I’ve ended up on steepster a few times, looking for reviews of teas by others. I suppose that’s something lacking from my method - sharing my review with others.

Do you recommend using steepster? I don’t imagine it will replace my complex spreadsheet, but I suppose I could copy my review to steepster.

You’ve got a nice starting kit there! Thank your friend for being so kind by inviting them to a tea session with you!

Here’s a few things that I wish I knew when I started trying high quality tea:

Get the water temp right for the type of tea and don’t oversteep. I thought all tea was just undrinkably bitter, but I was just steeping everything for too long in boiling water.

Write a few notes about what you think about the tea. For the first year, my notes consisted of “bitter” or “I like this”. I can’t remember what the teas tasted like, so I wish I wrote down more.

Then, I just advise that you experiment yourself to find what works for you.

It’s a “Willsense Gooseneck Kettle”. https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Gooseneck-Temperature-Aiheal-Stainless/dp/B0B1MLVMY5/

I love it. It has exact-degree setting, can go low enough for the greens I drink, and can hold for 2 hours. Only thing I don’t like it that it doesn’t hold enough water for my constant tea drinking. :)

Looks tasty. I drank darjeelings and ceylons for lunch for years at work. I used an unglazed ceramic easy-gaiwan, similar to what you have there. The unglazed clay softened the tea, so it didn’t feel so harsh if/when I oversteeped it.

No milk for me. Though, I don’t care for drinking milk in general, so take that into consideration. Ever since I started buying higher quality loose leaf tea, I’ve greatly enjoyed the taste and depth of it plain.

Wow! I dream of visiting tea gardens, once my health improves. I want to visit where my favorite teas come from - certain villages in Yunnan, China.

I started out only drinking black, though as I’ve spent more money on tea, getting higher quality, I’ve enjoyed the depth of fresher (greener) teas. I’d have to say green, but with the caveat that I enjoy drinking all types often.

Interesting! I’ve had mixed success enjoying Thai tea. I never considered making it myself. I also don’t add sugar to my tea, so this sounds promising for me to try.

I have various loose leaf black teas around at home. I suppose I could try adding condensed milk to a strong brew of one?

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Icon: A generic cup of tea. Don’t want a teabag or a full gong fu setup, as they might feel that they are limiting or excluding ways of drinking tea. Here’s a free one to use: https://unsplash.com/photos/v69Rgy8pPyk

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