Confessions of a Tea Blogger – TAG!

I used to watch a ton of vlogs before I started my tea blog and always enjoyed getting to know more about the vloggers I watched during their TAGS where they would be asked questions pertaining to a specific topic. I assume you can do the same for actual blogs as well so I wanted to get the ball rolling and start a “Confessions of a Tea Blogger” tag.

Below are the questions I have made up and also answering myself. At the end I will be tagging some other fellow tea bloggers to do this post themselves as well and they shall tag others at the end too. Please don’t feel like you have to participate if you are tagged. Of course, you can do whatever you’d like – I just thought it’d be fun! I figured it’s an excellent way to get to know one another a bit more, too. 🙂

Confessions of a Tea Blogger

1) First, let’s start with how you were introduced & fell in love with the wonderful beverage of tea.
This is by far one of my favourite stories to tell – but I’ll keep it short this time. When I was about 7 years old my mother finally decided it was okay if I had some tea. My sister had a wooden box with these amazing strawberry flavoured tea bags. We all sat down together watching TV and enjoying a cup. I fell in love instantly (even though my mother insisted there’d be a lot of milk in the cup so I wasn’t over caffeinated haha). Ever since then, tea has been a beverage with great memories and times had with my mother and sister and something I will forever cherish and keep going.

2) What was the very first tea blend that you ever tried?
As stated above, it was of course a tea bag (this was 15 years ago!) and it was strawberry. I can’t recall what brand or anything but the taste still lingers when I rewind to that moment.

3) When did you start your tea blog & what was your hope for creating it?
I started my tea blog over two years ago (it feels so much longer)! I initially started it because I always loved to blog and I’ve gone through many blogs before where I just quit because I wasn’t too happy with the topic of my blog site anymore. I came across Teaspoons & Petals and thought “hey… I could totally be doing this right now too!” I knew a tea blog would be something I could forever have and not quit because of how passionate I am about the beverage. I first started by interviewing tea writers & companies and wanted to branch off into reviews and creative pieces about tea. My hope was to inspire others about the wonder benefits of tea and meet other tea lovers on the journey.

4) List one thing most rewarding about your blog & one thing most discouraging.
Most rewarding: getting to “meet” many other tea lovers and have an excellent online network to communicate with. I’ve always said tea drinkers were the nicest of people and having this blog has only proved that statement more!
Most discouraging: Hmm…I guess the only thing would be not having as much time as I would love to be able to focus on my tea blog. There have been times where I had to take a break from it because of too much school & work. I hope in the future, things will calm down on the home front, and get a bit more wild in the blogging world for me 🙂

5) What type of tea are you most likely to be caught sipping on?
If you asked me this 10 years ago I would simply say “Orange Pekoe” haha! Embarrassing. But back then all I really knew was that from the tea bags my mom had around the house and the strawberry one I once tried. It always changes for me as I love all types of tea usually but right now I am obsessed with anything Rooibos.

6) Favourite tea latte to indulge in?
Good ol’ Chai Tea Latte, for sure.

7) Favourite treat to pair with your tea?
It could depend on the kind of tea I’m drinking, but I usually go for a mini scone or I recently made Vegan Raw Chocolate Almond bark that I find is an amazing guilt free treat perfect for any cup of tea.

8) If there was one place in the World that you could explore the tea culture at, where would it be & why?
I wish I could say Italy, as I’m from an Italian background and never been but I’m afraid my time spent there would be drinking endless amounts of espressos instead. Most people might say Asian countries, and while I do really want to go there to get an experience of the entire tea processing work, I think I’m going to first stick with my initial place from when I was younger and that’s England. I’ve always dreamt of sitting along a busy street with refills after refills of tea and writing endlessly about anything. So, I would want to satisfy my younger self and visit there first!

9) Any tea time rituals you have that you’d like to share?
I don’t do this all the time but usually when I get a few moments to just relax. I love to burn incense (frankincense is one of my favourites) and enjoy every moment of the tea making process with light music in the background, whether it’s a record, CD, or my boyfriend practicing on his guitar. I watch as the water boils and just pause in that moment, then wake when I hear it whistle at the perfect temperate. I sit and watch as my tea steeps and get up when I hear the tea timer go off. Then I continue to relax but this time through each sip and just focus on the moment I am currently in.

10) Time of day you enjoy drinking tea the most: Morning, Noon, Night or Anytime?
Morning & Night during the warmer months we get here in Canada, but definitely anytime during the entire Autumn & Winter season.

11) What’s one thing you wish for tea in the future?
Would it be wrong to say “No more coffee, only tea”? Ha, I kid – I am not a huge coffee hater, it’s just not for my taste buds. I would sincerely wish more people would give tea a chance and not just claim they do not like it because of one bad cup. I hope more people would be educated on proper tea storage, steeping times, etc. so that they can all learn how to make a delicious cup. I will forever believe that there’s a tea out there for everyone!

— Who do you tag?

I TAG:

Nicole from Tea For Me Please
Rachel from I Heart Teas
Jen from An International Tea Moment
Jen from No Time Like Tea Time
Alexis from Teaspoons & Petals

*Side Note: When you create your own tag post, please start by letting your readers know who you were initially tagged by. Feel free to use the photo above as well.
**If you end up participating in this TAG, tweet me your post so I can get to know you more too. You can tweet either accounts: @theteacupoflife OR @teaaholic !