Tuesday TeaDay 10/26/10 Domestic or International?

[Chip]

Welcome to TeaTuesday on TeaDay. We will all need lots of brew to get us through the day. So filler up an come share what is in your cup today, all day. Check out what other TeaChatters are sipping as well ... that is certainly half the fun! Of course, if you must, you can reflect back on your TeaDay as well.

Yesterday we discussed new newest and best teas. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic is on the subject of vendors. Do you buy from vendors in your country ... or do you buy from country of origin ... or both?

I am looking forward to seeing everyone on TeaDay! Bottoms up ... refill ... repeat!

[olivierco]

Mostly international vendors.

Golden needles this morning.

[Marco]

It's a pity with tea. 'Cause I don't think globalism an few big companies are good things in our world. I like to buy from local vendors, from little shops and things out of the region.
But with tea I can't.
Though we have at least five teashops in town that I know - you don't get the quality and variety that you get if you order direct in Asia. Even the price here is not competitive at all.
So for the short answer: international vendors

Enjoying the rest of the Bangwai from the OTTI today.

[gargoylekitty]

It's a bit of a mix of both, slightly favoring international vendors and I only see it moving more than way, though for now I put it as a toss up.

Had a morning/my evening with Japanese greens. Gyokuro in my cup, sencha in my ochazuke, and some cake made with matcha. Now having some chamomile before bed.

[artmom]

I checked "Other." It's a toss-up between domestic and international vendors, but the international vendors are not necessarily in the Tea growing region, but sometimes in other countries.

[auhckw]

Only domestic

[AdamMY]

It is a bit of a toss up for me, while in the past I've bought mostly from over seas, my last 4 or 5 orders have been basically domestic (one was from Canada, which is technically international). So I do not know if its just been an odd trend lately, or if it a sign of a bit of a shift in ordering practices.

[JBaymore]

Toss up here. Whatever works.

best,

............john

[Chip]

It is interesting actually. I started with all domestic USA vendors which were actually really disappointing me at the time.

Finding out about international/origin vendors moved me light years ahead of where I was. And I went virtually 100% international.

Now I am beginning to rediscover domestic USA vendors, well, plus they have dramatically improved and the better ones are now more accessible. I would still say I am more international/origin, but the changes are pretty interesting actually.

[brlarson]

Mostly international from country of origin.

Finishing last night's DHP from Postcard Teas.

[tortoise]

Toss up.

We consume a fair amount of commercial grade black tea and that can be found at more than a few US vendors.

All Japanese greens are coming from Japan, though.

My oolong I have habitually purchased from floating leaves in Seattle. Even after I moved from Seattle I continue to order from them. I realize the selection is bigger from other international vendors and will venture out at some point.

100 percent of our tea is purchased ONLINE though, if a consistent pattern is to be found. While good tea has definitely had a popularity bump over the past 10 years, it is still quite difficult to buy high quality leaf from a Brick and Mortar outside of the largest US cities.

This morning I had a basic "golden" yunnan in a big coffee mug.

[brandon]

Toss.

[Victoria]

Toss - me too. Both and all wherever the tea is good.

Got a package right now from an Indian vendor sitting here on my desk.

[Stentor]

International for me. I have been enjoying my first ever delivery from O-Cha.com for a week or so and the freshness of the tea is just amazing.
It's not that the tea I bought before was stale. It was properly packaged tea bought directly from the source by the vendor. However, it still wasn't this incredibly fresh.
There's no going back from this. I'll be buying a lot of sencha from the Japanese vendors from now on.

Moreover, I feel more confident in what I'm buying with international vendors because they usually describe their products very accurately. All the relevant information is there to let me know what the product might be like before I pay and wait for it to arrive.
With domestic vendors here, sometimes you won't even know whether the sencha you're being offered is a fukamushi or asamushi.

Also, tea vendors over here are more expensive than the international ones (even with shipping).
And don't get me started on teaware prices over here. I paid way too much for my first Tokoname kyusu because I didn't know about Artistic Nippon and the like.
So, unfortunately, domestic vendors really don't have much going for them.

O-Cha's Miyabi in my Seigan SO 12 Loving it!

[Seeker]

Toss up.
All Chinese & Taiwan teas from my local shop (nothing I've tasted from anywhere else even begins to approach the quality, seriously).
All Japanese from vendors in japan.

Sipping a mix of j g's now.

Cheers.