Darjeeling Sourcing?

[Poseidon]

Does anyone have any reliable vendors for Darjeeling? Ive been fixing a cup in the morning for a boost and its been great. The flavor explosion is wonderful and it fills my car/room with its musky smell.

Anyway, Im having some trouble sourcing a vendor. Any help is appreciated as always.

[Bef]

I would suggest Camellia Sinensis. You can send them an e-mail and ask for recommendations by Kevin, their Darjeeling specialist.

[bonescwa]

Upton is a better deal most of the time

[Poseidon]

Upton is a better deal most of the time

But is it the same quality?

[bonescwa]

Darjeeling is darjeeling, they are named after the plantation they are supposedly grown in

[Chip]

Darjeeling is darjeeling, they are named after the plantation they are supposedly grown in

IMHO, this could not be further from the truth ... there is more smoke and mirrors going on with Darjeeling than just about any origin. In fact, tea labeled Darjeeling may be diluted with teas from other sources. Remember this, each year there is more tea sold as Darjeeling than there is Darjeeling tea produced.

And each plantation offers multiple lots, some may be sensational and others not so ...

Upton does a decent job sourcing Darjeeling, but they are not top notch.

Bottom line, if you want the best Darjeeling, you need to buy from a Darjeeling specialist.

[sherubtse]

Bottom line, if you want the best Darjeeling, you need to buy from a Darjeeling specialist.

Agreed!

So I would second the nomination of Camellia-Sinensis. Or if you wish to have access to a less curated, more hit-and-miss selection, then Teabox would fit the bill.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

[bonescwa]

But Chip, I'm just saying that just because a company charges more for a product with the same name doesn't mean that it's not subjected to the same smoke and mirrors. I have tried tea from both places and I don't see the supposed increase in quality from CS, only the increased prices for the same product.

[Tead Off]

Stop worrying and buy from Tea Emporium online. This small shop in Darjeeling deals directly with the various gardens and Rajiv is a good guy who knows his tea well.

[Poseidon]

Stop worrying and buy from Tea Emporium online. This small shop in Darjeeling deals directly with the various gardens and Rajiv is a good guy who knows his tea well.

That looks like some very nice stuff. I may be treating myself soon for the ol' birthday! Thanks Tead Off!

[entropyembrace]

http://www.thunderbolttea.com/ is another place you can get top notch darjeeling from

[sherubtse]

http://www.thunderbolttea.com/ is another place you can get top notch darjeeling from

Yes, I was going to suggest that as another source, but you beat me to it!

[Bef]

Stop worrying and buy from Tea Emporium online. This small shop in Darjeeling deals directly with the various gardens and Rajiv is a good guy who knows his tea well.

Thanks!

I will try that website. BTW, the URL is http://www.teaemporium.net/ (there is another Tea Emporium website that is not related)

[茶藝-TeaArt08]

I spent the month of May traveling with Daniel of Darjeeling.cz in Taiwan. He has an amazing palate for tea in general and specifically for Darjeeling teas. He had just received his spring teas and brought them to Taiwan to give out to people as gifts. Though we drank a lot of Taiwanese tea, the irony of this trip to Taiwan was just how much good Darjeeling tea we drank everywhere as we traveled. He has longstanding relationships in Darjeeling and Darjeeling tea is the first tea he began selling many years ago before he broadened the selection on Darjeeeling.cz.

After I got home from Taiwan I received my Petr Novak teapot that I purchased from him packaged entirely with 50g bags of first and second flush Darjeeling tea instead of standard cushioning/packaging material as a way of saying thanks for the guiding and translating. All the teas he sent are really nice teas! He is also a wonderful person with a passion for tea.

http://www.darjeeling.cz/en

Blessings!

[daidokorocha]

This is good information... as I've been thinking about adding some darjeeling to my collection as of late... but I can't bring myself to spend money on darjeeling.