I think this is a fair place to post this, hope I'm correct. I'm new to tea. Still looking for the fair prices, etc. I looked on eBay from a friends advice, and was drawn to the low prices and free shipping. I don't know if I'm allowed to post the sellers name, but anyways...
I ordered a TieGuanYin, Milk Oolong, Jasmine Pearls, Ginseng Oolong, and a 9pc pu'erh sampler of pressed bowls (tuo cha?)
Not impressed, to say the least. My buddy who got me into tea says he loves the milk oolong. I know it's beyond fake, and it almost makes me sick with it's overly, OVERLY buttery flavor. I think I'll trade him the rest of it for something better, since he loves it.
The TGY is very low grade, very few nice rolled balls, and not a very nice flavor compared to the one I bought locally, though it was much more expensive. Don't even waste my time re-steeping
The ginseng oolong is decent, but I've only had one other kind. I'd love to try a first grade kings tea.
Some of the pu'erh is good, but I'm no expert. Also, I hate not knowing what they are. I like the idea of website ordering so I can get exactly what I ordered last time, if I fall in love with a flavor.
I haven't tried jasmine pearls ever before, and have yet to try these ones. They look fairly uniform and smell like the jasmine green sample I got from adagio.
Any horror stories, awesome experiences, or customs nightmares? Shipping from China is a bit scary.
I searched and found nothing like this on the forum.
Cheers.
Re: eBay and tea....
Try the tea vendor Guide http://www.teachat.com/viewforum.php?f=60 here on TeaChat
If you want to explore the wide world of teas, then this is your best chance of finding decent vendor.
There are some ebay vendors that seem to be decent but I guess I you are better off if you try one of the specialised tea vendors outside ebay listed in that topic.
If you want to explore the wide world of teas, then this is your best chance of finding decent vendor.
There are some ebay vendors that seem to be decent but I guess I you are better off if you try one of the specialised tea vendors outside ebay listed in that topic.
Re: eBay and tea....
I would certainly recommend not judging pu'erh based on mini-tuos (i'm assuming that's what those were; tuos often come in 100g amounts, but they also come in 5g minis). They are usually pretty questionable quality. The link that NPE provided will help. There's lots of solid places to choose from, with a wide variety of selections!