SimplyJenW

I have been to the tea lounge for my Birthday Lunch. It was cute, the service and food were very good. I also picked up a few things in the shop while I was there. They usually have two teas brewed up for sampling, and will brew up one at your request. Teas are available by the ounce packaged in a foil lined kraft paper zip pouch with a minimum of 2 ounces per tea. It is a great way to purchase tea for refilling tins, for sampling, or getting smaller amounts of those teas that are offered only by the pound loose on the website. They have an array of teaware and offer tins of sachets as well as loose leaf.

I have also ordered tea from the shop there by email and they have shipped it to me. As of July 2012 shipping runs $4.50 up to $25 purchased, $5.50 for $25-50, $6.50 up to $125, and orders ship free at over the $125 level (of course they may need to change this with rising shipping costs). My interactions with the shop on multiple occasions have been very positive and personal.

Products are great quality and very well priced. Shipping is a little steep, so plan your orders well.

SimplyJenW hasn't written a review for this place yet.

SimplyJenW hasn't written a review for this place yet.

SimplyJenW hasn't written a review for this place yet.

I have ordered from here about three times. The tea is good quality and well priced in the higher amounts. Amounts around 4 oz. seem pricey. The ship times are reasonable and they get the packages out fast. They run shipping specials and percentages off every now and then. They seem open for suggestion which is good, and they do answer emails quickly. All in all, a good place to buy quality tea. If they get the sample packaging worked out and add a little more origin information on the purchased teas, they would be worthy of 5 stars.

As of December of 2011, the sample packaging is a little cumbersome. The inner packages are small and stiff, and hard to measure out of. They have a cute little cardboard sleeve that goes over the sample (which I recycled immediately as they take up a good amount of space), and I think they need to stop trying to make a sample that fits in the sleeve. Please, send out a sample that fits the customer’s needs. The website suggests the samples have enough tea for 10-12 cups of tea, and for the fluffier teas it seems more like 2, for the black teas, maybe 6 or 7….remember, they have a space limitation with that cardboard piece. Either the website needs to reflect what is in the samples, or the samples need to be bigger to match what is actually on the website. Really, I think 6 cups worth is a good amount to really be able to tell if the tea will work for you. 2 cups worth is very skimpy when they claim to have sent me 10. I did get a good deal on my samples, but if I had paid the full price, I would have been extremely disappointed. I am still mildly so, because I did not get as good a deal as I thought.

Full size teas come in foil zip packages. I would be nice to have a little more information about when the tea was picked, so I have an idea of how long it will be good. There is very little information on each tea on the packaging. Just a type and the amount on a small white sticker.

Tea- 5 stars
Service and responsiveness to emails- 5 stars
Full size tea packaging- 4 stars
Sample packaging- 2 stars
Sample size amount compared to website claim-1 star

ETA: With their site relaunch in Feb. 2012, they have changed the amount of the ordered samples to be at least 14 grams or half an ounce. They have also contacted me asking how they can improve sample packaging. Wanting to improve and asking how is a great start.

SimplyJenW hasn't written a review for this place yet.

In setting this up as a place, I did not realize how many reviews were on Yelp. It might be a good idea to check those out as well. I did see a pretty good photo of the general packaging there.

I have been a customer of this company for quite some time. I have to admit that I was initially a bit apprehensive because their website seems a little harder to use than some. However, once I started clicking around, it made sense and it works. Their offerings are extensive, and they offer samples of everything, the cost of which is dependent on the cost of the actual tea. Samples are packaged in a foil pouch without a seal, but they are big enough that you can easily fold them over and clip (paper clip, binder clip, chip clip, etc.) for later use. Their normal packaging is a heavy foil zipper pouch, but for around $2 to $3 (depending on the size) for most things you can choose to order your selection in a tin. The tins are a square based prism with a circular plug top. The labels are personalized with the name of your choice and the date of your order. They also offer the tins for sale as well as extra labels for those of you who buy in bulk and transfer to a smaller tin. There are also many other packaging options that you can purchase from bags to the smaller tins they use in samplers, and caddies. They also have quite a selection of teaware.

The hardest thing about shopping here is deciding what to try first. I have ordered many things from herbals and chais to Golden Monkey. My experience has been mostly with their Chinese Black teas, but there is something in every price range. Their Season’s Pick items are usually their bargain teas, but usually you do have to purchase a minimum of 250grams of them. I have heard their Indian teas are where they really shine, due to the huge range of offerings.

Their shipping is incredibly prompt. It takes one business day to go out. Their shipping is flat rate, but they do have more premium options. They don’t really make sense for me as I get my packages from them in Ohio in 2 days with their flat rate. I have ordered well over 10 times, and they are incredibly consistent. I have not seen any coupon codes or specials of that nature, but they do send an occasional free sample. Most of their samples are around a buck (except for the more premium teas), so it is nice that you can try exactly what you want for just a little money.

As for customer service, they answer their emails quickly. I did have an issue once where a tea bag clip I purchased was defective, but I had a replacement as quickly as the mail could get it to me. They also respond very quickly with answers to general questions and will make recommendations when looking for a certain flavor profile. They are very good about forewarning short shutdowns for certain holidays.

I have ordered from Ovation Teas a few times. The “Blend your Own” option is incredibly fun. If you know what you like, it is very easy to create a blend that exactly fits your taste, and your personally blended tea comes in roughly 4 oz. amounts. She also has several blends that are in her regular offerings. Minimum amount to order is 2 oz, but I do think she blends them as she gets orders in (I am agreeing with Dinosara on this one.) Her flavor blends are unique, the usual flavors often with a twist. She also offers premium unflavored teas, but I have not tried those.

As far as turnaround time, it is relatively short. It only takes a few days to get shipped out, and then it just depends on how far it has to go. I have always used a coupon code of some sort, usually for free shipping.

She is incredibly responsive if there is an issue. In my last order, there was a mistake on the tea base. I emailed last night and heard back within the hour. Since it was honeybush I ordered and I ended up with a rooibos, she requested that I test it to be sure, and if I needed her to reblend and send out a different one, she would. I have complete faith that she will handle this in a very professional manner and my reblend will be out to me in a few days. Let’s face it, we are all human and make mistakes. It is how one handles those mistakes that makes one an exceptional person. And it works that way in business, too!

Selection-4 stars
Service-5 stars
The tea-4 stars
Pure Fun Factor-5 stars

I have to agree with other reviews, so I am just trying to add a few things that might not have been mentioned. I know everyone has posted about the great sample packaging…… Definitely a great selling point. Purchased teas come similarly packaged in a larger bag than the samples, and that is inside a sealed bag.

Other things I have not seen mentioned in reviews:

They are incredibly responsive in making suggestions for teas to try as well as being available to answer brewing questions.

Also, they want to ensure your package arrived safely. You cannot imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to receive an email from them shortly after my package arrived (yes, the wonders of package tracking….and they use it!) asking if everything was in good condition. Very good service!

I am certain I will be ordering again.

Edit to add: I did have a small order that was under $30 so I paid the cost for faster shipping since it was only a $2 difference ($5.90 for expedited, $3.90 for standard). My order got to Ohio in about a week. Wow! Also, I did not have to sign for the package to the relief of my mail carrier. She always tries to catch me at home for signing to save me a trip to the post.

Final Update: Bad technology, decent but slow service. I had to get my credit card company involved as they are well beyond the window of time they told me for processing my refund….. Once the ball got rolling, they handled the situation pretty well. For a November 2011 order, it is finally getting resolved in May 2012.

Just to show it was not only me:
http://www.urbanpath.com/london/department-stores/fortnum-and-mason.htm

Original review: If I could give them 0 stars I would. My order that was mostly tea (at least 5 big tins of tea) ended up being only two jars of preserves. They have offered a full refund in one email, and a refund of shipping and the items I did not receive in another. We will see what I get as I am not totally opposed to actually paying for the preserves I received, as long as I don’t have to pay the shipping that is twice the value of what I received. (I received the value of 10 GBP of an 80 GBP order. Then add 20 GBP shipping onto that.)

Dec. 30, 2011….I ordered a few things (tea, jams, confections) for gifts for myself as well as a friend on Nov 23, 2011. The email receipt I got in return showed a delivery date of Dec. 8 (and I did double check to make sure it said 2011, rather than 2012, LOL!). I was pretty certain I would then have plenty of time after receiving the items to get them out in the mail for Christmas. Unfortunately, there was no package by Dec. 17. I tried contacting them by email and finally received a reply stating that they were having warehouse issues, and that my package would not get to me by Christmas as it had not left the warehouse as of Dec. 22. I was given the option to cancel the order, and I would have but part of the gift for my friend was some of the commemorative Diamond Jubilee items which are limited in offering. I asked them to send it out as soon as possible. Finally, on Dec. 30 I received two of the 10 or so items I ordered with no indications on the packing slip that there was more to come. I have since started the email process again trying to find out if the rest of my order is coming as there is no information online for my account or on the packing slip…. Their communication with me as a customer is severely lacking. At this point I have paid $166 USD for 2 jars of $7 jam, which includes $30 USD to ship them……

Upon research on the web, it seems they have had a serious IT failure this holiday season. Yet, the only communication I have received is that I could cancel my order well after it should have been at my door….. I would expect more from a company who caters to the elite. Or maybe since I am just your everyday Jen, I don’t get good service. I say skip it if you were even entertaining the idea of placing an order unless you are the gambling type.

First week of Jan…: It has been a week and there is no response to my email. If they would just let me know some of the items are currently out of stock, or anything at all…..even if they say it will be a month until my order can be fulfilled that would be better than waiting….. I was offered a refund and I declined it as I really want the tea. It is better to keep the customer informed rather than making him or her feel ignored! I know I have the option to call, but I don’t feel it is fair for me to have to pay for an international phone call for their error.

Update January 16, 2012. I finally got an email response. They say the items left on my order are all out of stock, but they are still selling three of them on their website. Another one could be made up with two smaller bags of tea. Really pretty crappy for service. They also tried to refund my shipping in the form of a gift card. As if I would consider another online order with them any time soon…… I did request a shipping refund, and they finally said they would do so.

Tea is good quality and well priced. Packaging is great. They often have free shipping promotions for orders over $25. For these reasons, I order here the most out of any company. If mistakes are made in your order, they are incredibly prompt to correct them with a phone call. There have been a few times where customers requested that a tea offered in sachets also be offered in loose leaf and they did make it available.

Customer service is average at times, but I am sure that has something to do with the volume of orders processed. I also recommend asking specific questions in an email, as the response can be hit or miss on occasion. If you are looking for a more personal shopping experience (even over the net and by phone) try the Harney & Sons Millerton Shop or the SoHo Store.

SimplyJenW hasn't written a review for this place yet.

Edit to add: This place has closed.

This place is quaint, inviting, and it really caters to the knitting crowd well as it is also a yarn shop. The cafe is in a separate room from the yarn shop, and it is big enough to hold a small gathering. The owner offers many types of baked goods and some homemade chocolate treats. Plus there is tea (I should have spent more time checking out the menu!) There is a few types of loose tea for sale as well as some in boxes from a few good tea companies. I am just sad it is a little too far away to go often, and the yarn temptation plus tea is really too much for this knitter/crocheter/tea drinker to handle.