2008 teas

[Ron Gilmour]

If I want to be sure I'm buying a tea from the 2008 crop, when should I order it? For a lot of stuff, I don't care if it's a year old, but for Darjeelings and greens I'd really like to know I'm getting the current year.

[Pentox]

That really is a factor of what tea you are buying and the vendor. Part of the quality of a vendor is their willingness to tell you what year's harvest you are getting.

[Chip]

...don't get me started on this subject...

It is great if a vendor shares this info right on their site. I am not thrilled with the whole concept of having to email and ask about each and every tea I might be interested in...too much of an inconvenience. I want to info up front.

Also, when it is right on the site, I tend to trust that more.

But otherwise, you have to ask. I do not buy any tea w/o at least knowing harvest info.

For most Keemun, I actually like them more with a little aging.

[insanitylater]

i'm wondering if the wegmans i go to will replace their teas. their suppliers are ito en, rishi, and republic of tea but if no one is buying any tea their canisters most likely just sit there

i should drop them an email or at least ask in person when i go

[Pentox]

I somewhat doubt they will. Rishi i've noticed has been getting a reputation for sending tea on a slow boat to here, putting a significant lag time on arrival. RoT doesn't even really have much harvest information for their tea, and Ito-en maybe, but I doubt it.

I think they'll just burn through their current stock and then resupply with whatever next comes in.

[insanitylater]

next time i'm in nyc i need to stop by Ito-en

[Chip]

Labels in the USA generally do not show harvest info...instead they display the required by law expiration or best used by dates...blah blah blah.

I just want the harvest info and will determine the best used by date myself!!!

[Trioxin]

For my darjeelings, I usually buy from speacialteas.com. You can check the whats new section and see exactly when the tea came in. Also this year I think I'm going to try ordering from teaemporium.com. They go as far as to separate their darjeelings by harvest, and I've noticed they remove old teas with each new harvest.