Just wondering where everyone likes to purchase their tea online? I would go to regular retail stores but we don't seem to have any here in San Diego worth mentioning. So instead I purchase most of my tea from specialteas.com. I've also purchased from thefragrantleaf.com before. I just purchased a bao zhong oolong from them and I'm pretty excited to receive it. I've never received anything but quality tea from either website, but my knowledge of tea is still limited so who really knows.
Best places to buy tea online?
Jun 30, 2006
14 Replies
I personally like to shop at
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and
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I feel that these sites are pretty complementary in terms of the teas they offer. But the best feature is their rewards system. Both offer points for every dollar you spend and you can redeem them for a gift certificate to purchase more teas for free.
I've tried others such as
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but didn't find their teas to be as flavorful.
hope this helps.
If you want to try them out, email me and I will send you one of their $5 refer-a-friend gift certificate.
Mike
xDust> Just wondering where everyone likes to purchase their tea online? I
It seems there are more online purveyors of tea than there are varieties of tea! Sadly, high shipping costs to Australia prevent me from taking advantage of them, at least at the moment.
Gavin
I buy my Darjeelings from
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The owner of the store is a relative of the owners of Makaibari tea estate.
Special Teas is a good vendor. I also use Upton a lot:
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Randy
Isn't there a big online seller in Sydney? I can't remember the name, but a friend bought me some Prince of Wales from them and it was pretty good.
--scott
I've actually had tea from Adaigo. My girlfriend bought me some for a gift giving occassion. She got me the Oooh Darjeeling and Golden Needle. Both are pretty good but I have so much left I won't need anymore for awhile. Thanks for the offer though.
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They're always handy with the seasonal single-estate goodness, and have an excellent decaf Darjeeling, and I like their almond tea (#901) as well as the whites and the Tsar's blend (which they seem not to do any more...).
--Blair
You could try
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They specialise in Japanese teas, but also have a wide range of other type of teas in their shop. Their silver needles and oriental beauty oolongs are nice. The sellers there seem to love their teas and know a lot about them. They are based in Sydney.
Kathy
I suspect you mean The Tea Centre, which is good (and thanks to Kathy for mentioning Taka Tea Garden as well). I have reasonably convenient access to both stores, so don't need their online ordering capacity. I'd certainly recommend them for people who can't get to the stores.
Just saying, though, it would be nice to take advantage of online stores in other countries to try particular teas that aren't available locally, or to try some of the teas that are mentioned in this newsgroup.
Gavin
For a wide range of teas, suggestions are: a.
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b.
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c.
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d.
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For specific region teas: a.
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b.
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c.
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there are others as well, but this is what is coming to my mind at the moment.
It really depends on what kind of tea you are looking for, you are pretty much on for most teas with upton and specialteas. Houdeasianart.com is a great place for Oolong and Pu-Erh teas. If you can put up with a three week wait then yunnansourcing on e-bay is your best bet for selection for Pu-Erh teas in general, and their Bi-Luo-Chun premium is a steal for the quality. Enjoy your tea adventure, and always keep an eye open for local merchants - nothing beats sitting down and sampling a tea before you buy, though that is something you find mostly from asian sellers.
I also haven't found too much as far as good tea shops in San Diego. I've found a few places that I go every once in a while.
If you like Japanese tea, there is a Japanese market called Mitsuwa Market Place: 4240 Kearny Mesa Road (Clairemont) 858-569-6699. It has a pretty big selection of packaged teas from Japan.
Ranch 99 Market on Clairemont Mesa Blvd. between the 805 and Convoy has some good teas, but not great. Again they are packaged teas. The more expensive FooJoy teas in tins aren't too bad.
Surprisingly Peets Coffee and Tea have some decent teas. I've had their Keemun, Lung Ching and Sencha and all were good. They have locations in Torrey Highland, La Jolla and Hillcrest. You can find their locations online at
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Den's Teas
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up in Torrance has very very good Japanese teas. It's a bit more pricey, but the tea is really fresh. Since they are not that far away, shipping is fast.
Other than that I've gotten most of my teas online from Special Teas, Upton and
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.
Try
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or
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they both have fixed shipping worldwide, and pretty great teas.
Danica
Gav> > I personally like to shop at
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and
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I feel
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