A Fine tea neophyte. Thanks a lot guys!!!

[Greyfox]

Well you folks did it again. Wasn't it enough to get me interested in fountain pens and paper and send me down that bottomless pit? Now you have tweaked my interest in the fine tea arena. As a confirmed heavy coffee drinker of many years I must admit that I am intrigued that a cup of tea can go to the height of enjoyment that some of you describe. My experience with tea is limited to iced tea and the very occasional cup of Lipton or Tetley. Well it's too late now. My interest is piqued and I just ordered myself a yixing pot and gaiwan from Steve over at Jasetea. Reading all that I can here and other locations as well. I want to try them all. Heck, I am 62 years old so I need to get started on an accelerated basis so any advice or tea recommendations would be appreciated. I want to get a green, an oolong, a puerh and whatever else you might recommend. I am still not sure that I know the difference between a raw or cooked puerh in terms of which I would like better. I do know that I have read so much about the High Mountain Oolongs that I have to have one of those. Geez if what I read about that tea is true then drinking it ought to make me live pretty near forever. A good book recommendation would be welcomed as well. Again, THANKS A LOT GUYS.

[jumper]

The great thing about being our age is that all new hobbies are so much fun and they keep us young. Congrats on your new avocation.

[nff]

ok heres my recomendatiosn for tea's

green: a nice sencha and something like

Zhe Jiang Long Jing (steve should have it in stock soon if he dosent already)

oolong: ti kuan yin for a nice light floral oolong and da hong pao for roasted oolong.

pu-erh: menghai 7532 is a classic. my advice for pu erh is buy it within a year of it coming out. prices are best then. (my menghai 69th anv (2009) is up to $70 now) and v93 for the cooked side (it has a good rep though i personally havent tried it)

black: LSC (i cant spell it LOL) is good if your a fan of smokey/peaty whisky theres a few others but i dont know the exact names or where you may get them.

edit i almoast forgot white: silver needle is good steve has a few difrent styles of white they are verry light on flavor and can range from floral to creamy in flavor profiles.

and if you can snag some yellow tea they are verry nice and quite exclusive.

[Doc4]

You can only use the Yixing pot for one kind of tea ... I'd suggest raw pu-erh. (Steve sells sampler packs of raw and cooked pu-erh, which are a good place to start there.

[oc_in_fw]

THANKS A LOT GUYS.

I know the feeling- this site is dangerous I am right now thinking of how I am going to tell the wife that we NEED some Oriental Beauty Oolong tea.

[jwhite]

I know the feeling- this site is dangerous I am right now thinking of how I am going to tell the wife that we NEED some Oriental Beauty Oolong tea.

Man that one is so easy compared to the usual; pipes, tobacco, pens, shave brush and others.

"Honey I've been doing so much just for myself, I wanted to add a little luxury time that we could enjoy together - just the two of us"

...you're welcome.

[oc_in_fw]

Man that one is so easy compared to the usual; pipes, tobacco, pens, shave brush and others.

"Honey I've been doing so much just for myself, I wanted to add a little luxury time that we could enjoy together - just the two of us"

...you're welcome.

Thanks James- it is again your fault Seriously, I have to knock this ball out of the park quick- not sure how much experimentation she will allow if she doesn't like the first one.

[jwhite]

find out what she likes, or what her tastes are and include some that are suited to her all others are included to offer variety and introduce new experiences. Make the first one for her.

[oc_in_fw]

find out what she likes, or what her tastes are and include some that are suited to her all others are included to offer variety and introduce new experiences. Make the first one for her.

We both have limited experience, but I know she likes fruity tastes.

[SiBurning]

Once you sip a few cups of tea, we can recommend many fine ADs to add to your collection.

"The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide" (Mary Lou Heiss & Robert J Heiss) is a good book if you want to get some cultural background.

"The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook" (same authors) takes a more focused approach, skipping the cultural parts, and seems to go into more depth. I recommend the "Enthusiast's" book, as it's much better organized, can be used as a quick reference, and has more information of practical use.

I also have "Tea: Aromas and Flavors Around the World", which can be used as a guide, but really suits the coffee table tea table better with its interesting pictures.

For a quick start, check out B&B's Tea FAQ (put together by yours truly, so complain to me if it's lousy) which has some good information and points to some of some of the best B&B threads about tea. (With apologies for the poor formatting.)

[Doc4]

One great way to get her involved is in selecting tea wares. Whether it's going online for her to pick the gaiwan or yixing pot & cups ... or spending an afternoon in your local Chinatown shops (after a nice dim sum lunch, of course ... look, it's a 'date' now) ... you may end up with hardware that's a little too flowery for your tastes, but the 'tea team' building will be invaluable.

We both have limited experience, but I know she likes fruity tastes.

... aaaaaand now we know why she's married to you!

[oc_in_fw]

... aaaaaand now we know why she's married to you!

I am not going to look a gift horse in the mouth