Sunday, March 30, 2008

Tea/Teaware Giveaway Extravaganza!

Yes, this is what you have all been waiting for... a mass "Pay it Forward" giveaway! The three packages of teas and teawares I've set up below are tokens of my thanks to the online tea community, in the hope that they help new tea lovers delve into this beloved interest of mine.

Of course, I would be lying if I said this isn't also a way for me to clear out some old stuff I don't use anymore! That said, I'm not giving away anything I think is total crap. All the teawares are functional, though perhaps a little beaten up and/or not of the highest quality, and all of the teas a) are good, but not my cuppa; b) were good at some point, but slightly stale now; or c) perfectly fine, but I know I won't get around to drinking it soon. These teas and wares will at least give newbies a decent introduction to the world of fine teas.

Without further ado, the packages:

Yellow Package
Yellow

This package includes:
• 1 Bodum "Shin Cha" 2-cup teapot
• 1 sample of Bai Hao Yin Zhen (aka Silver Needle) from Jing Tea Shop, year forgotten
• ~65g of Premium Wenshan Baozhong from Shan Shui Teas, Spring 2007 (Review here; this is not an excellent tea, and is a bit stale, but is still a good introduction to the genre.)
• ~30g of Kuradashi Gyokuro Super Premium from Hibiki-an, 2007 (This is a very good tea, but I just don't like gyokuro all that much. Note that, while it is a year-old green tea, gyokuro takes some age well.)

Requirements:
Must be relatively new (less than 3 active months) to the world of tea. I would much prefer to give this to someone who has tried gyokuro and knows they like it, so please do not compete for this package if you don't— I do not want to waste that tea.

Green Package
Green

This package includes:
• 1 ~3oz Yixing teapot (the lid, I must admit, is not flush with the rest of the pot and jiggles around. This does not greatly affect its functionality, though.)
• ~15g of Bai Hao (Oriental Beauty) oolong from TeaSpring, year forgotten
• ~15g of Formosa Mingjian Osmanthus Guihua Oolong from Aura Teas, 2007
• ~25g Select Aged NanTou Oolong from Hou De Asian Art, 1990's (Review, here.)
• ~12g Winter Taiwan Shui Xian Hand-Harvested Oolong from Hou De Asian Art, 2007
• ~6g Bai Ji Guan from Teacuppa.com, 2006
• ~30g Dong Ding "Hong Shui" Hand-Harvested Oolong from Hou De Asian Art, 2006

Requirements:
Must be relatively new to gong fu style brewing. I would prefer to give this to someone who is interested in oolongs or really enjoys them, and is interested in learning to brew them in a Yixing teapot.

Red Package
Red

This package includes:
• 1 ~4-5oz Yixing teapot (this teapot functions beautifully; it has a fast pour and the lid fits well. I would use it myself, but I can't seem to find anything to use it for)
• 1 zisha tea boat
• 2 ~1 oz cups w/ bamboo saucers
• 1 porcelain and mesh gong fu strainer, w/ panda holder
• 1 set of cha dao tools; includes 1 scoop, 1 funnel, 1 pick, 1 scraper, and 1 set of tongs
• Remnants of the Half-Dipper/Dragon Tea House puerh tasting (Review here)

Requirements:
Must be brand new to gong fu style brewing.

Instructions/Rules

***Please read these carefully!***

1. Follow this link to my TeaChat thread.
2. Leave a reply, stating the following: A. The package you would like, and B. A number between 1 and 500 (inclusive). If you are interested in competing for more than one package, please rank them in order of preference, and pick a number between 1 and 500 for each item. DO NOT leave guesses as a comment on this blog post; your guesses will not be entered into the competition.

Example:

1. Yellow, 323.
2. Red, 56.
3. Green, 48.

The tentative drawing date will be Sunday, April 13— two weeks from today. I will use an online random number generator to generate one random number for each item, and I will award packages to those with the closest numbers. One package per person, max.

Ranking an package last in your list does not affect the likelihood of you winning that package; it only affects which package you receive, should you have the closest number for more than one package.

Should you win, I will send you a private message on TeaChat detailing what you won. It is then your responsibility to respond with a confirmation and your mailing address within three days. If you do not respond within three days, you forfeit your prize, and it will be given to the person who chose the second closest number. After I have received all three mailing addresses, I will post the results here and on TeaChat.

Please be honest and do not compete for these packages if you do not fit the requirements. I have no way of enforcing them, so you are on your honor.

Good luck!

11 comments:

Hobbes said...

Dear Brent,

A fantastic idea. :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

Brent said...

Thanks Hobbes! You can take the bulk of the credit for planting this idea in my head actually, what with all your inspiring posts about giving away your own teas and wares. :)

-Brent

Salsero said...

Wow, Brent, these are all great opportunities for serious beginners looking to climb higher on the learning curve! I recognize quite a few of the teas and items from your blog and from the Teaternet in general. This looks like great fun. Maybe we could even get the winners to guest post a little comment on some of their experiences with the wares!

Thanks for keeping life interesting.

Steven Dodd said...

I almost wish I was a teanewb so I could get some stuff. My only question is which random number generator will you be using? Will this generator utilize radioactive decay for true randomness (excepting the whole deterministic universe philosophy) or will it simply be a computer-based pseudorandom number generator? What sort of seed and algorithm will it use? I want this to be as fair as possible! :)

Brent said...

Salsero:

Yes, I think hearing responses would be fun! I was also hoping the recipients would pass on items of their own once they are able, to perpetuate the cycle.

Steven:

I am welcome to suggestions on how to keep this as fair as possible. What would you recommend?

Steven Dodd said...

I can't find the site but there used to be a nonrandom number generator that would always output 1. I was going to link it and make a joke, people would laugh, everyone would love me, but I fail.

In the mean time check out random.org

windycindy said...

Hello, I would enjoy winning your "Red" goodies. My number I choose
is 477. Thanks,Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com

Brent said...

Steven:

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out.

Windycindy:

Sorry, I'm only counting entries posted through the teachat thread linked in the post; this way, all the entries are in one place and people don't repeat others' guesses. You're welcome to make a TeaChat account and post your entry there, though!

Wes Crosswhite said...

Damn, Scruff is hooking it up!

Bill said...

Hey Brent, You are the dawg! Great way to get your blog known! I wish I would of only thought of it first! ;)

Did you know that your tea giveaway is being highlighted on SteapTv

Brent said...

Wes and Bill,

Thanks for the comments! No I didn't know I was mentioned there, thanks for the info though.

Also, it's not like nobody else can do this, I think it would be cool for this to be a regular thing. These giveaways happen all the time on other hobby forums.

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