The Basics
My name is Brent Hughes, and I am [current year minus 1,986] years old. I live in the San Francisco bay area, and hope to for quite some time.
Tea and Me
I did not come to tea as a mystical cure-all or spiritual aid. I started drinking it because I liked the taste, nothing more. I have the same philosophy when it comes to food– I eat what I want to eat, not what I should eat. Life is just too short to count calories or sacrifice flavor just so I can live a few extra days. I enjoy the quality stuff, which is pretty easy to do in the SF bay area, but I openly admit to downing the occasional (okay, maybe frequent) fast-food combo meal when I get the craving. (Yes, I use parentheses a lot. I don't know why I always feel that my own ideas need interrupting.)
My first "real" (before the inevitable quotation-mark snobbery set in) tea was Harney & Sons bagged sencha. I grew interested in learning more about tea, and pulled up their website. I soon ordered my first loose-leaf teas and my first teapot. Shortly after, I thought I'd be a little adventurous, so I ordered some loose leaf Japanese green tea. If you've had any experience with gyokuro, you know that it is quite possibly the single worst beginner's tea on the planet. It is difficult to brew, and tastes awful when oversteeped. Hell, it tastes awful (it's an acquired taste) if you get it right. Needless to say, this happened repeatedly, and almost turned me off to tea forever. Almost!
Tea Nerd
Tea Nerd was born from two loves of mine: tea and having other people pay attention to the random crap I yammer on about. So, I started working on Tea Nerd in January 2007. It was designed to be a repository of the information and experience I have acquired in my tea journey, and I like to think it has done well so far despite the "feast or famine" writing schedule I keep. I write about whatever strikes my fancy; be it science-related, guides and helpful hints, photography, or reviews of teas and vendors. My goal is to be informative and entertaining, hopefully both, whenever possible.
Ways to get in touch
If you would like to contact me, you can either e-mail me (bmhughes [at] gmail [dot] com) or leave a comment on one of my posts. I welcome any questions, suggestions, comments, or gripes (okay, I don't welcome gripes, but I'll read them anyway... probably), so feel free to drop me a line. I can't promise I'll get back to you quickly or at all, but it's nice to know you all are out there.
