Thunderbolt Teas-Anyone Ever Dealt With Them Recently?

Hey, hey, fellows............... Enough. Hopefully, all of us will be more considerate of one another, handle spam accordingly and get to the loveliness of tea. Maybe we all need to settle down, create or do a familiar tea ritual (for me, gong fu this morning), and breathe. Maybe we all need to take a ,moment to realize how fortunate we are to have an opportunity to disagree and listen to one another and then breathe deeply and consider the bigger picture. Whether we get an email from someone with good intentions whom we may not know can seem absolutely inconsequential in the scope of things. Let's try to remember to be kinder to one another when communicating our displeasure and put the whole thing into some sort of perspective. We, on this board, come from different experiences, different cultures, different languages. Being aware of that, let's all try to be more patient and understanding. Okay? Enough of my soapbox. It's "Labor Day" here in America and I'm off to have some well-earning leisure time with friends, enjoy some tea together and mull over (over some very nice Dian Hong) what I can do, personally, to contribute to the well-being of laborers (especially in the tea business) who are suffering. Shen

Stop the marketing disguised as elucidation. You sound like the guy who showed up years ago giving away free samples of darejeeling white tea. He was the greatest living authority about anything from India till the samples dried up. You'll learn a lot more about tea noting what you should look for from the experience of others than one vendor's claim of taste mine. At least I can claim my local tea shoppe doesn't sell the best Indian estate teas contrary to probably what the owner would say. Don't believe anybody who says they do.

Jim

PS For the rest of you, you're a fool if you think samples mean anything. The lot order won't even come close to the same quality. That's the way it works. I don't have to kiss this guy's ass to know what he offers is anything different unless you think the smudge left on your lips adds to the taste. This guy is using this group to sell tea and if you're waiting for your samples then you're the one who doesn't give a damn about this group and stop acting like a cheap mark. To the new poster your right this guy's behavior is contrary to the spirit of this group.

Ankit Lochan wrote: ...I censor in the name of the Patriot Act...

I would normally be wary of samples, but considering the glowing reviews of some of the Lochan Tea products mentioned earlier in this thread, I'm not too worried about the quality of the rest of the lots. By the way, I didn't get my samples due to any participation in this group, it was a totally unrelated matter, so he didn't use the group to sell me tea.

Anyway, Teku, I'm all out of bullets too. Only 100g left? o_O I hope, for your sake, that your order comes in soon! Also, don't forget to let us know how they are when you get them.

-Brent

Jim, Jim, There you go again with unwarranted cynicism. The Lochan Tea Company is well-regarded, with a long history. If Ankit says he will post samples, he will. If you had taken a bit of time to understand why the family, their efforts and their teas are so well-respected (vouched for innumerable times on this list and others by respectable tea people) you would trust Ankit's word. I feel sorry for you in that you seem to mistrust a great deal. Life is too short to be so suspicious. The whole world is not out to get you. By the way, if you considered giving it a shot, you might even enjoy the tea, without cross-examining the donor or doubtfully scrutinizing his intentions. Some people actually do business honorably. It's a shame you haven't come across them. Perhaps, you redundant negativity warns them away. Lighten up. Have a cup of good Darjeeling. Shen

Enjoy your samples. Apparently he doesn't have any ethical problem pitching what he sells here contrary to the spirit of the group. In my eyes he is the worse of the bunch so far. I only respect the claims of people who aren't bent over smudging their face. I'll bet his 2007 isn't any different than the 2007 from my local tea shoppe. The British owner has sources in Darjeeling who supply him. He's making a trip this year for more sources. There isn't a major estate he doesn't carry. I've tried them all and I'm still disappointed when compared to what others have said about Darjeeling. I'm happy with Darjeeling if I follow the rule 'more is not enough'. I shouldn't have to make a mash of the stuff for full body taste.

Jim

Shen wrote:

I was a bit busy with my travel thing, new clients etc. and the good news is thunderbolts have arrived. While tracking, I got info from dhl's site the tea was delivered and i hadn't. I trashed thunderbolt customer service like hell. they were really confused and informed me that the address was properly written on the parcel and was delivered to the right address as they enquired dhl. when i recall my trashing messages, i feel sorry the the thunderbolts, i had given my office address as delivery address which i overlooked. i was not in the office, as i had some field work to do. called up my office and they confirmed the delivery. yes, i apologised to the thunderbolts. it was plain and simple, my mistake.

now the teas. i have been drinking darjeeling tea for a long time, but am not those so called people who has all the fancy words implanted in their heads. i really don't know the words to explain, but from my taste of previous darjeeling here is my plain and simple expl. thunderbolt really sent me a bolt from the blue. the teas are out of this world. honestly, i have never tasted such darjeelings before, i feel i paid them much more less for the teas they have sent. salsero and shen, if you have missed these teas then you missed some of the worlds finest creations. thunderbolt teas are rocking and that is what i would like to say. all of the teas which i ordered are far far better than the teas i have tasted before. now i don't feel like touching the remains of the old 100 grams that is left as the last stock.

though all teas are of very very high quality, according to my taste, puttabong and singbulli are first flush winners and i grade them equal , makaibari silver tips has its own unique taste and not to forget that it is organic. castleton muscatel is so out of the blue, the best castleton i have ever had in my whole life. i was wandering how come, castleton made such wonderful teas. they sent me some samples as well, risheehat flowery is another rocking tea they have and i am ordering this next week. other tea samples like puttabong china, jungpana wiry etc. are also good teas and when you see the price tag that has been given, its an excellent buy for the money you spend.

All i can say is that from now on wards, no thinking twice when ordering thunderbolts. how could i ever miss this merchant.

tek ... are you in india now?

Tek, et al, In case you do decide to try Lochan teas, they are offering a wonderful "try Indian teas" deal right now in an effort to promote Indian teas to a new market. You can sample TEN teas of your choice for FREE and then just pay the shipping. (I have no connection with Lochan, other than my before stated admiration and this is not spam). I am happy you are pleased with your buy and hope that at some point you do choose to try Lochan, as well. Please give them a try, so you can compare and share your thoughts. Shen

On Sep 7, 7:05 am, snipped-for-privacy@zapak.com wrote: i have been drinking darjeeling tea for a long time, ... the teas are out of

tekuj,

Thanks so much for posting your opinion of these teas, and your recommendations from among them. Since I am still quite new to the world of Darjeelings, I was a little worried that my approval of Thunderbolt may not have agreed with your more experienced palate. I'm relieved to see that you like them. Also, it is very educational for me to understand how the Thunderbolt products measure up to other darjeelings, as I gain a little more experience.

Shen, thanks for telling us all about the Lochan offer. I'm sort of drowning in tea at the moment, but may have to take them up.

I do have the impression that a little "Indian revival" may be happening in the tea blogosphere, as more people are finding access to better Indian products. They certainly do make nice change from the (also) wonderful Chinese teas I have been drinking.

Salsero