Does anyone have recommendations for the best value when ordering tea. For example, I have heard that Upton is comprehensive in its selection, but a little overpriced. I am just looking for good black teas to try and wondered if anyone had a source that was fairly priced. Specialteas? Mark T. Wendell? I get everything loose from my local Middle Eastern and Asian supermarkets and am looking for a good source to try some really fine teas, without paying more than I should. I am starting with Assam and Earl Greys if that makess any difference in who you would recommend. Or should I just go with Upton? They certainly offer more varieties than I could ever hope to try. Any help appreciated. Thank you, Allen
But I am open to any black teas. Indian, Chinese, etc. are all ones I want to try. And I would think that Chinese would get you the most bang for the buck.
You can do better than Upton's prices, but for most teas the difference between $2 for 125g and $4 for 125g isn't a dealbreaker. The thing about Upton's is that they have sample packs. The sample packs are expensive for the amount of tea you get, but if you want to try a whole lot of teas for a small amount of money, the Upton samples are the way to go.
I'd skip the Earl Greys for the time being and try the Upton's Assam sampler. You can do better on price, but if you don't know what you are looking for, you can't be sure.
There are plenty of fine vendors out there, many of them cheaper than Upton's and many with better quality tea too. But it's hard to beat Upton's for selection and variety in one place, and right now that is what you should be worried about. Try as many teas as possible, then find a cheap source for them.
Earl grey is not really a tea that has many differences or real "grades." Very cheap Earl Grey will use artificial or lousy tasting additives to give it the Bergamot flavor, and better quality stuff that uses the real deal. Upton's has a few Earls that are worth trying, and I'm pretty sure they even have an extra strong Bergamot flavored version if that is your thing. I've even seen Green, White, and Oolong Earl Greys, and they are all pretty mediocre. Earl Grey isn't really a "serious" tea, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it and have fun trying some different ones.
Some basic suggestions of mine:
Green Tea: Jasmine, Jasmine Pearl, Sencha, Kukicha, Dragon Well, maybe even matcha Oolong: Oriental Beauty, Formosa, and from there just experiment with a couple different ones. Darjeeling and Assam: I prefer Darjeelings, Assams have a sort of malty taste Black: Keemun, Yunnan, and I like Dimbula White: Totally up to you, I'm not a big fan except in rare times.
Uptontea.com is most likely your friend to start off, they offer cheap sample pouches and low cost shipping. You can try probably 10-15 different teas for like $20 shipped.
Also, go with your own tastes. I enjoy cheap jasmine green tea from my local asian market that costs $1.79/120g right along with $150/lb. jasmine pearls... sure they are different but they both have things I like and want at different times. If you like Earl Grey's start there. Go to Upton's and buy a sample of each Earl Grey they have and see what you like, that's half the fun. You'll branch out when you are ready, don't rush it. In fact, drink cheap crappy tea first, you will understand and appreciate good tea much more.
Besides the samples which other posters have commented on, other things you need to consider if price is a concern are quantity discounts and especially shipping. Some vendors offer lower per unit weight prices on teas as the quantity increases - up to 1/3 less on big quantities as on small. Also, some of them offer small flat-rate shipping costs no matter how big the order. If you buy tea A from vendor X, tea B from vendor Y, etc. the shipping costs can add very significantly to the price of the tea. (Upton, BTW, does both of the above).
I just got the two Java teas that Upton's stocks... the single estate one and the BOP. They aren't bad.... a little bit more spicy smelling than the typical cheap Assam. I tend to get more of a peach smell from the cheap Kalami assams than a brown spice smell.
Definitely not bad teas, and extremely inexpensive. On the other hand, I did not like them as much as the Boh teas from Indonesia... the Boh teas all seemed to have deeper and more complex scents to them.
I sent some samples to another regular poster here whom I expect to chime in at some point.
After a montha nd a few weeks of moving, I'm finally jsut starting to settle down again...got the samples Scott and I do agree, the Java BOP so far is nice. It smells stronger in teh dry leaf, darker than the single eestate one which I've not had the opportunity to sample yet. And of course I like Boh too...I think the BOP types like Boh, Kenyan, Tetleys, nCeylon (the types that are put into the usual teabags, if I can even make such a broad generalization) are each different in their own ways. Some people like a "drier" cup which to me means brighter, so Ceylon, maybe some Kenyan. The Boh if I remember correctly is an Assam transplant so that would explain it's darkness thought it doesn't taste like an assam tea per se.
I'll still be spotty posting here for a while...this has been a stressful move and also I have a video game (Oblivion, put out by Bethesda) that's occupying way too much of my time, but it's fun and recreational...anyhow I am still around. :)
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