Fed up with Verdant Tea?

[Zacherywolf7]

http://verdanttea.com/custom-sourcing/

This link, for me, just proves they've gone too far. I have always been very bugged by them, they aren't selling tea but rather a gimmick based on how they present themselves (those little buttons each tea gets that say stuff like "gluten free" well i sure hope my tea is gluten free ) and the ridiculously absurd tasting notes they pull out of their ass. All this is annoying but whatever, let them sell tea.

But now this. I can't believe it. Thanks for connecting us to the farmer by letting us "custom source" tea they already make (insert one thousand ) If these teas exist and you are advertising, be confident enough to sell them normally, this ordering method does not even differentiate it that much but you can't even get info like the other teas on these teas. I don't know it all just seems like so much. Also there is no way any of Master Zhang's tea are worthy of being whatever the weight of tea that 185 dollar gets you. Also the whole 1st picking thing they hype up has gone too far.

To compare to another vendor, a favorite of mine, Essence of Tea we can see a vendor with complete transparency. The descriptions are honest, the owners are knowledgable and kind. All the teas are very real and everything from the .10 pound/gram tea to the 16 pound/gram tea are put together as equals for anyone who wants to buy and enjoy.

P.S. I can't believe they are advertising a free sample with every order. In the tea world that is everywhere. It's like saying when you go to a sporting event you are going to watch people play sports....

[Cwyn]

I'm not sure this is a gimmick. Seems like the target customer could be resellers like tea shops or online tea sellers/blenders, somebody starts up a tea business every day. The big question always is sourcing tea, well this makes it easy. I've seen these farmers sold on Camellia Sinensis web site. So it would seem to be Verdant is doing middleman work on the side which no doubt reduces their own import costs.

Another possible target is group buying. Tea buyers often get together to split an order and divide up shipping costs. A third type of buyer could be those group buying coordinators I'm seeing springing up, organized group buying and the coordinator charges a small premium to package and ship to everyone in on the buy.

[ethan]

Some people dislike the common capitalist system of producer, distributor, wholesaler, retailer, customer.

Some people dislike buying from someone who simply buys from producers to sell retail.

I retail jade jewelry & figurines 2 or 3 times a year at "International Bazaars" run by Cultural Survival (a non-profit). That organization & many of the bazaars' attendees want to know: what communities, tribes, & non-government organizations do I work with & how much $ "goes back" to them & the "artisans" (their favorite word for people who make something).

To tell them that I pay a fair price or more for goods when I get them (as I do) annoys these "do-gooders". They want me to provide stone & tools for the workers, guide them along w/ knowledge afforded me by the privilege of being a white man from America, etc . They want me involved in children's education.....

I suspect Verdant Tea seeks Cultural Survival types as customers.

People don't know that NGOs rarely develop sustainable projects. Most of the time,their projects require donations to endure. Also NGOs take artisans' time for meetings, photographs, etc. This is not efficient. This results in higher prices.

Likewise Verdant Tea's story &/or practices (i.e., marketing) cost customers $.

I would not get too angry. If their b.s. annoys you (or their prices), just don't buy from Verdant (as I don't).

It's a hard world for customer & seller. E.g., the lowest retail price that I found for Jun Chiyabari Himalayan Orange (from 2013) was by Upton Tea. Buying a small amount would have cost me > $8 an ounce; pennies less if buying a big bag. Out of my price range.

But I wanted the tea. Really wanted it.

I bought 10 kg directly from Jun Chiyabari (a late 2014 harvest which I think is slightly better). Customs held my shipment, I needed to pay a broker to free it up, I paid custom duties.....etc. Thus, the tea cost > I planned, at the top of my range.

At $19 for 100 grams I offer a wonderful tea at a price lower than anyone else. Yet, I've only had a few buyers from TeaChat. A simple telling of the truth must not be enough. Sometimes when I retail jade at festivals, I can give people tastes of the tea resulting in sales of the tea. That's the simplest way, but I don't own a car & don't get around to many festivals.

Perhaps people at Verdant tried to keep it simple & got fed up. Thus, the b.s.

[bonescwa]

The insinuation that they are in business to "share tea with the world" and are not in business to be profitable per se, while overcharging for cheap puerh annoys me more. Nothing against these tea farmers, but I don't see why they have to be "community leaders" or whatever other kind of social justice bs catchphrase of the day is. If he wants to take advantage of the clueless hipster market, I guess pretending that you are not in business to be profitable is a part of that.

[Ferg]

Too good not to share. Stumbled upon these two pots coincidentally tonight. Notice any similarities? I'll let you be the judge.

http://verdanttea.com/teas/wang-ying-wo ... ni-yixing/

https://www.etsy.com/listing/170462794/ ... ref=market

Begs the question, what else are they marking up? Shipping is free from both vendors to US.

Edit: At the time of this post, the Etsy vendor pot was $165 and the Verdant offering was going for $329. Similar pot, but just a 99.39% markup in price. Coincidence?