This is the second of a series of four posts designed to help the beginner dive into the world of tea with confidence. It might seem intimidating to get started drinking tea, but it doesn’t have to be. These are some tips that really helped me when I first started my journey. As always, I’m happy to answer any tea questions you have. Just use the form on my contact page!
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
No matter what your obsession may be, there will always be a pretentious snob who tells you that you are doing it wrong. With tea, it’s very easy to get bogged down in measuring leaves and perfectly calibrating your water ratios. It’s not that these things aren’t important but they can get in the way of actually enjoying what is in your cup.
Sometimes you just have to wing it, for better or for worse, especially when you are just starting. The point is to enjoy your tea, savoring the tranquility that comes with it. I was lucky enough to have someone teach me that right at the beginning of my journey and it is a lesson that has stuck with me. It is impossible to tell someone how to drink tea properly because there is no such thing.
You Don’t Need to Buy All of the Things (Yet)
The excitement of starting a new hobby can lead to a lot of unnecessary spending. That is particularly true when you get started drinking tea. It can be tempting to want to acquire every new piece of paraphernalia you learn about, but that approach isn’t helpful when you’re still just figuring it all out.
Hardcore tea enthusiasts also tend to be overzealous when it comes to giving out advice. I often see people on forums like Reddit advising total newbies to purchase a gaiwan right away. That’s like starting a child on a mountain bike instead of something their size with training wheels.
I’ll be digging a bit deeper into this topic in Part 3. There are a few basic tools that will help you get started drinking tea and you won’t need to break the bank doing it.
Experimentation is Your Best Tool
Don’t be afraid to use too much leaf or steep it in water that isn’t exactly the right temperature. I think that kind of experimentation is the most valuable tool you’ll have in learning about tea. The best way to get better at making tea is to play around with adjusting parameters like leaf ratio and steep time to create the experience you want. It’s the kind of thing that takes practice and time to really get a handle on.
It’s also important to keep in mind that every tea variety is different. Most green teas do better with cooler water, but there are a few (like Gua Pian) that really don’t seem to mind some heat. Black tea is typically brewed with fully boiling water. You might find that you prefer to use cooler water to reduce astringency.
What advice would you give to help someone who wants to get started drinking tea? Is there something you thought was important at first, but later learned wasn’t a big deal? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
Check Out the Other Posts in the ‘Get Started Drinking Tea’ Series
This post was originally published on August 26th, 2011. It was revised and updated on May 23rd, 2022.
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Exactly. Let your tongue do the talking!
Right on! Luckily, I got started on my own and learned through experimentation. By doing it this way I didn't get bogged down with specific strategies, I just had fun with it!
A Girl With Tea
P.S. I love these posts you are doing for tea novices 🙂
Thanks! I often get emails from beginners asking for advice so I thought this series would be a help to them.
Hi Nicole, what you say about purchasing ‘Gaiwan’ and that it’s like starting a child on a mountain bike instead of something their size with training wheels. This is very true and perhaps why I failed all those years in my tea journey. I gave up but I have continued with the tea blog; going nowhere but I am okay with it.
I am reminded of when I was young and how my mother had purchased a 10-speed bike for me with bells and all the perks that came with it at the time, and she took me out to a parking lot for me to try to ride this massive thing; I remember insisting on wanting a smaller bike, lower than I was, with training wheels but this could not be and I had to learn to ride this 10 speed; height was far above me and each time that I would try to ride I would fall and scrape my knee; I tried a few time but I could not learn to balance and stay straight; anyhow, the bike ended up in the attic or such place but my younger sister did learn to ride this bike and grew up to be a mother of four children; so there is something to be said with sports and those who can do it.
Good of you to share Nicole; look at you, you’ve made it and patrons even. Wow since 2008 and it is 2022…fourteen years in the making. Kudos to you.