The New Car Syndrome

An interesting phenomenon seems to always occur after buying a car. It doesn’t matter if you are looking at brand new showroom cars or a ten year old ‘gently used’ classics. You drive around looking until something catches your eye and know, that’s the one. You sign the papers and drive it off the lot. On the way home you start passing cars just like it. It’s weird. You never even noticed that model before you bought one. Now they are everywhere.

I am noticing something very similar happening while tea tasting. I regularly read other’s reviews. I find them interesting and inspiring. Yet, often I read descriptions like earthy, woodsy, or nutty and unless I have experienced it myself I will probably glide right by it without giving it much notice. If I do notice, it often leaves me feeling puzzled because I don’t understand. One such description that baffled me for a long time was malt. I just couldn’t figure out what people meant. Then one day I had a tea that tasted so much like malted milk balls it was obvious. After that moment I seemed to run into malt in nearly everything I tasted. In fact, the tea I enjoyed today was very malty and that is what prompted this post.

The latest new description I have encountered is the cooling sensation on my breath that followed a cup of high mountain oolong. It was like breathing ice. A very strong obvious sensation. What surprised me is after experiencing it the first time, I started noticing in a more subtle way in many of the cups I drink. It’s just weird that this happens.

I find the new car syndrome in tea fascinating. How about you – have you experienced this same phenomena? Or maybe you have experienced another nugget of truth in tea tasting you could share. I would love to hear it.