Hello all and welcome to the blog! Glad to have you here! I’m sure you have many questions about me (the writer of this blog) and what the Teachameleon Talks Tea Blog is all about. Well, without further ado let’s try to answer some of those lingering questions, and rest assured if you are someone who loves all things tea then you have come to the right place!
Question 1: Who is Teachameleon, why tea, and how did you get here?
That’s me! Greetings! I’m Bradley Coates, aka Bradosaurus Rex. I’m a Graphic Designer by day and the writer of this blog by night. I used to live a very hustle and bustle kind of lifestyle in the big cities of the California Bay Area, but since COVID-19 struck, my life drastically transitioned and now I’m living in beautiful state of Michigan.
I know many readers who find their way here are wondering “why tea”. When I was a kid, I had a nasty sweet tooth and when the weather was cold, I usually requested a sweet cup of hot cocoa. Only in times when I was feeling really under the weather did I ever gravitate towards tea. Now…when I say tea in this particular instance, yes, I mean good ol’ store bought tea bags. Bigelow tea bags were a staple in my childhood household pantry and gave me a lift when I wasn’t feeling one hundred percent.
As the years progressed, tea became more and more of an interest, yet that interest didn’t truly have a chance to blossom until COVID-19 reared it’s ugly head! During the pandemic I found myself, like many, bored at home, scared about the state of the world, worrying about my job, health, and what would happen next. Yet, in my own way, I continued to trudge on and found ways to get an outing in here or there so I wouldn’t go stir-crazy at home.
During one of my outings, I found myself at a botanical garden in San Francisco and the tour guide started talking about the camellia sinensis aka the plant that gives us TEA!!! From that moment onward, I was in love and dove head first to learn all could about that plant and tea itself. I read about tea and about herbs, flowers, spices, barks and other tea blend accompaniments. I made the switch to loose leaf and started familiarizing myself with tea ware and tea tools. I started an Instagram to connect with other tea enthusiasts and vendors. So, in short, one botanical garden visit later…I became a fanatic. Tea also quickly became what got me through a pandemic and became a friend and a coping mechanism.
Soon after the visit to the botanical garden, things in my world transitioned… transitioned hard. I was laid off from my exciting job in California, I was going through a tough break-up, and then moved across the country to Michigan to help my mom recover from surgery. I was also in the midst of trying to reinvent myself by taking a UI/UX course and during the duration of that I lost my aunt to cancer and then my dad got injured and needed a knee replacement. Needless to say, I became very….very…very busy and overwhelmed, but I would find myself looking for a cup of tea to give myself a moment to pause, reflect, think and just generally BREATHE (exhales). Looking back now all I can say is, “wow, did that really all happen at once?” and no, I wish I was making all this up.
Things have stabilized since. I am working again, my family is doing better, I met the love of my life, I have my own place and heck…I have a cat now too! I find myself now often visiting and traveling to local tea shops and I am also maintaining a massive tea collection and cabinet that is always under the process of curation and assessment. Also, slowly but surely Instagram has connected me with some very cool tea people and vendors. I started teaching tea-related classes at one of our local library branches and soon I am teaching a matcha class at a local tea shop. Finally, I now have this glorious new blog to connect with great people interested about tea while still chatting with others on social media.
To sum things up, tea has took me on a journey and there are so many travels, moments, and experiences left to be had. In times of bad, tea comforted me. Tea found me during a crazy period of my life personally and it saw me through the worst of it and continues to be my partner in crime. HA! Now I am doing my small part to enrich the tea community in my way here on the blog, on social, and while working with people in my community who are interested about tea and who may not know where to begin. There’s always something to learn about tea!
Question 2: Why a blog?
Blogging has been something I wanted to do for a long time, but I never had a focal point till now. I love having a good project and creative outlet, yet I want things I put time into to have purpose as well. I started talking tea firstly on Instagram and now that I am connecting with vendors and the community, I wanted a place to offer even more information and exploration into the world of tea. So, with that said, let’s talk all things tea leaving no leaf unturned…see what I did there….tea…leaf. Sorry, puns are fun.
Closing Message
Thank you for visiting the blog and there’s much more to come! Feel free to contact me via email or Instagram for questions, comments, feedback or collaborations.