cheap fast shipping. (If you want I can also send you a $5 voucher for new customers.)

Best advice keep a cupboard of your teas, a wishlist and find a swap buddy. Both can benefit in a trade usually and it allows you to get into your own preferences without a lot of investment. When you find the path you want you can continue with your own parameters. Everybody is unique and therefore have different taste buds to experience with. Not all people share the same taste notes so the experience is a personal thing.
You will find people with similar notes on the tea you both drank and some of their teas will fit your tastes.

There are secrets out there… such as, oolong is the best type of tea.