im lo achshav- what do i want out of this blog?

24 tevet 5781

i don’t care about reviews that wax poetic about the detailed flavors or aromas of teas. i don’t want a play by play description of each infusion and how they compare. is this because i am too impatient? probably. is this because of my disgruntled relationship with the internet and information overload? also probably. i have too many books i need to read and i greatly prefer those than reading off of a screen and scrolling through blog posts (it makes my head hurt). i used to read a lot of food blogs and got very sick of the tired out tropes and back flips people would do to find new ways of describing the same thing. don’t worry, ill get there too and you can roll your eyes at my over use of the phrases ‘faint forest floor aroma’ or ‘reminiscent of the pungent bouquet found in a furry costume rental.’

what i want to write in these pieces is my experience with different teas. i want to share the stories behind them, how i found them, where i got it, what i learned from it, who i shared it with, and how i see it in my life.

 

i want to learn which vendors fit my buying habits best. maybe this vendor i prefer for dan congs and this vendor for cheap puer but this vendor for affordable higher end puer.

 

one day, i hope to reach a level where i am writing about my own aging habits and comparing how one tea did in a certain kind of storage compared to another. my ultimate goal is to drink mostly form tea i have stored and aged myself but that day is a long ways off. 

 

another one of my goals for this blog is a very personal one. i want to help combat my own anxieties about puer buying. it is very easy for me to feel anxious and hopeless about being able to afford good puer. but like all, i do have to ’investing in the learning experience’ and 'pay my tuition. i think aging ones own cakes is cool, but to be honest, my main reason is fueled by cost anxiety. i think, ‘oh crap, i need to buy young puer and age it myself so i wont get screwed over as the price goes up for this cake every year.’ id prefer if my main motivation was for the sake of science, experimentation, and developing a relationship with tea.  

i am naively nostalgic for a time ive never experienced but have only heard about. in China, most people buy already aged puer because that is the norm and theres a good amount to go around. now, the price of aged puer has taken off (its still relatively pricey even after the crash in 2007). i want to reach a state where i find cakes that are in my price range that i enjoy and be happy and content with them. i do not want to fall prey to buying or drinking puer out of anxiety, fomo, or clever marketing.

 

this is why i also want to fnd more tea/puer friends. i love the idea of trading and sharing tea so we can all try a variety of things without buying oodles of samples. hopefully i will find some irl tea friends and id be happy to find some internet tea friends to do trades with as well. 

xoxo