Fake or is it possible?? I came across an online vendor,

Owes its flavors to oxidation levels between green & black tea.


Aug 28th, '12, 08:39
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Re: Fake or is it possible?? I came across an online vendor,

by teasme » Aug 28th, '12, 08:39

iovetea wrote:well if i order tea and i get a sample of shincha from this year and i order it, but then get tea of last year. even so its still nice and stuff than its a clear lying and an insult to me. Also the same goes when they sell teapots that are obviously leaking.
Well i think it that way, even if the tea is drinkable, do i really want to put my precious so valuable money in the hand of someone who doesnt respect me as a person, and thinks so little about my intelligence that he can do that?...

Well put. I completely agree. Finding a company you can trust and one that gives you excellent customer service and quality is more valuable to me than how much the tea costs or the brand name.

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Aug 28th, '12, 14:25
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Re: Fake or is it possible?? I came across an online vendor,

by betta » Aug 28th, '12, 14:25

MarshalN wrote:There's no weight indication, is there? I don't even know how much tea you're getting for 120 EUR

Anyway, the label on the can says "cave aged old tea", for what it's worth. Frequently reroasted tea is not worth a lot of money - 120 EUR should buy you a whole half kilo.
More info here:

168g, written on the address. Personally, at that price, I would rather spend the money on something others.
Here the vendor might have written whatever he'd been told by the supplier.
So I would be more careful with the assumptions that the vendor's lying here.

Based on the info, after the harvest (and I believe, necessary processing), the tea is stored in special containers/jars and stored underground for about 12-15 years. During the storage time, it undergoes maturing process under influence of climatic seasonal changes. Added to that at a certain fixed time interval, the jars will be taken out of the ground and be warmed up.

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Aug 29th, '12, 03:27
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Re: Fake or is it possible?? I came across an online vendor,

by MarshalN » Aug 29th, '12, 03:27

betta wrote:
MarshalN wrote:There's no weight indication, is there? I don't even know how much tea you're getting for 120 EUR

Anyway, the label on the can says "cave aged old tea", for what it's worth. Frequently reroasted tea is not worth a lot of money - 120 EUR should buy you a whole half kilo.
More info here:

168g, written on the address. Personally, at that price, I would rather spend the money on something others.
Here the vendor might have written whatever he'd been told by the supplier.
So I would be more careful with the assumptions that the vendor's lying here.

Based on the info, after the harvest (and I believe, necessary processing), the tea is stored in special containers/jars and stored underground for about 12-15 years. During the storage time, it undergoes maturing process under influence of climatic seasonal changes. Added to that at a certain fixed time interval, the jars will be taken out of the ground and be warmed up.
Sorry, nobody does that. Yes, the vendor might just be repeating someone else's lies, but I always believe that a vendor has the duty to check it out instead of just passing lies on. If they're making money selling the tea, they need to make sure they're selling what they claim they're selling.

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Aug 29th, '12, 09:51
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Re: Fake or is it possible?? I came across an online vendor,

by Bad Jedi » Aug 29th, '12, 09:51

It not always goes that way , because vendor him self could be cheated by wholesaler or producer , of cause he suppose to know what he buys otherwise he not suppose to enter tea business but as everything in the life not only black or white . From my experience with tea market, as far away you get from the source down the food chain your chances of getting scammed going up exponentially.
Regarding this particular case I've never encountered tea buried for 15 years but I've seen rise wine and Kyushu brown rise vinegar buried for 18-20 years:)

Aug 29th, '12, 15:31
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Re: Fake or is it possible?? I came across an online vendor,

by iovetea » Aug 29th, '12, 15:31

that is really weird, seems to me that there is much more cheating in the tea market than in all other food markets...
also its like so difficult to find tea you want to buy, were with all other exclusive food its so easy....

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Aug 29th, '12, 15:37
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Re: Fake or is it possible?? I came across an online vendor,

by betta » Aug 29th, '12, 15:37

MarshalN wrote:
Sorry, nobody does that. Yes, the vendor might just be repeating someone else's lies, but I always believe that a vendor has the duty to check it out instead of just passing lies on. If they're making money selling the tea, they need to make sure they're selling what they claim they're selling.
It's evident, no?
That's easier said than done, Marshaln.
Those who meet your criteria are most likely either out of reach for english speaking community or selling their teas at a ridiculously high price.

Honestly I think you are the ideal person who should run a tea business because you've plentiful knowledge, know the subject well, seems to be righteous --> will not rip off your customer and also very direct to the point with less lip service. So I can be sure that the description that you provide should be accurate and the offered price should reflect the quality.
Have you seriously given a thought about this?

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Aug 29th, '12, 15:55
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Re: Fake or is it possible?? I came across an online vendor,

by betta » Aug 29th, '12, 15:55

iovetea wrote:that is really weird, seems to me that there is much more cheating in the tea market than in all other food markets...
also its like so difficult to find tea you want to buy, were with all other exclusive food its so easy....
It happens not only in tea market, but also in many other sectors. Have you heard about the so called "chinese truffle"? It's a feedstock for farm animals with a taste like dirt/earth. However it looks similar to expensive, real "european truffles". So some merchants can and sell this "chinese truffle" as european truffle worldwide. And people got confused and wondering how come such an earthy dark unappealing underground mushroom with such a terrible taste can be so expensive.

When a commodity becomes abstract, people try to gain something out of nothing.

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