I have always loved tea and was first introduced to loose leaf tea in 2004 when I was studying in the US. One of my roommates had ordered some teas from Adagio, so I quickly looked into it and became instantly hooked.
I love all sorts of tea. My favorites are probably oolongs and greens.
I also love dogs. I have a beautiful French Bulldog named Sencha! : )
I currently live in Ecuador, where there sadly is barely any tea to be found... Any time I travel to the US I make sure to bring back a LARGE amount of tea to have around (last time I literally brought back an entire suitcase!)
I am open to any suggestions for my orders for my next trip )as to retailers and teas in particular).
Re: Hello from Ecuador!
Welcome, Nina!
I would think any larger city would have a decent tea shop or two. The only physical retailers I have shopped at are TeaGschwendner, Teavana, and Ten Ren Tea. I would recommend TeaGschwender over the others, but they only have stores in Chicago and New York, I think. Online is a good way to purchase tea and lots of vendors have free shipping if you spend $50 or $100-which I suspect you will if you are filling a suitcase
I would think any larger city would have a decent tea shop or two. The only physical retailers I have shopped at are TeaGschwendner, Teavana, and Ten Ren Tea. I would recommend TeaGschwender over the others, but they only have stores in Chicago and New York, I think. Online is a good way to purchase tea and lots of vendors have free shipping if you spend $50 or $100-which I suspect you will if you are filling a suitcase
Re: Hello from Ecuador!
Welcome! I used to have a friend from Ecuador! There is always the internet, many of us get our tea by ordering it online. I hope to see you around the forums!
May 8th, '11, 17:57
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Re: Hello from Ecuador!
Hi Nina, pardon my late welcome! We hope to see you around the forum! Please share what is in your cup on TeaDay!
Re: Hello from Ecuador!
Hi again! Sorry for not checking back on this post for a while!
While Quito is a big city, it is a big city in third world country standards. To top it off, there really isn't a tea drinking culture at all! In fact, it will come as a surprise to most that even being a big coffee producer, almost all of the coffee consumed in the country is instant!!!!
I have found one little tea shop, that is surviving. Unfortunately most of their tea has been sitting around for over a year now, meaning that it is pretty stale (I recently bought some green tea that I actually had to throw away due to it tasting like a moldy closet... 
)
Thankfully I am fine with bringing my tea into the country. And yes, when I place my orders they are at least at $50, I have to make sure I get enough until I get to come back!!!!!!
While Quito is a big city, it is a big city in third world country standards. To top it off, there really isn't a tea drinking culture at all! In fact, it will come as a surprise to most that even being a big coffee producer, almost all of the coffee consumed in the country is instant!!!!
I have found one little tea shop, that is surviving. Unfortunately most of their tea has been sitting around for over a year now, meaning that it is pretty stale (I recently bought some green tea that I actually had to throw away due to it tasting like a moldy closet... ) Thankfully I am fine with bringing my tea into the country. And yes, when I place my orders they are at least at $50, I have to make sure I get enough until I get to come back!!!!!!