Recommend a tea Vendor

[Jonny]

Hi
This is my first post but I'm a long time reader. I'm actually living in france and I'd like to buy oolong online. I've already ordered from vendors from China or US but I don't like spending a fortune for shipping and most of all I don't want to wait 4+ weeks for the tea to be delivered. Is there anyone who can suggest some good (online) vendors near to where I'm living? It'd be super if you could suggest a good teaware vendor too.

Thank you in advance
Jonny

[Victoria]

Hi there,

I really like Mariage Freres, they have great tea and lots of cool teaware. Their site is hard to navigate, but worth it!

http://www.mariagefreres.com/WD120AWP/W ... OUI&p=E315

Welcome!

[qaymar23]

Hello,

Jing Tea based out of London has wonderful teas, you can't go wrong with them. I live in the U.S. they ship Royal Post and it takes about a week, so living in France I would think you would get much sooner. Also another real good tea vendor is Canton Tea and they are also based out of London and they ship out Royal Post as well. Both of these vendors have wonderful tea and ship fast. Tea ware selection is really nice for Jing, and Canton not that much selection but they have a few items. have tried many of both Jing & Cantons oolongs they are all good. Jing has a sampler for their Oolongs which is really nice.

[Herb_Master]

JingTea have good tea (it is not the cheapest, but the quality is reliable)

Living in the UK I am fortunate that placing and order at 12 Noon, the tea will arrive at 9am the next day.

In France by Royal Mail or DHL you should have it in about 3 days.
http://jingtea.com/delivery

Another good UK source is Wanling UK (specialising in TieGuanYin, but doing much more) though they make take a few days longer than Jing
http://www.wanlingteahouse.com/section. ... oolong_tea

[Tea4Todd]

How about U.S. tea vendors? Anything good there?

[Jonny]

thank you I think I'll go for Jing Tea then!
I'm still looking for a good gaiwan-pitcher-cups set though

[Herb_Master]

For an intro to teaware, via an online order I don't think you can beat ebay Dragon Tea House.

I have made several orders from DTH, sometimes they take 2 weeks to reach me, sometimes less than a week. I have heard chatters mention that depending on Chinese holidays delivery from some Chinese can take 3 to 4 weeks but I have never experienced this with DTH.

The owner Idlu also known as Gordon has a wealth of different wares and responds readily to Emails.

Maybe something simple locally to tide you over (or an item or two from Jing) while an order from DTH is on the way would be the best solution.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Dragon-Tea-House

[debunix]

How about U.S. tea vendors? Anything good there?

I have had quick turnaround and excellent teas from Norbu and HouDe in the US.

[Tea4Todd]

How about U.S. tea vendors? Anything good there?

I have had quick turnaround and excellent teas from Norbu and HouDe in the US.

Yeah, I really like Hou De, they seem to have some nice stuff. I haven't checked out Norbu...what about Tea Gallery and such?

I don't know if any of you are interested but there are a few places in Portland where I used to shop for tea. I'll post the links, they do online as well.

www.taooftea.com - Good selection of tea

www.teachaite.com - a little amateur but they have a nice selection, and it's not too pricey which is good

[qaymar23]

In the U.S. Tea Trekker on the east coast has some really good tea's. I have liked almost every tea from them and I have tried quite a few. They have a great selection of Chinese green teas as well as Oolongs. One can order samples if they are trying it for the first time. They really know their tea and have written a super book called The History of Tea.

[Tea4Todd]

In the U.S. Tea Trekker on the east coast has some really good tea's. I have liked almost every tea from them and I have tried quite a few. They have a great selection of Chinese green teas as well as Oolongs. One can order samples if they are trying it for the first time. They really know their tea and have written a super book called The History of Tea.

Hmmm, I'll have to check it out.

[Oni]

Dragon teahouse is best for porcelain and other types of teaware, you need to start your tea adventure there.
www.Teaspring.com is one of my favourites, www.jingteashop.com, also one of my favourites, www.houdeasianarts.com (high quality taiwanese oolong and puer).

[Herb_Master]

thank you I think I'll go for Jing Tea then!
I'm still looking for a good gaiwan-pitcher-cups set though

The shipping can't be avoided

Our regular service is China Post SAL. SAL normally takes 3 to 5 weeks to arrive (usually 3 to 4 weeks)

but the price of 5 cups, gaiwan and pitcher is so low - what does the shipping matter

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Blue-White-Plum-B ... 518e1a85b2



yunnan sourcing is a favourite shop for many teachatters

[Jonny]

Thank you Herb_master for your tips. I'll be placing a big order from dragon tea house to buy all the necessary tea wares ( since I've just moved and I couldn't transport my previous ones).
Is there any tea worth ordering from them? In that case I could include it in the shipping. I got relatively acquainted with oolongs in the last year but I only stuck with a few of them like TGY and Da Hong Pao. I would also like to start tasting pu erh but I honestly don't know where to start.
Speaking of shipping... Has anyone tried combined shipping? How much can one approximately save compared to normal (single items) shipping?

once again, thank you for your precious help

[Alex]

DTH has a french vendor....so you're in luck

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Les-Thes-du-Dragon