Tuesday TeaDay 1/19/10 TEA Vendor selection how to?

[Chip]

Welcome everyone to TeaDay. Please drop in and share what is in your cup throughout the day.

Yesterday we discussed unused teaware. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. How do you choose a NEW vendor for TEA? Please share with us.

The TeaVendor Guides are nearing completion of Phase 1 and will be fully operational, just Oolong and Pu-erh guides to go, and they should be completed Tuesday evening, I hope!

Please visit, contribute to, and derive from this new forum of TeaChat. Let's make this the go to vendor guides ... and your contributions will make it the best on the www!!!

These will be quite different from the vast majority of vendor guides in that it is not simply a list. It is intended to be quite interactive and with a forum approach. The individual vendor topics will be perennial which will be unique.

Well, it is still a work in progress, so, let's see how it goes. But please do get involved in a manner that you are comfortable. Also please read the guidelines located at the top of the TeaVendor forum.

I am looking forward to sharing this TeaDay with everyone. Bottoms up.

[chefmike]

I normally watch here what people are ordering, and kind of take it from there. Right now sipping Kombucha 1/2 black 1/2 oolong

[debunix]

I'm new to teachat so haven't purchased anything since I joined this forum. I've picked tea vendors by visiting stores, suggestions from other tea friends, other online forums, and from lists of sources in books.

[bsteele]

TC and definitely look forward to using the new Tea Guide... seriously, I'm pumped about that.

No tea now, time for bed

[Trey Winston]

I'll most certainly use the guides. It's going to very convenient to have it all in one place.

White Peony is my brew of choice today.

[Jasmin]

I started buying tea online a couple years ago. First at 'Octavia', that was word of mouth.
Then 'Mountain Rose Herbs', I discovered they had tea when I ordered some other stuff from them.
I think I found 'adagio' through google. And that's how I found teachat.
Now 'dens tea' is on my list because of teachat.
I love the idea of the new tea vendor guide and hope to add new ones to my my own list because of it.

I've been drinking tiny cups of all kinds of teas because I have to finish them up. Lots of tins with just a little bit of tea left.

[spittingoutteeth]

While I've found many vendors from TeaChat, I've discovered most of the vendors I buy from through various tea blogs. I read Stephane's Teamasters blog before realizing that he sold his teas; same with Shiuwen's blog for Floating Leaves.

[LauraW]

Mostly through word of mouth, honestly. My favorite tea shop where I grew up - a friend took me there for the first time. My favorite tea shop where I live now - a bunch of friends took me there. The tea shop in our mall... now that I think I just wandered in on my own. TeaVana - got dragged in by a friend (who knew I liked tea, but had never been there either, and my visit spurred him on enough to go, apparently).

The only online vendor I've used is Adagio, which I believe I, too, found through Google while searching for information or some specific kind of tea.. I've forgotten now. Definitely going to be branching out this year, probably Dens first, given what I've heard here, and likely finding all my vendors through TC now!

In my mug this morning: Lady Grey again. Better than yesterday - I think it was just a bad bag. 6 left, plus 2 bags of green, and I can start bringing in the non-powdered stuff!

[Victoria]

Well now that I am not really searching out new vendors, any new vendors from this point forward will be though word of mouth on TeaChat and the new Tea Vendor List.

In my cup this morning Glenburn Estate Darjeeling from TeaSource.

Have a nice day everyone!

[daughteroftheKing]

In the early days, I just Googled - that's how I found Adagio. Most of the sites I visit now, though, I'd read about on TC.

Started the morning with White Peach from Harney&Sons. Not as well peach flavored as Adagio's, but whole leaves in convenient sachets made it a good find over Christmas.
Now drinking Adagio's Candy Apple. Not very apple-y tasting, but not bad. It was a goood Christmas gift. Same friend also gave me 2 4-oz tins of different flavored rooibos that I haven't been brave enough to try (blech; don't my friends know me at all? )

[subdude1]

Originally, I chose vendors through internet searches. Since discovering TC though, most new vendors have been from posts/suggestions here (I always check out vendors/teas mentioned by Victoria if they're new to me. Thanks Victoria ). Looking forward to the Vendors Guide. There are a few I'd like to try this year, as I'm always looking for new oolongs that I haven't tasted.

Forgot...TKY this morning for a change of pace.

[artmom]

No tea yet today.

I've been ordering tea online for years simply by searching. Now, however, I'm checking out vendors and teas mentioned in TeaChat, particularly those mentioned by Victoria. I expect that I will try other vendors as I experiment with more teas.

Silk Road Teas came to my attention through a documentary on the Sundance Film channel. It was all about the man who began Silk Road Teas and his travels to find teas, etc. It was so interesting that I went online and ordered some teas from them.

Russian Caravan tea came to my notice by being mentioned by one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth George, in one of her books.

[olivierco]

Well now that I am not really searching out new vendors, any new vendors from this point forward will be though word of mouth on TeaChat and the new Tea Vendor List.

+1

Hon gyokuro (zencha) in a few minutes.

[leiche2]

These days it's mostly TC and word of mouth.

It's a cold, snowy day up here and even my normally sauna-like apartment (third floor, boo!) is quite chilly. I think it's time to make up a pot of Keemun Rhapsody and curl up with a book.

[olivierco]

I add "tea offered by a friend" because I have just tasted the hon gyokuro (aka gyokuro the ultimate) and I will sure order some more from zencha.