Hi all! I'm new to this forum but have been indulging myself in the hobby for a few years now. Much to my misfortune, good tea is relatively hard to come by in where I live (Indonesia), with the closest to a high-quality tea brand that's available here being TWG Tea; the infamous MF ripoff.
Truth be told, much as loathe them for the ludicrous price tags they put on their products, I feel as though they offer genuinely good-quality leaves. Moreover, I'm actually rather fond of several of their blends. In short, I feel like they a good handful of their selection are genuinely good and somewhat worth buying (albeit an equally good lot of them are overly-perfumed, nauseating excuses of blends).
I was thinking of investing my loyalty and money in a brand more deserving of them. Do you lads have any suggestion as to where I can find equally good if not better tea that's readily available in Indonesia?
P.S I'd love to make online purchases, but my country is pretty much the quintessential geographical manifestation of poverty... As such, they generally charge exorbitant import taxes and I'd rather not spend more than I would buying TWG Teas...
Thanks in advance for your replies!
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Re: Good Tea Brands/Vendors in Southeast Asia?
TWG has had a lot of problems with pesticide levels in their teas. Not only once but a few times. In my opinion I would not trust their quality. Dishonest brand starting with as you said, them being a ripoff, also dishonest with their quality.
Readily available in Indonesia is tricky. How is the import tax if you order not too large quantities? Could it slip through? Otherwise you could just order from Taiwan. Malaysia is your next door, seems to me there is more tea available there. Or Singapore. All probably still better than ordering from Western tea shops. Does Indonesia not have any community of Chinese immigrants? Those are usually good local sources to look for tea. That is where I would look first.
Readily available in Indonesia is tricky. How is the import tax if you order not too large quantities? Could it slip through? Otherwise you could just order from Taiwan. Malaysia is your next door, seems to me there is more tea available there. Or Singapore. All probably still better than ordering from Western tea shops. Does Indonesia not have any community of Chinese immigrants? Those are usually good local sources to look for tea. That is where I would look first.