Buying tea in the real world

[cha cha cha]

Have any tips for buying tea at the supermarket / cafe / asian market? Or is it all guesswork?

[olivierco]

Have any tips for buying tea at the supermarket / cafe / asian market? Or is it all guesswork?

I buy tea only at specialized tea stores: this is the place where the best teas are.

[cha cha cha]

unfortunately, there are no specialized tea stores in my area
that's what i get for going to school in the middle of nowhere

[cheaton]

Well, I'd be ordering online if I were you. I'm kinda in the same boat. There's a teavana near by but that doens't really count. I prefer to do my shopping first hand, but I don't really have a choice. Chances are you won't find anything worth drinking at the local asian grocery.... at least i haven't yet.

[Victoria]

Just play it safe and order from Adagio.

[JM]

unfortunately, there are no specialized tea stores in my area
that's what i get for going to school in the middle of nowhere

I don't buy online and I'm in the same situation having to shop at super markets for the bulk of my tea.

You'll find a certain amount of tea snobbery on the net but don't let it get you down. Try swapping tea with co-workers, friends and family. Before you know it you'll have tried many different types of tea. The folks I work with know I love tea and they bring me all kinds of tea and tea wear from all over the country and sometimes the world. Let your love for tea shine!

Peace.

jm

[Chip]

It is really hard to buy locally. Most places are simply not committed to obtaining great tea for resale. It is quite the conundrum, I want to buy locally or visually. And Chinatown tea can be the worst.

[omegapd]

Try Twinings and my favorite, Red Rose. The Lipton loose leaf you may be able to find is pretty decent too.

[gingkoseto]

That's very true! Adagio or a few other online store are generally so much better than the "real world". Reality is, in this country, tea barely exists in "real world" - however I very much look forward to seeing it happen more and more in real world.
Teas in most local Asian markets (including those in large cities) are very poor representatives of tea market in Asia.
Good tea stores (which are barely found out of large cities) could be significantly more expensive (or lower quality/price ratio) than good online stores, considering all the costs to maintain a real store.

[gingkoseto]

I actually enjoy online shopping more and more these years (sounds a bit social-phobia ). Now I even do most of my apparel shopping at home, try them out in my own bedroom, and go to the mall only to return those I don't like I mostly buy from familiar brands, so not many trips to the mall for returns.

Similar for tea, as you know some web stores well, chance of disappointment will not be high

[ABx]

Good tea stores (which are barely found out of large cities) could be significantly more expensive (or lower quality/price ratio) than good online stores, considering all the costs to maintain a real store.

I'm not so sure about that. For one thing it's harder to get a lot of customers online. I know that some brick and mortar stores are more expensive, but I've also seen some that are quite a bit cheaper. Those that have both often have the same prices online and off and often seem to be comparable. The biggest determining factor that I've seen is the target demographic. If they are marketing to people that know better than the prices will be lower. For example, my local store Serenity Art - they sell good teas and teaware marketed to the Chinese immigrant community, who are more likely to know what these things should cost. So at SA you get the typical gaiwans for $3-$5. Other shops in the city that are geared toward Americans that want something 'exotic' sell the exact same gaiwans for $15+, just as most online stores do.

But yeah, unfortunately you pretty much have to go to a big city. If you're in a big city then you can look for something that both specializes and caters to the immigrant community. In my city that's in the "new Chinatown," but I don't know about other cities. (Actual Chinatown is downtown, but is getting too expensive for anyone to set up shop there so they are all moving out to my side of town. Serenity Art is actually at an all-Asian shopping center in this area.)

Of course you can always check out the Tea Map (Link at the top of the page.)

[chad]

Very interesting thread.

I am fortunate to have a coffee shop between the house and work. The store was just recently opened by two guys from the northwest that had been in the coffee business there (not Starbuck's). One day they were looking for a place to get a coffee and visit and didn't want the Starbuck's "experience"! So, they decided to open another shop here in Clearwater.

I stopped by during their soft opening and low and behold - a large selection of loose teas. They get their teas from Metropolitan Tea from Toronto. So far I've been enjoying the Margaret's Hope estate darjeeling, a nice Pai Mu Tan white, two different tisanes, their Egyptian chamomile, and am going to start working through the sencha and genmatcha I picked up last night.

The word I get is they will eventually have a tea tasting bar setup at the tea sales counter.

So, look aroud. You never know what you'll find in the area.

On the other hand, I'm getting ready to order some puerh and have gotten some great suggestions from th Pu forum.

[Cinnamon Kitty]

Of course you can always check out the Tea Map (Link at the top of the page.)

I would definitely suggest checking TeaMap. That was how I found a nice local shop that somehow has good tasting sencha at a price that is comparable to what I could get online including shipping.

[cha cha cha]

I guess the part I like about buying in the real is world is the *instant gratification*

I went to a couple of local stores yesterday. Although they had whole aisles dedicated to gourmet coffee, I could only find a couple tins of Twinings loose leaf !

[olivierco]

I guess the part I like about buying in the real is world is the *instant gratification*

Opening your mailbox after a long day of work and finding some nice tea in it is also very gratifying!