Upton's tea review policy

I was recently going through my past orders at Upton's to add some reviews to the teas I had ordered and noticed that you are only allowed to post public reviews to teas that were ordered in larger quantities (Not samples) When I inquired about this I received a reply from owner Tom Eck. He stated

Snipped " Opinions on samples are clearly important to the individual making a purchase decision on a larger quantity. It may also be adequate for someone to make an informed comment about the objective quality and desirability of that tea, but we believe this would require significant tea knowledge."

IMHO it seem a little snobbish to assume that because I only order a sample that I do not have enough significant tea knowledge to review this tea. I am not saying I am a tea expert but it seem that they are a little holier than thou when it comes to tea.

This really did not sit well with me. Do I seem unreasonable about this? I have place many orders with Upton's and have always been happy with the service. But I am starting to have second thought about them based on this reply.

Mike

Reply to
Mike Boucher
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I certainly wouldn't let that get in the way of ordering if it was me. My criteria would only be good value in the tea and good service.

As for not being able to publicly review a sample - I think you can make a case both ways. On Upton's side, many teas require a little experimenting with steep times and temperatures to find the combo that is just right for your taste. One sample may not be enough to do this. And in fact a real "expert" may be able to find that combo more quickly.

In any case, even though I am not a big fan of their position, I think it is not so unreasonable.

Randy

Reply to
RJP

Unreasonable? Well, IMO the decision is yours alone to make.

That being said, I do agree with Upton's, and feel that one should spend more time tasting a product than just from a sample. This is influenced by my being a pipe-smoker for over 40 years, and I know that one must smoke more than a few bowls of a tobacco to properly appreciate it, much less review it. The web is now replete with tobacco review web-sites, and through experience I can tell which reviewer actually spent some time with a tobacco, and which reviewer smoked a bowl or two and then wrote a "review".

My experience with tea, however is not as extensive and I can not tell which reviwer is blowing smoke, and which one has thoughtfully tasted many cups before writing. That's why I would like to see reviews only from those who bought a large quantity - tho it is obviously possibe to drink one cup of it and then write a review, I presume that most do not do so.

Reply to
Sonam Dasara

I to am a pipe smoker. I have seen you post on ASP and I agree about trying something for a while before rating it. My point is that is should not be something they decide. If they are offering for customers to review their products then they take the good with the bad.

Lets say there is a tea that is expensive and I only order samples occasionally as a treat. The fact that I only ordered samples excludes me from reviewing it.

Also what is to stop someone from ordering a tea they have never tried in a larger quantity and rating it after one cup? I guess they could change it to require you to have ordered an item at least twice before rating it but then it is still in the control somehow. That is what I disagree with.

Mike

Reply to
Mike Boucher

Hey Mike. Perhaps he means the same thing Greg Pease means when he says you should smoke at least an ounce of a certain tobacco blend before reviewing it.

Not that I know how the management is at my beloved Upton's. I try not to write to them, in order not to be disappointed. :-)

Ian

Reply to
Ian Rastall

I think it says somewhere that Upton's has editorial control over those reviews. I have seen some negative ones, such as the one saying their Lapsang Souchong Imperial tastes like burning tires, but I get the impression they're keeping a tight rein on that section. It is, after all, a form of advertisement.

Ian

Reply to
Ian Rastall

I have had reviews turned down by Upton, I stopped reviewing after that. It is their website and their perfectly within their rights to make choices however they want to with the reviews that come in. However, I don't use the reviews anymore to make a decision since I know they are being "censored" even to whatever limited extent.

On top of that, I have to add that everyone's taste is different, so while a review may make a tea out to be wonderful to one person, that tea may not be wonderful to others, I have had that happen and really have decided that the only thing I can do is just drink lots of tea. Which isn't a problem, :). But also you may want to keep in mind that many times (or sometimes...don't ask me to quote figures) a tea merchant has a description on a tea that just doesn't jive for whatever reason with the tea one gets in the mail. I find that many times, and I can chalk it up to : tea is subjective, I am relatively new to tea, I don't have references to go by since no-one around here does tea tastings where they can say "here taste this, this is what is meant when people say smoky" or whatever...I'd really love to go to something like that to develop my definitions. As it is now, I'm sorta shooting in the dark with it all...

But I think that more than a sample is a good idea just because I have to live with a tea for awhile to get it from different angles.

Short answer: I don't go by reviews and I try not to go by the merchant blurb. I go by taste and hopefully a picture. And input and learning from the kind folks on here, not the least. Thank you all.

Melinda

Reply to
Melinda

You just need to get your opinions more in line. ;-)

I totally agree. I would not put much stock in any "reviews" maintained by the seller. There is tons of data to show that there is no way it can be objective.

I'm not saying they are intentionally misleading anyone. They probably believe the "reviews" are fair.

-- Email: Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com (11/09/04)

Reply to
Top Spin

Good point about not writing Ian. I guess it's just my rebellious side not wanting to be told what to do by someone I am giving business to.

I just really detest people or companies that are misleading and to me it seem this way with Upton's. It's like their saying you can write a review if we think it's OK, and we will be the judge of how much tea you should purchase before you can write one.

OK. I'm done with my ranting.

Mike

Reply to
Mike Boucher

I don't think you should take it so personally. IMO, it's a good idea for them to have some sort of criterion to determine the knowledge level of the reviewers and purchasing a regular-sized packet isn't much of a requirement.

Sorry, but yes, because it isn't really a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

Good.

If you like the products, pricing, and service, does it really matter that they don't accept your input to *their* website? IOW, don't sweat the small stuff.

Reply to
Bluesea

I mind the first more than the second. It's probably why I don't write reviews on there. It might be neat to have a tea reviews site, like tobaccoreviews, except it doesn't make much sense to review something that a vendor may only have for a few months, and no other vendor has.

On a similar note, I think it would be interesting to do a sort of group buy, meaning a bunch of us buy the same thing on our own, and then compare tasting notes. Maybe one per month or something.

Ian

Reply to
Ian Rastall

That's a really good idea Ian. I would be interested.

Mike

Reply to
Mike Boucher

I'm in..as long as it wouldn't get too expensive. Say around 10 or 15 bucks a month...in fact I'd love it if this would happen so I could get some prespective.

Melinda

Reply to
Melinda

As a new tea drinker, I would find this helpful, especially if at least some of them are teas that will be available on an ongoing basis.

-- Email: Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com (11/09/04)

Reply to
Top Spin

I'm up for it, too. Even if it's somewhere other than Upton's. :-)

Ian

Reply to
Ian Rastall

That's what I'm thinking as well. Nice, but not expensive.

Ian

Reply to
Ian Rastall

I guess the next step is to find a tea that qualifies. Any good sites to look at?

Ian

Reply to
Ian Rastall

specialteas.com

Mike

Reply to
Mike Boucher

How about #523 CHINA FINE LUNG CHING ORGANIC. That looks like a good place to start, and not too expensive, either.

Ian

Reply to
Ian Rastall

You know, I really like Lung Ching, but if we're gonna do one tea at a time, won't the shipping and handling cost more than the tea (and kill our wallets)?

Reply to
Bluesea

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