Drinking tea and the perception of tea is such a personal experience that I urge you to be mindful of the differences and variations that will naturally come when comparing notes. I believe one individual’s perception and understanding of a situation is unique and is heavily influenced by what he has gone through in life. The power and sensitivity of a person’s physical senses is accounted for by genetics* in part, influenced by the consumption of food diversity and taste preferences, then impacted upon by medication and illnesses, level of physical health, age, mental clarity of thoughts and alertness and possibly many more factors.
With this in mind it is important for each of us to seek our own experiences. This will ensure we have clarity between ourselves and the tea we drink. Patience and perseverance is a necessary virtue for unlocking the secrets to tea. For those of us who may also be studious and scholarly driven by the subject of tea, the act of drinking tea goes beyond simple enjoyment. We drink tea to seek answers and we drink tea to seek understanding but we will only achieve both from the awakening of our own mind and senses.
Take Action: My dear fellow tea lovers, the reading list below is something I highly recommend you embrace with open arms. During the time when I started my tea journey in 2000 I was not so fortunate to have such knowledge at my fingertips.
Get reading and count your blessings!
Recommended Reading
1) The Art of Tea (All Issues) http://www.the-art-of-tea.com/list-all-issues.html
2) Puer Tea: Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic by Jinghong Zhang
3) First Step to Chinese Puerh Tea by Chan Kam Pong
4) The Leaf Magazine http://the-leaf.org/The_Leaf/Issues.html
genetics* - Science has been able to identify why some people have very sensitive taste (supertaster) and why others do not (subtaster). This is an interesting topic that can be further researched by googling the terms provided in addition to the video.
Are you a supertaster? Find out!
Why People Taste Things Differently - DNews
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ_uyux8i_M