Anyone looking for more followers and people to follow on Steepster? Post here!
I’ve been a member for a while but recently launched a company and would love to find and follow more people!
Edit: Way to bump an old thread!
Hey all, I’m new here. Have a story.
I’ve been drinking tea for 15 years. Started off with nothing but iced Lipton made in a Mr Coffee iced tea maker, prepared by my at the time 50+ year-old stoner friends. Moved onto the odd tea bag several years later. My aunt introduced me to a variety of herbal tisanes. Once she picked me up a bag of loose shou pu’er from the farmers market. It was weird. Very weird. Looking back, I wish I hadn’t given it away when I moved apartments.
Several years ago, I was leaving the parking garage where I park my motorcycle. Somebody moving out from that apartment building left unwanted belongings next to the the recycling bin. I found a nice stash of Chinese individual foil-packaged teas and a bunch of bags from Steven Smith Teamaker. Had no clue how to brew the Chinese tea. Like the shou, it was weird. Finished them all but never found out what they were.
Moved on to Yogi teas. They all tasted the same. Started grinding my own spices for masala chai. Extra black pepper.
Then I started drinking coffee regularly after getting into habitat restoration work. Physical labor all day. I could barely get up in the mornings I was so beat. I embraced the bean. The bean did not embrace me. Before, restoration work left me a lump on the couch at the end of the work day. After embracing the bean, I was left a twitchy, moody, sleepless lump. At this time, I also started visiting the Imperial Tea Court at the San Francisco Ferry Building. Too expensive but…WHAT? this is what well brewed loose-leaf Chinese teas taste like. Gaiwan? huh. This is good for a treat but I’m not made of money.
After a year of twitchy, moody, sleepless lump, I found Whispering Pines online. Some good strong teas and blends that complemented the work I was doing in the locations I was doing it. Soon found myself coming full circle with shou pu’er and mystery foil bags of Chinese tea. Gave up coffee entirely. Now I drink tea from all over the world and love reading about it in the form of reviews and of how it’s made. I’m not on the hunt to find the best of the best and never, ever do I aim for or accept pretentiousness. Give me your tired, your poor, and I will drink those, too.
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