Page 1 of 1

What tea do you drink most of?

Posted: Oct 17th, '13, 00:05
by Ampersand
Hi all,

I'm in the process of establishing a boutique, ethically-sourced, loose-leaf tea company. I'm looking to start with around 20 teas and so would love to get feedback on which teas you would see as being vital to start with. We are looking to supply a range of black, green, oolong, white, pu erh, herbal and rooibos. We'll be including blends and flavoured products too.

What particular tea/s do you drink most of? What do you believe should be a staple of every tea company?

Thanks everyone,

Tim.

Re: What tea do you drink most of?

Posted: Oct 17th, '13, 09:46
by Evan Draper
I would rather buy tea from a vendor who specializes in one or a few subgroups of tea, someone who really knows their stuff and has access to amazing products that the "one-stop-shops" don't understand. Because really, this takes years of continuous relationship-building with origin producers.

Re: What tea do you drink most of?

Posted: Oct 17th, '13, 10:26
by JBaymore
Japanese Greens.

best,

.................john

Re: What tea do you drink most of?

Posted: Oct 23rd, '13, 05:05
by Ampersand
Thanks Evan and John. Really appreciate your feedback.

What tea do you drink most of?

Posted: Oct 23rd, '13, 07:26
by mcrdotcom
Depends on the target market.

If you're looking at hardened tea drinkers, you'd want to specialise in a particular type of tea. If you aim to serve all ranges of experienced tea drinkers a small selection of nice tea from all the major tea types but not too expensive is good... Supply our everyday tea drinking (specific emphasis on greens and Oolongs I would imagine).

Then you have novice drinkers and a broad range of selection is good, of green, oolong, black and herbals.. Maybe a small selection of puerh and specific types of each, or maybe one very nice tea from each type ... Obviously a casual tea drinker just wants nice tea to be brewed western :)

I'm middle of the range, I most frequently buy tea for everyday drinking (both gongfu and western) and I'm a heavy oolong/green/black tea drinker on a multiple times a day scale :)

Puerh and nicer oolong are the Saturday/Sunday really nice gonfu sessions :)

Hope that helps XD

Re: What tea do you drink most of?

Posted: Oct 23rd, '13, 16:26
by Chip
Japanese greens ... that part was easy.

However as stated a few times already, I also do not buy much from sources not specializing in region/types of teas ... pretty much regardless of what I am shopping for in the tea realm. Too many mediocre (or worse) purchases over the years ...

Re: What tea do you drink most of?

Posted: Oct 23rd, '13, 20:13
by nrstooge
Whilst I know a lot of folks here love their greens.. I'm partial to the really dark, smoky flavored black teas. Think english/irish/scottish breakfast. (and yes I do drink them like the Brits). I drink these instead of coffee. Not all Earl Grey is created equal.. some company's I love.. others... ewww. And.. since all of these are blends.. they all taste just a bit differently from company to company.

Re: What tea do you drink most of?

Posted: Oct 24th, '13, 03:10
by yalokinh
Right now greentea and puer equally. Usually drink in the evening.
then about 20g of yerba mate in the morning, jeez that sounds like a lot haha

Re: What tea do you drink most of?

Posted: Oct 25th, '13, 12:37
by mcrdotcom
yalokinh wrote:Right now greentea and puer equally. Usually drink in the evening.
then about 20g of yerba mate in the morning, jeez that sounds like a lot haha


20g? How many cups is that? :O XD Caffeine overload right there!

Re: What tea do you drink most of?

Posted: Oct 25th, '13, 14:31
by yalokinh
If i'm not mistaken, there are 10Mg of caffeine in 1g of yerba mate.
So its about 200+mg of caffeine, i drink with a gourd and straw, refill till i can taste no more.
First time i tried it, i think i put in waaaay to much, sent me to the moon ha ha :lol:

Re: What tea do you drink most of?

Posted: Oct 25th, '13, 16:14
by mcrdotcom
yalokinh wrote:If i'm not mistaken, there are 10Mg of caffeine in 1g of yerba mate.
So its about 200+mg of caffeine, i drink with a gourd and straw, refill till i can taste no more.
First time i tried it, i think i put in waaaay to much, sent me to the moon ha ha :lol:
Wow! I don't have a gourd, was it nice that way? I usually brew it open top in a jug at a cool temperature twice and mix the steeps to kill the bitterness! Always wanted to try the gourd though! Great way to wake up by the sounds of it! haha

Re: What tea do you drink most of?

Posted: Oct 26th, '13, 01:35
by wyardley
I think trying to do 20, especially across different subtypes is spreading yourself too thin. Specialize in one or two types, and sell the teas you like, not the teas that are most popular.

Re: What tea do you drink most of?

Posted: Nov 19th, '13, 09:06
by Ampersand
Hi all, thanks for all the incredibly helpful responses. I’ve now shifted this topic into an Online Focus Group – would love you to join!
See my Post at:
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=19246