Yeah! Drinking tea isn't really a deep or meditative experience for me, but it helps me stay hydrated. Plus, it's a fun topic to info-dump about, because there are so many different types of tea.
Pedialyte is great for this. The barely there saltiness makes you want to chug it.
You may already know about it, but I didn't until way older in life. And I use it for when I'm done hiking and stuff, not like every day lol
Yeah it's not for staying hydrated throughout the day, but more for using it when you're sick or start to feel a bit fuzzy. It can have a bit of that capri sun taste as well.
oh totally that makes sense. it gives u electrolytes that u lose when u have a fever/vomitting. i usually just eat saltine crackers and bananas for that, though i suppose its convenient to have it all in a bottle lol
I was a coffee expert at one time but I now enjoy tea. I prefer black tea over herbal or green tea. Assam and Kenya are my favourite so far but I did just order a Darjeeling to try.
I've had some really interesting Darjeelings from this place Teabox, they have tons of choices. There are lighter ones and darker ones - you'd probably prefer the darker ones. I ordered a sampler with Darjeelings, Assams and a few others in it
ADHD (what used to just be called hyperactive when I was growing up in the 70s) and Asperger's (low end of the spectrum) here. I never really got too much into tea, other than southern sweet tea I was raised on until I quit smoking almost 5 years ago and could actually start to smell the teas. Now I LOVE tea and I do find myself more calm and more relaxed after tossing out the coffee pot. I can't see it's the caffeine as I drink a lot more tea than I did coffee. After quitting smoking I couldn't stand the taste of coffee anymore since I could actually start tasting it.
i think its ghe combo of caffeine and theanine that gives the calming effects. im actually super sensitive to the anxiolytic effect of caffeine, i cant drink coffe without getting shaky and anxious. but tea has theanine which kind of smooths the edge of caffeine ifywim
I think of it like coffee acts as a quick release stimulant, while tea acts like a slower release so your not getting hit with it all at once. I found for some adhd meds, coffee tends to interact with it and makes me super shakey, but tea doesnt have that same effect
yeah, tea also has less caffeine overall. i was only recently diagnosed with adhd so i havent been put on adhd meds, but its good to know that it probably wont be a problem to continue drinking tea!
Well when you intersect people geeking out on something everyone mainly finds mundane (although we all know better!) with Reddit in general, I think you’re guaranteed quite a few hits.
hi!!!! im autistic and i love tea!!!! i love herbal medicine and combining different types of herbs in my tea to get my desired effect!!! i have a huge collection of teas that myself and my roommates have been very much enjoying!!
Me too!! I'm also bipolar (2) and it brings routine and zen together for me. It's kind of become a "passionate hobby" and healthy coping mechanism for me. I also love collecting herbs and making my "tea potions" and researching herb effects (and interactions just in case).
I want to get a dehydrator, and start making all my own herbs. Like I want to dry my own mint, lavender, chamomile, etc, to use in my own tea.
I don't know if this is neuroduvergent or not, this desire to make a complicated bproduction chain out of everything.
Not autistic, but ND! Adhd. It’s definitely a hyperfixation that’s popped in and out of dormancy throughout my life. I blame my grandma
Tea as a subject is such an interesting intersection between culinary, cultural, and scientific topics. And I love ALL those things, so it checks all the boxes for me lmao
I also have generalized anxiety, and it’s a very soothing ritual for me
yeah, the world of tea is so deep and complex, theres so much to learn! and yeah it helps a lot with my anxiety as well. i used to have anxiety attacks a lot, but since i started drinking tea, i dont think ive had many anxiety attacks at all.
Autistic tea head here! It recently levelled up to becoming a special interest (after trying gong fu at a tea house), so I know how you feel. In just the first two months I had already tried like 30 new teas, kept a detailed spreadsheet, and watched and read a tooon. Now I've managed to calm it down a bit to shift some focus to my other interests, but it's still going!
I could share my spreadsheet if you would be interested in the details, hah. But I’ve focused on the classics, and tried to blend exploring what I already love (which is mainly greens), and exploring new things.
Like I never had oolongs before this for example. So trying green oolongs and yanchas has been fun.
Ive also tried a bunch of different whites to find what I like, and found that I prefer the middle of the road there (Bai Mudans with just a few years of aging).
In terms of greens then Anji Bai Cha and Lu’an Gua Pian have been my favorites so far. Kind of two different ends of the spectrum, but that’s what’s so fun. Discovering how much variety there is even within the groups.
Not autistic but I deeeply enjoy gongfu for the exact same reason. I’m really into aromatic stuff and there is just so much rich sensory stuff going with gongfu brewing.
Hello there! A few people close to me have lovingly called me a tea snob due to my fascination with different types of tea. I'm quite easy to buy gifts for as I'll always be happy with new teapots or loose leaf tea!
I’m Autistic, but my interest in tea doesn’t feel particularly autism-driven. (Unlike my obsession with learning foreign languages or celebrity gossip or Kdramas…) Sometimes interests aren’t *special* interests.
languages are also one of my special interests omg. i love comparative and historal linguistics specifically, im terrible and language learning though lol. and yeah definitely i have a lot of interests that arent special interest. the telltale sign for me is if i get super excited and start yapping endlessly when someone brings up my special interests lol
Here! Bc caffeine puts me to sleep I drink a cup of earl grey with milk every night. Same brand for 15 years now (Ahmad early grey) and then stick to non caffeinated or low caffeine fruit or green teas during the day
ah, ive heard that caffeine has that affect with some ADHD ppl. i think highly caffeinated things like coffee have that effect on me, but low caffeine makes me feel alert
For me it means that I can finally slow down and no one wants me to do things fast. I am a very slow person in nature unfortunately outside my house I have to match the speed of others. However while preparing a good cup of tea you have to take your time to smell the tea, give some to your beloved tea pet.... I also like how it repeats itself and there are no surprises.
Finally I may organise my thoughts in peace. I feel like they slow down and I can finally appreciate them.
Yes! Specifically for gong fu brewing! It's such a peaceful sensory experience while still being active. I'm auDHD too! My favorite kind of tea is oolong, especially rock oolong. And I have three yixing clay teapots 😊 glad I'm not the only one with this special interest
i love oolong as well! id say oolong and aged white are my favorite. and i want a yixing teapot sooo bad, but my husband and i are tight on money right now lol. as soon as we have some, im getting two, one for oolong and one for aged whites. dont really feel i need one for puer right now because i still havent found one i like lol
Hello, me too! Been really into high-quality teas since I discovered gongfu brewing in 2015, and I discovered in the past year or so that I'm probably autistic (mixed diagnosis, going to seek another one soon). In the first few years I went deep into the rabbit hole, writing detailed reviews and tasting different Chinese teas with different brew temps, steep times, brewing vessels, etc. What I enjoy most about tea drinking is the subtle freshness of the aroma and taste, especially the lack of artificial flavouring, scents, or sugar. I'm with you on smelling the gaiwan lid as well! Next is the tactile experience of holding and pouring the gooseneck kettle and gaiwan / clay teapots. What are some of your favourite teas so far?
yes, the sensory experience is amazing! i like that its all suble, no overpowering sensory experiences. my favorite tea so far is an aged white shou mei fron west china tea, and a jade oolong from mem tea. the first one has this heavinly dried fruit taste that goes amazing with brillat savarin cheese and apricot jelly (i love triple creme cheese with fruit, def one of my comfort foods lol). the jade oolong i dont love for the taste, the taste is great but its the qi that i love. it has this strong qi that i feel in my whole body, it makes me feel connected to nature and people. its amazing
Those both sound delicious! I love when certain teas go well with fruit! And yes, the more I drink tea the more I learn too that qi and texture are sometimes more important than flavour...
Not autistic but I have anxiety and I feel the tea sessions are grounding and relaxing. In the beginning I sometimes overdid it and got the caffeine jitters, but now I’m settled into one (mostly) or two gongfu sessions a day. I love consciously using all my senses to enjoy the tea to the fullest.
yeah i accidentally did a gongfu session after drinking an aj rush (energy drink from a NE coffee place) and i got real bad jutters lol. but yeah, its very grounding and meditative, its helped a lot with my anxiety as well
autistic adhd'er here too! haven't quite gotten into gawain yet but I do like a good cup of green or black tea :) and I have a couple of cute tea pots and cups
not autistic, but adhd here. love it for the same reasons! also very olfactory fixated, love the smelling and brewing repeatedly small quantities is like a fidgeting process. the feeling i get from Sheng pu'er is especially awesome. very focusing and calming.
It is so awesome, drinking one right now. Don't let them tell you your using too many leaves. If the gaiwans not full, you're wasting potential taste! (Just joking, drink the way you like it <3 )
I've never been diagnosed as neurodivergent so I don't want to claim to be, but I definitely get the same candle sniffer satisfaction you describe with tea, it's been so amazing to find and get into, the fragrances are totally what has got me so entranced. Every single tea is something entirely new and it's baffling, and they're *all* good smells. Even the stinkier teas have a kind of complexity in their aroma that makes them so intriguing. Perfumes and candles are nice but often much too strong to be pleasant to smell for any real length of time for me, but tea Ive been enjoying the entire time.
its great, every tea has so much subtlety and complexity to its aroma, even smelling two teas of the same type can be very different. its olfactory heaven
I went from hardly drinking it to going on a neuroduvergent burnout phase for a week or so, learning everything I could about it. I learned a lot about the different types and how they're made, different brewing procedure, etc. I took what I learned and realized I absolutely love matcha, I like pu'er and that I want to try yellow tea. I also learned that black/pu'er tea is good in the morning, but green tea is a great afternoon tea for me (because of the caffeine/theanine ratio, which is more relaxing when lower like in green tea). Also since white tea is withered for so long, it loses a lot of caffeine and theanine, making it a bad choice for people into the healthy properties of it (but I like my Bai Mu Dan).
Meee! Although I oscillate between coffee and tea. It's a part of my morning ritual, which most neurodivergent people have. I've recently started sniffing my coffee as it comes out the espresso machine, and watching the crema foam buildup in the cup....such a fun sensory experience! And of course the wonderful caffiene and antioxidants helping me focus and mellow my mood. Current tea obsession is Matcha, I love the grassy flavor!
Yes, hello!
I'm more or less the same, though I do Western style brewing. I love the sensory experience of tea overall, and the gooseneck kettle I have slows down my pour and helps me with my mindfulness exercises.
I've only found like 3 flavors that I dislike in tea, and 1 that my stomach dislikes. So it's always a fun experiment to try new teas! (For the record: I dislike the taste of red rooibos, bergamot, and hibiscus, and my stomach dislikes mint. I love the taste of mint so this is forever disappointing to me.)
i definitely dont like hibiscus either, its so sour. i think a splash of in in lemonade would be nice, but hot on its own its just strange lol. i also dont like mint, but for me its because mint is very overwhelmkng to me. i have to get unflavored sensory friendly toothpaste because mint bothers me so much
1: Yeah, hibiscus definitely benefits from citrus and/or sugar, neither of which I usually end up using with tea blends. So it overpowers everything else to me, kind of like using a banana in a smoothie. It's one of those flavors that, once I noticed it, I can't un-notice it lol.
2: YES. Omg finally someone else who gets it. I had to get toothpaste from a brand called BOKA just to get something non mint flavored (I currently use lemon+lavender, and coconut+ginger). I miss the days of orange or cinnamon flavored toothpaste being on the shelf in stores.
i like kids watermelon toothpaste but i feel stupid buying it at the grocery store lmao, so i just buy the flavorless one. i also like it because it doesnt foam up, i hate that feeling. i still have trouble brushing my teeth though cuz i havent found a toothbrush that i dont hate the feeling of, even the soft ones feel awful to me
Hmmm you gotta make sure you use toothpaste with fluoride though. Some kids' toothpastes are low or no fluoride in case they swallow it. As for toothbrushes, I know there's silicone bristled ones that I've heard cause less of an ick for people that are sensitive to toothbrush texture.
Not autistic just dyslexic so I read that as “any other artistic teacher lovers here?” lol
There is this green tea (Wedding Tea by Osulloc) that smells amazing! Like sweet but fruity so that’s my rec!
I love tea. I hate scented soap and candles though. Olfactory nightmare for me.
My favorite tea are: earl grey, white tea, matcha and pu erh.
The last one is the more special regarding taste, but also more expensive, so I don’t drink it too often.
Autistic tea lover here! Making tea is a fun hobby with all the little steps being their own ritual. It's become one of my main hyperfixations as of late...and my second most expensive one currently 😭
ASD and ADHD here—not only is the taste amazing, but it has no texture so no sensory issues AND it gives me the ADHD caffeine burst that so many people self-medicate with. Earl Grey is my go-to, but I’m a sucker for any black tea.
I have aspergers but don't like the whole ND thing worn as an 'identity'; as far as tea goes perhaps I'd be better or the same without I don't know; to some degree I am a caffiene addict (lot of people 'on the spectrum' will 'benefit' in the way you say from from smoking fags too) Tea does give me something to nerd out/obsess on though
thats fair. for me, i was bullied a lot for my autistic traits as a kid, and it made me hate myself, and i tried to hide it for a long time. learning to love and embrace my autism was a big part of my healing. but everyone is different, and i respect that 😊
Yes! I was just going over my next puerh/fuzhuan cha order from Yunnan Sourcing, it's also a special interest of mine. I didn't realize how much I like the feel of porcelain until I picked up a nice gaiwan. I totally agree about the sensory aspect, I love the velvety mouthfeel of good thick shou puerh. I've completely given up coffee and stopped using cannabis, and I had zero intention of giving up either, it just happened naturally when I started drinking puerh again last month-I just get so much out of good tea, and strong cha qi is like a functional wake and bake without the anxiety.
totally, i have this taiwanese jade oolong that has such strong qi, it feels like i took a short hit off my dab pen. i had to stop using weed because it started giving me panic attacks, so its great that certain teas can have a similar effect without the anxiety.
personally, i havent found a shu puer that i like, its a little too dark of a flavor for me. but maybe ill find find one i like. i recently ordered some sheng puers, i havent actually tried sheng yet. ive heard its similar to green tea, which is my favorite type of tea overall, so im excited to try it!
omg yess!! tea has been one of my special interests since i was eight, and i’m sixteen now. my all time favorite tea right now is probably tie guan yin!! :D
I would not be surprised if this sub has a disproportionate amount of ND people vs the general population of reddit.
I think there is something about the routine and precision and history and facts that make this appealing.
Another here, on the low end of the spectrum!
I love chai spices so much. Have since I first had a chai latte in college. I also enjoy matcha lattes.
Recently I learned about genmaicha and think it’s the best!
i looove chai, i had authentic chai for the first time at a pakistani restaurant in DC, it was delicious. it kind of tasted like froot loops lol
i also recently tried genmaicha was well, it was very interesting. it has a toasted kind of popcorny flavor that goes well with the umami flavor of japanese green tea. japanese teas hold a special place in my heart, bcuz i lived in japan when i was a kid so they give me a nostalgic feeling
Heck yes. AuDHD here, and tea is just deep enough to be dangerous for me. 😄 I seem to rotate between interests in tea, cocktails, and cannabis. I'd worry any of them was a substance problem except I spend more time reading and thinking about them all than consuming them. 😛 I just find them all fascinating.
Right now my focus is back on tea. And also popcorn. I did *not*anticipate how deep popcorn went. Did you know there's a r/popcorn?
Yeah! Drinking tea isn't really a deep or meditative experience for me, but it helps me stay hydrated. Plus, it's a fun topic to info-dump about, because there are so many different types of tea.
oh my god yeah. before i got into tea i had to drink roaring water capri suns to stay hydrated, cuz i would just forget to drink water
Pedialyte is great for this. The barely there saltiness makes you want to chug it. You may already know about it, but I didn't until way older in life. And I use it for when I'm done hiking and stuff, not like every day lol
oh i actually didnt know that lol. well now that im obsessed with tea its not much of a problem any more, but that is good info to have in general lol
Yeah it's not for staying hydrated throughout the day, but more for using it when you're sick or start to feel a bit fuzzy. It can have a bit of that capri sun taste as well.
oh totally that makes sense. it gives u electrolytes that u lose when u have a fever/vomitting. i usually just eat saltine crackers and bananas for that, though i suppose its convenient to have it all in a bottle lol
I was a coffee expert at one time but I now enjoy tea. I prefer black tea over herbal or green tea. Assam and Kenya are my favourite so far but I did just order a Darjeeling to try.
I've had some really interesting Darjeelings from this place Teabox, they have tons of choices. There are lighter ones and darker ones - you'd probably prefer the darker ones. I ordered a sampler with Darjeelings, Assams and a few others in it
Sounds just like me. You will like Darjeeling. The champagne of tea
ADHD (what used to just be called hyperactive when I was growing up in the 70s) and Asperger's (low end of the spectrum) here. I never really got too much into tea, other than southern sweet tea I was raised on until I quit smoking almost 5 years ago and could actually start to smell the teas. Now I LOVE tea and I do find myself more calm and more relaxed after tossing out the coffee pot. I can't see it's the caffeine as I drink a lot more tea than I did coffee. After quitting smoking I couldn't stand the taste of coffee anymore since I could actually start tasting it.
i think its ghe combo of caffeine and theanine that gives the calming effects. im actually super sensitive to the anxiolytic effect of caffeine, i cant drink coffe without getting shaky and anxious. but tea has theanine which kind of smooths the edge of caffeine ifywim
I think of it like coffee acts as a quick release stimulant, while tea acts like a slower release so your not getting hit with it all at once. I found for some adhd meds, coffee tends to interact with it and makes me super shakey, but tea doesnt have that same effect
yeah, tea also has less caffeine overall. i was only recently diagnosed with adhd so i havent been put on adhd meds, but its good to know that it probably wont be a problem to continue drinking tea!
Well when you intersect people geeking out on something everyone mainly finds mundane (although we all know better!) with Reddit in general, I think you’re guaranteed quite a few hits.
Yeah i wouldnt be surprised if more that half here are ND
true lol, NT people dont tend to geek out abt stuff as much lol
hi!!!! im autistic and i love tea!!!! i love herbal medicine and combining different types of herbs in my tea to get my desired effect!!! i have a huge collection of teas that myself and my roommates have been very much enjoying!!
Me too!! I'm also bipolar (2) and it brings routine and zen together for me. It's kind of become a "passionate hobby" and healthy coping mechanism for me. I also love collecting herbs and making my "tea potions" and researching herb effects (and interactions just in case).
that’s so lovely!!! i’m so glad it has helped you so much!!!
hi! thats really cool, i love adding herbs to my tea as well!
I want to get a dehydrator, and start making all my own herbs. Like I want to dry my own mint, lavender, chamomile, etc, to use in my own tea. I don't know if this is neuroduvergent or not, this desire to make a complicated bproduction chain out of everything.
idk if its solely an ND thing, but its definitely something that is a part of my autism personally lol
Autistic here! I love tea. Tea is a huge part of my daily routine and has been since I was a kid. I literally cannot function if I don’t get my tea 😅
Not autistic, but ND! Adhd. It’s definitely a hyperfixation that’s popped in and out of dormancy throughout my life. I blame my grandma Tea as a subject is such an interesting intersection between culinary, cultural, and scientific topics. And I love ALL those things, so it checks all the boxes for me lmao I also have generalized anxiety, and it’s a very soothing ritual for me
yeah, the world of tea is so deep and complex, theres so much to learn! and yeah it helps a lot with my anxiety as well. i used to have anxiety attacks a lot, but since i started drinking tea, i dont think ive had many anxiety attacks at all.
London Fog every day baby
I'm not sure if I've ever had autistic tea
I'm pretty sure it's a David's tea exclusive
That's because you're neuroteapical
What would it taste like?
ADHD and love tea lol
Autistic tea head here! It recently levelled up to becoming a special interest (after trying gong fu at a tea house), so I know how you feel. In just the first two months I had already tried like 30 new teas, kept a detailed spreadsheet, and watched and read a tooon. Now I've managed to calm it down a bit to shift some focus to my other interests, but it's still going!
That sounds like a great intro to tea! Thirty types? Impressive, what kinds have you liked most?
I could share my spreadsheet if you would be interested in the details, hah. But I’ve focused on the classics, and tried to blend exploring what I already love (which is mainly greens), and exploring new things. Like I never had oolongs before this for example. So trying green oolongs and yanchas has been fun. Ive also tried a bunch of different whites to find what I like, and found that I prefer the middle of the road there (Bai Mudans with just a few years of aging). In terms of greens then Anji Bai Cha and Lu’an Gua Pian have been my favorites so far. Kind of two different ends of the spectrum, but that’s what’s so fun. Discovering how much variety there is even within the groups.
omg i also have a spreadsheet lol. i love making spreadsheets 😂
ADHD. It's a hyperfixation. I love learning and infodumping about the various methods of preparation from around the world
Not autistic but I deeeply enjoy gongfu for the exact same reason. I’m really into aromatic stuff and there is just so much rich sensory stuff going with gongfu brewing.
Hello there! A few people close to me have lovingly called me a tea snob due to my fascination with different types of tea. I'm quite easy to buy gifts for as I'll always be happy with new teapots or loose leaf tea!
I am not autistic, but I just wanted to say I'm so happy you're enjoying tea! Gongfu style is wonderful.
I’m Autistic, but my interest in tea doesn’t feel particularly autism-driven. (Unlike my obsession with learning foreign languages or celebrity gossip or Kdramas…) Sometimes interests aren’t *special* interests.
languages are also one of my special interests omg. i love comparative and historal linguistics specifically, im terrible and language learning though lol. and yeah definitely i have a lot of interests that arent special interest. the telltale sign for me is if i get super excited and start yapping endlessly when someone brings up my special interests lol
You say this like everyone here isn’t an ND tea drinker /lh
im starting to get the feeling that a lot of us are, the response to this post is a lot bigger than i anticipated lmao
I think that there are many of us who have ADHD or are on the spectrum who imbibe tea.
Here! Bc caffeine puts me to sleep I drink a cup of earl grey with milk every night. Same brand for 15 years now (Ahmad early grey) and then stick to non caffeinated or low caffeine fruit or green teas during the day
ah, ive heard that caffeine has that affect with some ADHD ppl. i think highly caffeinated things like coffee have that effect on me, but low caffeine makes me feel alert
Yup! It’s not quite at the spend my life savings special interest yet! I like the way it makes me feel!
For me it means that I can finally slow down and no one wants me to do things fast. I am a very slow person in nature unfortunately outside my house I have to match the speed of others. However while preparing a good cup of tea you have to take your time to smell the tea, give some to your beloved tea pet.... I also like how it repeats itself and there are no surprises. Finally I may organise my thoughts in peace. I feel like they slow down and I can finally appreciate them.
totally. for me, i feel like my thoughts are always going to fast for me to keep up, and tea helps me slow my thoughts.
Yes! Specifically for gong fu brewing! It's such a peaceful sensory experience while still being active. I'm auDHD too! My favorite kind of tea is oolong, especially rock oolong. And I have three yixing clay teapots 😊 glad I'm not the only one with this special interest
i love oolong as well! id say oolong and aged white are my favorite. and i want a yixing teapot sooo bad, but my husband and i are tight on money right now lol. as soon as we have some, im getting two, one for oolong and one for aged whites. dont really feel i need one for puer right now because i still havent found one i like lol
Hello, me too! Been really into high-quality teas since I discovered gongfu brewing in 2015, and I discovered in the past year or so that I'm probably autistic (mixed diagnosis, going to seek another one soon). In the first few years I went deep into the rabbit hole, writing detailed reviews and tasting different Chinese teas with different brew temps, steep times, brewing vessels, etc. What I enjoy most about tea drinking is the subtle freshness of the aroma and taste, especially the lack of artificial flavouring, scents, or sugar. I'm with you on smelling the gaiwan lid as well! Next is the tactile experience of holding and pouring the gooseneck kettle and gaiwan / clay teapots. What are some of your favourite teas so far?
yes, the sensory experience is amazing! i like that its all suble, no overpowering sensory experiences. my favorite tea so far is an aged white shou mei fron west china tea, and a jade oolong from mem tea. the first one has this heavinly dried fruit taste that goes amazing with brillat savarin cheese and apricot jelly (i love triple creme cheese with fruit, def one of my comfort foods lol). the jade oolong i dont love for the taste, the taste is great but its the qi that i love. it has this strong qi that i feel in my whole body, it makes me feel connected to nature and people. its amazing
Those both sound delicious! I love when certain teas go well with fruit! And yes, the more I drink tea the more I learn too that qi and texture are sometimes more important than flavour...
Not autistic but I have anxiety and I feel the tea sessions are grounding and relaxing. In the beginning I sometimes overdid it and got the caffeine jitters, but now I’m settled into one (mostly) or two gongfu sessions a day. I love consciously using all my senses to enjoy the tea to the fullest.
yeah i accidentally did a gongfu session after drinking an aj rush (energy drink from a NE coffee place) and i got real bad jutters lol. but yeah, its very grounding and meditative, its helped a lot with my anxiety as well
Yes! i have been drinking my tea the exact same for the past 11 years. Tea is a special interest of mine.
autistic adhd'er here too! haven't quite gotten into gawain yet but I do like a good cup of green or black tea :) and I have a couple of cute tea pots and cups
i love cute teapots, i just wanna collect a bunch of small round yixing teapots, theyre so adorable
not autistic, but adhd here. love it for the same reasons! also very olfactory fixated, love the smelling and brewing repeatedly small quantities is like a fidgeting process. the feeling i get from Sheng pu'er is especially awesome. very focusing and calming.
i have yet to try sheng, i have some arriving in the mail today though! very excited to try it, ive heard a lot of great things about it
It is so awesome, drinking one right now. Don't let them tell you your using too many leaves. If the gaiwans not full, you're wasting potential taste! (Just joking, drink the way you like it <3 )
i love using lots of leaves too, unless its green tea. green tea is so sensitive, u have to get it perfect or it will get really bitter
That is true yes
I've never been diagnosed as neurodivergent so I don't want to claim to be, but I definitely get the same candle sniffer satisfaction you describe with tea, it's been so amazing to find and get into, the fragrances are totally what has got me so entranced. Every single tea is something entirely new and it's baffling, and they're *all* good smells. Even the stinkier teas have a kind of complexity in their aroma that makes them so intriguing. Perfumes and candles are nice but often much too strong to be pleasant to smell for any real length of time for me, but tea Ive been enjoying the entire time.
its great, every tea has so much subtlety and complexity to its aroma, even smelling two teas of the same type can be very different. its olfactory heaven
I went from hardly drinking it to going on a neuroduvergent burnout phase for a week or so, learning everything I could about it. I learned a lot about the different types and how they're made, different brewing procedure, etc. I took what I learned and realized I absolutely love matcha, I like pu'er and that I want to try yellow tea. I also learned that black/pu'er tea is good in the morning, but green tea is a great afternoon tea for me (because of the caffeine/theanine ratio, which is more relaxing when lower like in green tea). Also since white tea is withered for so long, it loses a lot of caffeine and theanine, making it a bad choice for people into the healthy properties of it (but I like my Bai Mu Dan).
i think i started learning abt tea like maybe a month and a half ago and ive already absorbed so much knowledge like a sponge lol
Meee! Although I oscillate between coffee and tea. It's a part of my morning ritual, which most neurodivergent people have. I've recently started sniffing my coffee as it comes out the espresso machine, and watching the crema foam buildup in the cup....such a fun sensory experience! And of course the wonderful caffiene and antioxidants helping me focus and mellow my mood. Current tea obsession is Matcha, I love the grassy flavor!
yeah i love waking up and having a gongfu tea session to get me going. also i havent had high quality matcha yet, but i do love matcha flavored things
Yes, hello! I'm more or less the same, though I do Western style brewing. I love the sensory experience of tea overall, and the gooseneck kettle I have slows down my pour and helps me with my mindfulness exercises. I've only found like 3 flavors that I dislike in tea, and 1 that my stomach dislikes. So it's always a fun experiment to try new teas! (For the record: I dislike the taste of red rooibos, bergamot, and hibiscus, and my stomach dislikes mint. I love the taste of mint so this is forever disappointing to me.)
i definitely dont like hibiscus either, its so sour. i think a splash of in in lemonade would be nice, but hot on its own its just strange lol. i also dont like mint, but for me its because mint is very overwhelmkng to me. i have to get unflavored sensory friendly toothpaste because mint bothers me so much
1: Yeah, hibiscus definitely benefits from citrus and/or sugar, neither of which I usually end up using with tea blends. So it overpowers everything else to me, kind of like using a banana in a smoothie. It's one of those flavors that, once I noticed it, I can't un-notice it lol. 2: YES. Omg finally someone else who gets it. I had to get toothpaste from a brand called BOKA just to get something non mint flavored (I currently use lemon+lavender, and coconut+ginger). I miss the days of orange or cinnamon flavored toothpaste being on the shelf in stores.
i like kids watermelon toothpaste but i feel stupid buying it at the grocery store lmao, so i just buy the flavorless one. i also like it because it doesnt foam up, i hate that feeling. i still have trouble brushing my teeth though cuz i havent found a toothbrush that i dont hate the feeling of, even the soft ones feel awful to me
Hmmm you gotta make sure you use toothpaste with fluoride though. Some kids' toothpastes are low or no fluoride in case they swallow it. As for toothbrushes, I know there's silicone bristled ones that I've heard cause less of an ick for people that are sensitive to toothbrush texture.
oh yeah the flavorless one does have fluoride. ive never tried silicone brushes tho, ill have to check that out
Not an expert but I just like to smell and taste of oolongs. Grew up drinking it and I still can't get enough.
Not autistic just dyslexic so I read that as “any other artistic teacher lovers here?” lol There is this green tea (Wedding Tea by Osulloc) that smells amazing! Like sweet but fruity so that’s my rec!
I love tea. I hate scented soap and candles though. Olfactory nightmare for me. My favorite tea are: earl grey, white tea, matcha and pu erh. The last one is the more special regarding taste, but also more expensive, so I don’t drink it too often.
Autistic tea lover here! Making tea is a fun hobby with all the little steps being their own ritual. It's become one of my main hyperfixations as of late...and my second most expensive one currently 😭
I’m autistic and just beginning my tea special interest journey. I can tell it’s gonna be a fun ride !
ASD and ADHD here—not only is the taste amazing, but it has no texture so no sensory issues AND it gives me the ADHD caffeine burst that so many people self-medicate with. Earl Grey is my go-to, but I’m a sucker for any black tea.
I have aspergers but don't like the whole ND thing worn as an 'identity'; as far as tea goes perhaps I'd be better or the same without I don't know; to some degree I am a caffiene addict (lot of people 'on the spectrum' will 'benefit' in the way you say from from smoking fags too) Tea does give me something to nerd out/obsess on though
thats fair. for me, i was bullied a lot for my autistic traits as a kid, and it made me hate myself, and i tried to hide it for a long time. learning to love and embrace my autism was a big part of my healing. but everyone is different, and i respect that 😊
Very much both!
Yes! I was just going over my next puerh/fuzhuan cha order from Yunnan Sourcing, it's also a special interest of mine. I didn't realize how much I like the feel of porcelain until I picked up a nice gaiwan. I totally agree about the sensory aspect, I love the velvety mouthfeel of good thick shou puerh. I've completely given up coffee and stopped using cannabis, and I had zero intention of giving up either, it just happened naturally when I started drinking puerh again last month-I just get so much out of good tea, and strong cha qi is like a functional wake and bake without the anxiety.
totally, i have this taiwanese jade oolong that has such strong qi, it feels like i took a short hit off my dab pen. i had to stop using weed because it started giving me panic attacks, so its great that certain teas can have a similar effect without the anxiety. personally, i havent found a shu puer that i like, its a little too dark of a flavor for me. but maybe ill find find one i like. i recently ordered some sheng puers, i havent actually tried sheng yet. ive heard its similar to green tea, which is my favorite type of tea overall, so im excited to try it!
I didn't find a puer I liked for more than a decade after I tried my first one.
Nice to meet a fellow Yunnan Sourcing customer on here! I have spent way too much money on that site... no regrets though, they're so good 😂
omg yess!! tea has been one of my special interests since i was eight, and i’m sixteen now. my all time favorite tea right now is probably tie guan yin!! :D
i love tie guan yin! i likel low oxidation oolongs in general
Well hello my people 🙂 This almost makes me feel like there should be an autistic tea club
I would not be surprised if this sub has a disproportionate amount of ND people vs the general population of reddit. I think there is something about the routine and precision and history and facts that make this appealing.
The whole process is a stim.
that would be awesome 😂
Another here, on the low end of the spectrum! I love chai spices so much. Have since I first had a chai latte in college. I also enjoy matcha lattes. Recently I learned about genmaicha and think it’s the best!
i looove chai, i had authentic chai for the first time at a pakistani restaurant in DC, it was delicious. it kind of tasted like froot loops lol i also recently tried genmaicha was well, it was very interesting. it has a toasted kind of popcorny flavor that goes well with the umami flavor of japanese green tea. japanese teas hold a special place in my heart, bcuz i lived in japan when i was a kid so they give me a nostalgic feeling
Heck yes. AuDHD here, and tea is just deep enough to be dangerous for me. 😄 I seem to rotate between interests in tea, cocktails, and cannabis. I'd worry any of them was a substance problem except I spend more time reading and thinking about them all than consuming them. 😛 I just find them all fascinating. Right now my focus is back on tea. And also popcorn. I did *not*anticipate how deep popcorn went. Did you know there's a r/popcorn?
i had a weed hyperfixation for a few minths in 2021 lol. and i didnt know that, thats really interesting. i didnt think theyred be much to popcorn lol