Introduce Yourself

I created Tap for Tea because of my love for both Magic and tea. My dreams of opening a gaming café were put on hold due to the pandemic, but I still wanted to share the fun and enjoyment of the game as well as quality teas from some great growers and estates that people could enjoy in the comfort of their own homes. I began playing Magic around 1993 at the tail end of Unlimited and start of Revised. I loved the art and the thought that went into crafting fun or competitive decks. It also lead to a great group of friends and some amazing times at tournaments. I stepped away from the tournament scene around the time of the Urza's Block but still loved the game and continued to play sealed deck drafts and fun decks when I could. Then life stepped in and I would occasionally pick up a pack or two when a new set came around that interested me but rarely played tabletop Magic due to a lack of time and playgroup. I had kept a copy of the old Microprose PC game running through emulation and still play it often, which gave me a way to continue playing the game I loved. I still play it to this day! I mostly play on Arena now, but have returned to playing tabletop and really dug back in with Strixhaven and my, so far unlucky, pursuit of pulling a Japanese Demonic Tutor. It brought back that thrill and fun of cracking packs in hopes of sliding that next card to the side to reveal the holy grail I was after. Seeing D&D come to Magic was also a dream come true and I've enjoyed a lot of the cards and mechanics that it brought to the game. I'm looking forward to what comes next! I also hope that others get to experience that joy of uncovering their own holy grail or card they need to create or finish a deck, it never gets old. My journey into tea began around that same time. I visited a small Korean store during a hot summer day and saw that they had iced jasmine green tea. I was expecting it to be pre-made and poured out and I would be on my way. Instead, the owner began brewing fresh tea and then taking an unbelievable amount of care to create a simple syrup from yellow rock sugar and then craft one of the finest glasses of iced tea I had ever had. It instantly brought back memories from years earlier while watching Karate Kid II where they perform a tea ceremony. It had always intrigued me, but I never fully understood it. I began researching the tea ceremony and learning everything I could about tea. I started to try all of the various teas from China, India, Japan, and elsewhere and learn about all of the different methods of brewing tea. It was the early days of the Internet but I joined a number of Usenet groups about tea and started learning and sharing information with others and became even more knowledgeable and made friends with a number of tea growers and estate owners as well as other enthusiasts. They began to contact me to help them create websites or write reviews for their teas and I created a number of relationships that I still cherish to this day. Tea can seem very simple, but it is an entire world and so many people put so much effort into the growing, processing, and shipping of the tea that we often take for granted that I wanted to help spread awareness and my love for tea. I began importing teas directly from the growers and estates and supplying small coffee shops and cafes with various teas that were higher quality than what they had been used to while also being able to go beyond "fair trade" and providing a better income to the unsung heroes that pick and process the tea. I plan to highlight these estates and their teas as well as share just what goes into the production of the teas that we all enjoy. That's my story, how about you?