Tea Drinkers - What Online Stores Do You Use?

[willc]

Upton Tea is excellent for mail order and they mail out a real print catalog with lots of good info.
Fresh tea is awesome but I also like Celestial Seasonings and other pouch tea too.

 

[iamn8]

I use an online only site called Amazon, a cute little startup which sells a few different teas.

 

[briarbuda48]

The Cultured Cup in Dallas Tx and Silk Road Teas in California. Both have great service and exceptional teas.

 

[kanse]

Is that what you guys pay for tea in supermarkets or the ones from online stores are special?

 

[gsmunoz]

Verdant Tea
They supposedly work directly with the farmers. Quality is good in my opinion.

 

[brittany]

I'm a big coffee drinker during the day but come sundown is tea time. Though I'll do a shot of tea during the day depending on mood love good Earl Grey but most times Jasmine tea https://www.amanzitea.com/jasmine-tea-benefits/.
Tea to me is my relaxing drink just gonna bought white tea from https://www.teavivre.com which I mostly used to buy tea for.

 

[yuda]

Yunnan Sourcing US and their regular site. the US one has less variety but ships much faster. Locally I've enjoyed the herbals from Republic of Tea.

 

[mikefu]

I use https://www.theteatable.com/SFNT.html. And https://www.teasource.com/ Both have great service and selection.

 

[odobenus]

Have been really pleased with Upton.

 

[irishearl]

The Spice Merchant in Wichita. spicemerchant.com They have a great selection of loose, bulk teas. Am a fan of both their Irish and Scottish breakfast teas, which I guess would fit my Ulster-Scot heritage.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

When funds allow I use Fortnum & Mason who have been around for 300 years and have an amazing selection of really high quality teas.

Their Queen Anne blend is refreshing and reasonably strong but the one you simply must try if you get the chance is their Irish Breakfast Blend which has a lovely malty flavour and packs a punch in the strength department. They deliver internationally starting at about £15 which isn't cheap but I suppose it depends on how much you are into your Teas if you think it's worth the expense.
The rest of the time I drink either Barry's Irish Breakfast Tea Bags which are great value and rightly get rave reviews or Twining's 1706 Strong English Breakfast Blend which is a lovely tea and much nicer than the regular English Breakfast Blend. I don't know if this one is available in America yet as it's fairly new here.
Chris

 

[stayherewithme]

great to know you drink tea too, i am tea lover, i like Chinese teas - Yunan Puerh and guangdong oolong. I used to purchase puerh tea from yunansourcing, and now i am geting into guangdong oolong here: https://www.umiteasets.com/tea-leaves/oolong-tea.html

 

[subsalac]

I'm fairly seriously into tea as I am with pipe smoking. There's a tea culture out there, where people collect expensive tea ware, precious and rare aged teas, just like pipe, cigar, whiskey hobbyists do. This style of tea drinking is very different than tea culture in the west, largely inspired by the way they drink tea in Asia, mostly China and Japan. The main method is called "gong fu" brewing, in reference to the Chinese tea ceremony. The idea is you take a lot of leaf, into a porcelain or clay brewing vessel which is very small, 80-200 ml, held in one hand. You fill the vessel up, and there's this whole procedure, again, much like with pipe smoking in the way it's ritualistic-- you pack, tamp, check the draw, and so on. With tea, you rinse the leaves first. People often smell the wet leaf at this point for the most intense aroma the tea will have. Then, you begin brewing. Lightning fast brews, either 1 second of steep time, up to 20 seconds. The steep times go up, and you just keep drinking and pouring, either just for your self, or you can make it social with lots of little cups. This is getting very popular with the younger crowd in the west in the last 10 years or so.

Now, this has been a kind of a secret. Tea bags are considered the "Cigarette floor sweepings" of the tea world. I have nothing against cigarettes or tea bags, and I'm not judging anyone in the slightest to be clear, but the quality difference between properly processed tea meant for serious drinking and stuff you stick into a mug and forget about for a few minutes is night and day.

You don't have to have a fancy vessel(Some, called gaiwans, are fairly cheap and brew good tea, for only 10 or so bucks-- just a fluted porcelain cup with a lid where the lid holds the leaves back for you to pour your brew from, others can be very expensive, the "Dunhills" of teaware, rare Yixing clay). You can even brew the tea western style like you would a tea bag, just use less tea. Where can you get some?

I really like Yunnan Sourcing for an all-around vendor that carries all types of tea. They have a stock in both the US and China, the Chinese website has a massive stock and the prices tend to be better, but the shipping can take 3 weeks to a month. If I've piqued your interest, look for the following tea types:

• Dian Hong( A black tea)
• Shou Mei( A white tea)
• Bi Luo Chun(A Green tea)
• Tie Guan Yin(An unroasted Oolong tea)
• Da Hong Pao(A completely different Oolong tea which is roasted)

Cheers~

 

[bullet08]

haven't got into chinese teas. usually what i get at dim sum place is what i drink. mostly black tea drinker, english type. pg tips used to get me going. love tylors scottish breakfast.

 

[irishearl]

Subsalac, as to your comment about the quality of tea in tea bags vs. loose leaf, there is truth to that. I've been a fan of tea for about 20 years, generally only drinking loose leaf. Prior to trying loose leaf, had only had tea bags which led me to believe I didn't like tea. I think of the difference in taste in terms of coffee; that is, to me, tea bag tea is like instant coffee, while quality loose leaf is like whole bean, fresh roasted coffee. Having said that, there have been exceptions. Tried Yorkshire Gold in bags and thought it was quite good.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

Subsalac, as to your comment about the quality of tea in tea bags vs. loose leaf, there is truth to that. I've been a fan of tea for about 20 years, generally only drinking loose leaf. Prior to trying loose leaf, had only had tea bags which led me to believe I didn't like tea. I think of the difference in taste in terms of coffee; that is, to me, tea bag tea is like instant coffee, while quality loose leaf is like whole bean, fresh roasted coffee. Having said that, there have been exceptions. Tried Yorkshire Gold in bags and thought it was quite good.

Yorkshire Gold is a nice tea with decent strength, their Yorkshire decaf is good as well if you're looking for a decaffeinated teabag.

 

[alaskanpiper]

None. All I drink is Lapsang Souchong and I get it from our local Spice and Tea Exchange or Summit Tea and Spice.

 

[dino]

I smoke mostly Syrian Latakia English tobaccos, and find the Baker Street Afternoon Blend, which is a blend of Lapsang Souchong, Keemun and Darjeeling, from Upton Tea Imports, is just the right complement.

 

[troutface]

I replied to this thread over four years ago, so time for an update. Since I drink almost nothing but first flush Darjeeling I have been buying from Vahdam and Upton exclusively. If anyone knows a better, cheaper source please let me know. Once I started drinking whole leaf tea I found bagged tea tasted like cardboard. For me there is no comparison.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

+1 for uptontea.com. Phenomenal selection and service. I've been buying from them for 20 years.

Damn, it has been about 20 years since I first discovered Upton’s. I don’t take advantage of their huge selection, sticking to maybe a half dozen regular choices, but their service and pricing are absolutely first rate.