"Dominic T." > wrote in message
ps.com...
>

snip

I'm happy to buy the mid-grade knowing it is mid to
> low grade, and don't even concern myself with it anymore. If I luck
> into a cup or two of really high end stuff once in a blue moon then I
> consider myself lucky and really enjoy it for what it is. But I don't
> think that kind of market, pricing, scarcity, and effort is what the
> real spirit of tea is about... so I happily don't play along anymore.
> For a time I did and got caught up in it, but those days are over for
> me.
>
> - Dominic
>

Too true...I used to think about trying to get the rare (read "expensive")
stuff and am finding that it causes much more stress for me than the tea
would be able to fix. Also again, I think it may be a mistake to conflate
"expensive" and "good tasting"...I think there's plenty of good-tasting tea
out there for prices a person doesn't have to mortgage their house for. That
being said, if a tea is very tasty and also very popular that also probably
makes it more scarce which could drive the price up...lots of variables.

I try hard not to covet a particular tea, I really do...I'm not often
successful but it gives me more peace not to. It's easier for me to covet a
tea that I like a lot but that isn't necessarily the most raved about in tea
circles because then I don't feel like I'm competing against everyone else
for a little bit of tea.

Melinda