Tao of Woe

Fully oxidized tea leaves for a robust cup.


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Oct 17th, '09, 14:24
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Tao of Woe

by Victoria » Oct 17th, '09, 14:24

I just opened my Neela Nilgiri refill that I ordered from Tao of Tea. I made this up this morning and I can tell you this is NOT NEELA!! I have ordered refills for my canister several times and it has always been constantly good. Considering I was 1/2 asleep the first time, I made some up fresh just to be sure. Nope, this is definitely not a black tea.

This is not a Nilgiri or any Darjeeling or any black. This is mostly like their wuyi oolong.

I wrote to them, so we will see how they respond. I hope that they don't have huge amounts labeled wrong. In that case, they probably won't believe me. That would be easier.

If they hand pour each bag per customer then, maybe someone just put in the wrong tea and it was mislabeled.

In any case it will be interesting to hear their response.

Oct 17th, '09, 15:32
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Re: Tao of Woe

by Intuit » Oct 17th, '09, 15:32

Is this what your former batches of Neela Nilgiri tea looked like?

(irritatingly, the Adagio server wouldn't allow me to post the photo from this blog)

http://dharmavision.typepad.com/teapotd ... _of_n.html

If so, it's no wonder that there might be confusion on it's identity. Never seen a Nilgiri black tea that looked like this. However, the leaves look at bit like my Nilgiri white tea. The recommended cooler temp and short steep time are more like a white tea, too.

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Oct 17th, '09, 15:48
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Re: Tao of Woe

by Victoria » Oct 17th, '09, 15:48

Yes, but usually less broken. It looks like a typical greener FF Darjeeling. The leaves are darkish green-gray with amber leaves mixed in. Very similar to the Handmade Nilgiri from TeaSource that everyone loves.

Image

What I got looks like this:
Image

Anyway, I know an oolong from a black and this is not black.

Nice review on that blog.

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Oct 17th, '09, 15:54
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Re: Tao of Woe

by geeber1 » Oct 17th, '09, 15:54

Wow, Victoria, that must have been a HUGE disappointment! There's definitely a major difference between the Neela and a Wuyi. I hope they do right by you and send you the right tea!

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Oct 17th, '09, 15:58
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Re: Tao of Woe

by Victoria » Oct 17th, '09, 15:58

geeber1 wrote:Wow, Victoria, that must have been a HUGE disappointment! There's definitely a major difference between the Neela and a Wuyi. I hope they do right by you and send you the right tea!
Well it was a shock when I tasted it, since I had put it in the canister a few days ago, and forgot about it. Then making it this morning and going ... whoa!!! And then still not believing what was happening, I brewed a new batch.

I feel bad because I have been recommending this as the alternative to the now gone Nilgiri Handmade, and I really hope it is just a mix up and that this one is not gone too. <sigh>

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Oct 17th, '09, 20:11
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Re: Tao of Woe

by geeber1 » Oct 17th, '09, 20:11

I think they actually still have the Glendale Handmade - it's the FOP Glendale that they ran out of. :)

They have a Chamraj estate that they are substituting for the regular Glendale - not a great substitute IMHO.

Oct 20th, '09, 23:35
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Re: Tao of Woe

by judyw » Oct 20th, '09, 23:35

Did you hear from them? I am wondering what their response might be.

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Oct 21st, '09, 12:12
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Re: Tao of Woe

by geeber1 » Oct 21st, '09, 12:12

Victoria, any response from ToT on the mix-up?

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Re: Tao of Woe

by Victoria » Oct 21st, '09, 12:30

No response! I used the online comment form, so today I guess I will have to rewrite and send via regular email. Oy.

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Oct 22nd, '09, 16:32
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Re: Tao of Woe

by Victoria » Oct 22nd, '09, 16:32

Ok, I wrote via email this morning. They responded this afternoon with an apology and sending a replacement bag out today. And of course I can keep the mislabeled tea. So aside from not responding to the website direct complaint, they did respond to today's email with good customer service.
:)

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Oct 22nd, '09, 21:19
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Re: Tao of Woe

by geeber1 » Oct 22nd, '09, 21:19

Good to know that they took care of you! Too bad it took a couple of tries, though!

Oct 22nd, '09, 22:19
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Re: Tao of Woe

by Intuit » Oct 22nd, '09, 22:19

I've learned the hard way that calling the vendor directly expedites customer service action on an order problem, 9 out of 10 times. The tenth time, there is no phone option. If you're lucky, they reply to contact form or emailed request for assistance.

If not, you're screwed. At least you had product in hand. I've been waiting on an order to be shipped from LA since the 9th, when I was charged for it. Not only has the item not shipped, but the vendor merrily sends out an email today with new pricing. Not only has the dropped, it now includes coupon purchase incentive, for an extra $20 bucks off (this is for an item costing $150). *eyes rolling back in head*

Oct 24th, '09, 13:47
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Re: Tao of Woe

by Tea and coffee » Oct 24th, '09, 13:47

Intuit wrote:I've learned the hard way that calling the vendor directly expedites customer service action on an order problem, 9 out of 10 times. The tenth time, there is no phone option. If you're lucky, they reply to contact form or emailed request for assistance.

If not, you're screwed. At least you had product in hand. I've been waiting on an order to be shipped from LA since the 9th, when I was charged for it. Not only has the item not shipped, but the vendor merrily sends out an email today with new pricing. Not only has the dropped, it now includes coupon purchase incentive, for an extra $20 bucks off (this is for an item costing $150). *eyes rolling back in head*
I am actually trying to reach a vendor I bought from.
They only have a web contact form and after sending 3...yes 3 messages not a single reply.
This was from Teacuppa. been over 6 weeks already.
At least I did receive my items so one good thing.
But no free tea sampler-would have been nice to try some of their other teas as I am not familiar. Not a big deal though.
My second issue was one of the teas seemed kind of "old".
I know so because I bought the same kind from someone else and have the two to compare and the "fresh" one has a very strong lychee scent (in a good way), tea looks darker.
the tea cuppa one, very weak lychee scent,much lighter looking like someone left it sitting too long...

At least the only good thing for me is that tea cuppa you can leave reviews of your purchases on their website and I left a comment for that one tea.
Also left a commment on the site that had a coupon code for them and hopefully that will help people who like lychee tea (or tea in general).

I can say I will not be ordering from there again.

I did order some Adagio tea and their service seems pretty good.
Hopefully you get your expensive items.
If not at least you can do a chargeback to credit cards eventually,you just call the credit card company.
it is pretty easy,just call the # on the back of your card.

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Oct 28th, '09, 14:15
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The Tao Continues ...

by Victoria » Oct 28th, '09, 14:15

Well I guess a phone call is in order.
What I though might happen did indeed happen.
They did not check the stock, but simply sent another
package of what is labeled "Neela". And so what seemed to be
good customer service, now is questionable.

Good customer service is thinking, "Hey, how did this happen?
Are there other packages labeled wrong?" Not just resending
another wrong package.

And now the question is - how many incorrectly labeled packages
are there, and are they going to believe me?

I will report back after I feel unfrustrated enough to make the call.

Oct 28th, '09, 15:15
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Re: Tao of Woe

by Intuit » Oct 28th, '09, 15:15

Contact Thomas, Tao of Tea (Portland) Customer Service rep. Please supply to him the batch number on the outside of the foil pack or tea tin. He needs this number for their product chain of custody check.

He knows of this thread. He is checking with their purchasing dept to ascertain if the entire batch is incorrect (the oolong tea received).

This company is reasonably responsive to product quality issues. Give them a chance to rectify this issue, Victoria.

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