Let's Talk Tea, and eFriends

Well, the title of this blog refers to coffee and tea, but I have been remiss in discussing anything about tea. Part of that is the fact that there are so many good tea blogs out there, the quintessential one being the Half Dipper, which you can link to from the left side of the page. From there, there are many other links to other blogs. I am not sure I have anything unique to add, and I am such a poor photographer, so I have hesitated to say anything.

That being said, I spend a lot of time drinking and thinking about tea, most particularly pu'er, that unique, Chinese, ageable, funky product that comes in frisbee-sized disks and other unique shapes. For those not familiar with the story of pu'er, WikiCha is a good resource, and David does a great job of discussing these teas as well at the Half Dipper. I think I am going to have some entries around tea and see how it goes, the first one a bit about some Bing Dao teas I have been drinking lately, and a mysterious set of unlabeled samples.

Thinking about tea started me thinking about TeaChums I have who pass around samples of tea to each other, and then into the broader category of what I call eFriends. This is a peculiar development of the internet era. In principle the growth in internet forums and other pastimes would seem to make humans less likely to interact with each other in real life. Everyone hides behind the written word, with facades and made-up attributes; sitting in front of a computer and developing eRelationships that don't exist beyond the electrons flying over the computer wires.

That's not always the case, though. I spend a fair amount of time on internet forums, and I have formed friendships with many people. What is a bit peculiar is that I interact with them in physical ways. I regularly send coffee and teas that I think are interesting to other people I have met on the internet, and have received much in return. One friend has lent me items from his kitchen to try out, others have sent me aftershaves and colognes, and the list goes on. My wife is somewhat leery, and I think a bit jealous. She has become used to packages showing up at the door from people, and now recognizes many of the names by sight. The fact that I have "internet friends" seems entirely natural to me. In some cases, I have gone as far as meeting people in person. It is always fascinating to compare the impression your mind has formed on the basis of the written word to the real thing.

So why do I mention this? I think that it is a small but good sign for the human race. I think that while internet interactions and eFriends are great, I don't think this is the end of the human race, with all of us shut up by ourselves in front of computers, becoming a race of mole-men afraid to come out of our darkened rooms. The real human need of contact, whether face to face, or by the sharing of physical objects, will still shine through. For someone like myself, who expresses himself well enough through the written word, but is an incredibly shy and reserved person in real life, all this becomes an important outlet.

So let's all have some fun, drink some good coffee, tea, or spirits, and talk to each other. This way when the machines take over, we'll be ready with our counter-attack strategy