Online stores

[SciFi09]

New to this, was trying to find more info on the internet stores selling tea. Sharing the list that I think would be useful to new people..Any negative comments on any of the stores below? Any more souces you can recommend that I missed?

http://www.teacuppa.com/
http://www.teaspring.com/
http://www.adagio.com/
http://uptontea.com/
http://www.rishi-tea.com/
http://www.holymtn.com/catalog/
http://stores.ebay.com/Dragon-Tea-House
http://www.jingteashop.com/
http://www.teafromtaiwan.com/
http://www.theteaavenue.com/index.html
http://www.tentea.com/index.html
http://enjoyingtea.com/index.html
http://www.specialteas.com/
http://www.redblossomtea.com/
http://stashtea.com
http://www.mightyleaf.com/
http://www.silvertipstea.com/
http://www.sevencups.com/
http://virtuousteas.com/
http://serendipitea.com/
http://www.teavana.com/

Japanese Only:
http://www.hibiki-an.com/
http://www.thejapanesegreenteashop.com/
http://www.o-cha.com/

[shogun89]

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=3032

6. The discussion of particular tea vendors is allowed, both good and bad experiences provided that the information is factual. False testimonials will be removed. New members with less than 6 posts and less than 30 days membership shall not post links.

I dont mean to be the TeaChat police, but seriously, watch the rules as there have been problems with spam before.

[Oni]

There are more you know, but not all of them are worth the effort, some sell overpriced stuff and some very good stuff for low price, you need to know about tea to discerne so you can exclude from your list the bad teashops and the good teashops, sofar from those only 5 are worth while.

[Pentox]

A vendor being worth while is totally up to the drinker. For instance to someone who doesn't drink many blacks, Thunderbolt is probably not a great vendor. For someone who only drinks blacks Hibki-an is a terrible vendor.

Also to add:
Lupicia
Maiko
Koyama-en
Ippodo
Imperial Tea Court
Teance

[scruffmcgruff]

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=3032

6. The discussion of particular tea vendors is allowed, both good and bad experiences provided that the information is factual. False testimonials will be removed. New members with less than 6 posts and less than 30 days membership shall not post links.

I dont mean to be the TeaChat police, but seriously, watch the rules as there have been problems with spam before.

True, but the nature of this post clearly isn't spam. Spammers are idiots, but you would have to be an especially bad spammer to post links to your competitors.

Still, this thread is bait for flamers who like to say "Vendor X sucks," so the OP might want to ask more specific questions instead of casting such a broad net. Which brings me to my next response...

There are more you know, but not all of them are worth the effort, some sell overpriced stuff and some very good stuff for low price, you need to know about tea to discerne so you can exclude from your list the bad teashops and the good teashops, sofar from those only 5 are worth while.

How did you come up with only five? I've been pleased with teas from the first five on the list, and to be honest I think this guy did a pretty good job finding solid vendors for a newbie; I know it took me a long time to find most of those. Maybe you should think before you try to say something cool next time.

By the way... welcome to TeaChat, SciFi09! A less dramatic introduction can be made in the intro forum, if you like. Most of TeaChat really isn't like this, I promise!

[shogun89]

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=3032

6. The discussion of particular tea vendors is allowed, both good and bad experiences provided that the information is factual. False testimonials will be removed. New members with less than 6 posts and less than 30 days membership shall not post links.

I dont mean to be the TeaChat police, but seriously, watch the rules as there have been problems with spam before.

True, but the nature of this post clearly isn't spam. Spammers are idiots, but you would have to be an especially bad spammer to post links to your competitors.

Yeah, I agree. I did not think he/she was a spammer, to telll you the truth I dont know what I was thinking, a little out of it at the time. Sorry if it caused any harm. and welcome to TeaChat SciFi!

[scruffmcgruff]

FWIW Shogun, I didn't think there was anything wrong with you outlining the rules. Don't be so hard on yourself.

[Chip]

Jeez, I would hate to do my duty here. So, for now (and "for now" are the operative words), I am pretending I did not see it. Let's see where it goes.

There are some very good vendors listed and realistically, we know all of them already. There is no testimonial included from the OP. This could be a good one stop source for vendor links.

But as Scruff said, this is a pretty broad net. There is some potential for problems.

[devites]

I've done all the searching and pretty much the good experiences I have had have been with O-cha, Puershop (not that really into puerh... yet!) Adagio, Rishi, Hibiki-an, and Dens. For Chinese teas, which I don't drink much of, I always end up waiting around 6 weeks at which point the tea is not exactly fresh and it is like theres a shower drain in the packaging rooms. Stray pubes anyone I am being harsh and I definately have a bias since I mostly drink Japanese teas, but IMHO the Japanese stores just know how to do business.

For Oolongs I go to FLoating Leaves since it is local and I like having 2 hour long conversations with Shui Wen (not sure if that is spelled right).

[scruffmcgruff]

For Chinese oolongs, I wholeheartedly recommend teacuppa.com, teaspring.com, and jingteashop.com. They are honest vendors with generally good (or great) products. The shipping may take a while, but that's one of the costs of buying direct from China. Hou De Asian Art also has some fantastic teas (and is located in the US). I have heard sketchy reports from some about his prices and perhaps some artificial scarcity, but I've been pleased with my purchases from him.

For Japanese greens, I'd go with O-Cha and Ippodo. Hibiki-an has some great stuff too, but they have been known to not post less-than-5-star reviews of their products, so I wouldn't give them high marks for integrity. Beware when buying teas based on customer reviews (which I often do) at Hibiki-an; ask around here first.

Lastly, stay away from Teavana. I have had bad experiences there. Some of their teas are decent, but they are catering to a much less-informed crowd than most of the vendors you listed. You can get much better quality and lower prices elsewhere.

[devites]

Seconded on teavana, it makes me mad when I talk to people about tea and their favorite "tea" is some overpriced herbal crap from teavana. Teavana does have some nice, OVERPRICED teaware. Adagio was the first true tea I had and I still get tea. For Hibiki-an I only get the highest quality, usuallly pinnacle since the prices are pretty low, so I have a good experience. Personally i think Adagio is the best starting point for a beginner.

[scruffmcgruff]

Personally i think Adagio is the best starting point for a beginner.

Definitely one of the best. I happened to start out with Harney & Sons, which is another great vendor IMO. Upton has a lot of Darjeelings, Assams, and Ceylons to sample, which was fantastic for me when I was getting into those. Their non-Indian selection is a bit iffy sometimes, though.

[Oni]

When you do your scouting for a good vendor, search for a product that can be found at many other stores, and if that particular vendor sells the same product at triple the price you have seen at other sites, most likely all their products are triple the price vs quality.

[Pentox]

When you do your scouting for a good vendor, search for a product that can be found at many other stores, and if that particular vendor sells the same product at triple the price you have seen at other sites, most likely all their products are triple the price vs quality.

This method works better for hard goods than tea though. I've seen a lot of people use this comparison method on differing teas, but it doesn't work very well due to vastly different qualities. You may find a tea at 1/3 the price somewhere else, but it's not necessarily the same quality.

[SciFi09]

Sorry didn't read the rules very carefully. Just wanted to make the life easier for other rookies like me. My major point in choosing the vendor, as for many others, would be the price, quality, and shipping, in the order of priorities. The price is major point because everyday tea drinking could be really expensive, compared to "tea bag" drinking.

So that's why I need advise form all of you on where to find sales. specials, discounts. Is there a blog that collects discounts form various tea stores? I just got my first order from specialteas.com, have not tried it yet though.

How is the quality of tea from ebay online stores? I listeed 2 of them in my list above, but ahev anyone ordered through them? Please comment on major ebay stores.

Jeez, I would hate to do my duty here. So, for now (and "for now" are the operative words), I am pretending I did not see it. Let's see where it goes.

There are some very good vendors listed and realistically, we know all of them already. There is no testimonial included from the OP. This could be a good one stop source for vendor links.

But as Scruff said, this is a pretty broad net. There is some potential for problems.