About Davids Tea?

[mp96]

Please give me some advice on Davids Tea, please. I was in the local mall here and they supposedly sell high quality green tea and i wanted to get some advice please. Would the veterans recommend their tea?

Thanks in advance,

[minor_glitch]

Most of what they have barely qualifies as tea. Random assortments of herbs, flowers and miscellaneous crap with a few tea leaves thrown in. If you don't mind those blends, some actually do taste good (for what they are). The jasmine pearls are probably a safe bet if that's your kind of thing. I'd look elsewhere for high quality teas though.

[sherubtse]

I agree with the comments posted above by minor_glitch.

However, they do *on occasion* have some good stuff. For example, several years ago (3?) they offered a selection of good quality Japanese greens. Over-priced, mind you, but good.

And at present, some of their blacks are not bad.

But I would strongly advise trying the numerous online merchants for your teas, regardless of the types of tea you prefer.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[mp96]

Thanks, for the replies. I actually did purchase the Jasmine Pearls and it's not too bad. I only got enough to last a couple weeks, so i didn't go overboard. The Jasmine pearl tastes like pretty good quality actually, but i am a newby when it comes to tea, so..

Yes my next batch will be online, i am thinking something from Adagio or Dens Tea. I heard good things on the forum of both these supplier's from the veteran's, so i think this is the best plan of attack.

Thanks again for the input and greatly appreciated.

Have a good week everyone,

mp96

[minor_glitch]

Both good choices. Also check out http://www.jingteashop.com for greens and oolongs. Shipping is fairly cheap (and fast) and you can order 25g of most teas if you want to sample a bunch of different ones.

Since you're fairly new to teas, I'd encourage you to pick up a gaiwan and a kyusu. That'll cover brewing for most teas and both are pretty inexpensive if you get that $19 "Shincha Teapot" from den's, and a $5 gaiwan from somewhere like Dragon Tea House, JKtea, ebay, etc...
Always good to have the right tools for the job!

[mp96]

Thanks again for the advice and very helpful post, i appreciate it..

I will definately do what u recommended and thanks for taking the time to reply to my post and being so detailed. Very nice, thanks!

Take care!

mp96

[MarshalN]

You know, our host here, Adagio, is not too bad either for basic and reasonable teas.

[sherubtse]

A real plus to shopping at Davids there is the fact that they will sell their teas in almost any amount (e.g., 10g, 25g, etc.). This is great if you want a small sample to try, rather than spend more for a 50g bag.

I know of only one other tea retailer who will do this, and it too is Canadian.

Assuming that you are located in Canada, mp96, ordering from U.S. suppliers will frequently result in significant shipping costs. If you order from a retailer located in Canada, your shipping costs should be much less.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[edkrueger]

Looking at the prices here for "high quality green tea." They are extremely high. Also, Sherubtse said they had some good greens 3 years ago. I would wonder if these are the exact same teas. If they have been sitting in the mall for a while, which –dues to the prices– I would find likely, then they are stale and certainly no longer high quality.

[sherubtse]

Also, Sherubtse said they had some good greens 3 years ago. I would wonder if these are the exact same teas.

No, they are not.

The ones to which I was referring were Japanese greens of good quality. But they were limited edition runs, and were sold out some time ago. Having said that, as previously mentioned, they were overpriced (vis-a-vis what is available online).

And yes, as edkrueger states, their present line-up of greens are highly priced. This is one reason why I only suggested that the blacks are worth a look.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[minor_glitch]

If you order from a retailer located in Canada, your shipping costs should be much less.

SHOULD, but that's not always the case. Often when I check a Canadian seller's prices after shipping/tax/markup, it ends up more expensive than ordering from somewhere like jing, yuuki-cha, o-cha or DTH.
Of course that's not always the case. There are places like YS and Norbu with painfully high shipping rates, so in those cases ordering Canadian is definitely better.

[MarshalN]

If you order from a retailer located in Canada, your shipping costs should be much less.

SHOULD, but that's not always the case. Often when I check a Canadian seller's prices after shipping/tax/markup, it ends up more expensive than ordering from somewhere like jing, yuuki-cha, o-cha or DTH.
Of course that's not always the case. There are places like YS and Norbu with painfully high shipping rates, so in those cases ordering Canadian is definitely better.

I remember an old joke about Canada Post while I lived in Vancouver - why does Canada Post cost so much to ship? Answer: They have to pay for long term storage.

[mp96]

Thanks everyone for the replies. Just so everyone is aware and i thought i'd mention it, I think i am going to order from Dens Tea online and give them a try since from what i have learned from this forum/members,,, they only concentrate on green tea's plus they offer other incentives. i will try Adagio sometime in the future though.

I really want to say thanks for taking the time in replying to my questions and i appreciate it.

All the best!

mp96

[Chip]

If you are going to order from Den's, and if you do not already own a kyusu, you could order one of their starter kyusu "Shincha" for under 20 bucks. Even if you get a better kyusu later, this one could be your travel kyusu ... or one you use for more highly aromatic teas like houjicha since it is fully glazed.

[minor_glitch]

One step ahead of you Chip! (5th post down)