Official *What did you get in the mail today?* Thread!!!

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boychik said

I got an order from Puerh Shop. super fast shipping 2 days only. Along with my order got 2 generous samples. Very excited to explore new teas

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Dexter said

I got my order from Easy Tea Hard Choice today. Came in a nice little box (that I’m sure I will send on to someone in a swap). I got the 3 black tea sample pack. These are in sealed bags nicely labeled, looks good to me.
My question/concern/thought is about the charcoal roasted oolong. It’s in a wee, itty, bitty, little “freeze dried” package. It looks like the packs of coffee that are packed solid because all the air has been sucked out of it. It’s 25g of oolong tea in the space of 1″ × 2″ × 1/4" solid as a rock. Do you think the leaves are going to be crushed? or will they be ok? This just looks really, really strange for tea….. ?

Lala said

I’ve gotten oolong tea like this before. It has always been fine when I opened it. The oolong is usually in tightly rolled balls so it is not crushed at all. I have never ordered from that tea company though.

yyz said

They’ll probably be just fine, Most of the rolled oolongs I’ve got recently have arrived packed this way. It helps to protect them from oxidation until they are open.

Dinosara said

Yeah that’s standard packaging in China for teas that don’t really “crush” like rolled oolongs. When I bought Tieguanyin in China the seller actually packaged it into individual vacuumed sealed pouches for me. It’s nice because it’s totally vacuumed sealed so it won’t deteriorate at all!

Dexter said

Thanks Lala, I just don’t want to open it yet – have tons of other teas to drink. Just hadn’t seen this before. Will assume it’s ok.
I’ve never ordered before either, but they had a 20.00 off coupon…
http://steepster.com/discuss/6120-usd-20-dot-00-off-to-taste-from-easy-tea-hard-choice-the-exquisite-taiwanese-teas-only

Dexter said

LOL – ok, newbie in me is coming out. I hadn’t see it before. It’s awesome if it doesn’t deteriorate at all. Will drink more of my opened oolongs first…..

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ifjuly said

Daaaaang, guys. I can’t say anything yet about the tea of course but I must say Mandala has impressed the heck out of me already—I placed my first order from them just 2 days ago and it’s sitting in my lap as I type. Not only that, Garret responded (in a very friendly manner I might add) within like 30 minutes of me requesting specific samples saying he’d make sure I got the ones I wanted, and lo, here they are, plus a bonus one. Generously sized samples too I might add. With a hand written note.

I ordered mid afternoon and when he got back to me nearly instantly about the samples, he let me know they’d be shipping it that day.

Tea is awesome—I’ve encountered so many vendors through Steepster that are just above and beyond when it comes to customer service. I love it. Thanks Steepster!

Uniquity said

I so want to try Mandala but the sheer volume of highly rated tea is a little overwhelming. They’re almost too succesful for me to try! I want to get my sea legs with pu-erh before I order, but I also think they’d be a great place to learn. Oh the tea conundrums. I’ll watch for your reviews!

Uniquity, I know what you mean. I did some swapping so I could try some Mandala teas before I placed my first order. Hopefully you can find someone to trade with first!

ifjuly, OHMYGOSH! Maybe mine will be waiting for me when I get home from work, too! squee! Also, I didn’t think about making specific sample requests. I should have done that!

ifjuly said

Uniquity, that’s how I felt too—I had a list of teas from them I was curious about for like months before I finally pulled the trigger on an order, and I waited partly too because the world of pu erh is entirely new and strange to me. So I totally get that.

Stephanie, I felt sheepish doing it, like I was being pretty presumptuous, but they were really nice about it. And even though I haven’t tried the tea yet I get the feeling anything they give as a sample would be worth trying out!

Dexter said

ifjuly I totally agree that there are a lot of amazing tea vendors out there. Somehow Garret still manages to stand out (in a good way) from all those others. Enjoy your tea!!

Uniquity – don’t be afraid, you almost can’t go wrong with anything from Mandala. If you are looking for pu’erh – I would suggest Noble Mark and Phatty Cake for shu and Wild Monk and Silver Buds Raw 2011 for sheng. Of course this is just personal opinion, but those four are amazing. LOL you don’t need to ease your way in – just start with the best. :)))

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Received my Twinings sample bags. I ordered some of their seasonal teas.

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I’ve been enjoying low energy bills this month since we haven’t been running the AC or heat. I was trying to hold off turning on the heat until November, but when I got home from work today, it was 55 degrees (F) in the house! I grumbled and forced myself to turn on the heat… Waited… Waited… Nothing happened! Our heater isn’t even working!! Luckily, my dad is an AC/heat technician, so he’s on his way over now to figure out what the problem is. Until then, I’ll be sipping on this sample of Pumpkin Spice tea I got with my Republic of Tea catalog today. :)

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Yay! My Mandala order came! Thanks Garret! Excellent choices on my samples, too :)

Oh goodie I can’t wait to see what u think!! I want to order from them but idk where to start

Dexter said

Yay!!! Hope you love all of them.

ifjuly said

Yay! I’m so glad we both got ours today. :D

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TeaLady441 said

Lala’s package of Red Leaf Earl Grey Matcha arrived today! I’m going to split it up and send half of it onto Ozli. Hopefully one of us enjoys it more than she did!

Thank you, Lala!
<3

Lala said

I hope you both enjoy it, if not, at least you can say you tried it :)

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Kaylee said

So many things! My Butiki order (Pumpkin Milkshake and a Rolling Thunder version of the Vanilla Carrot Cake). And a generous Secret Pumpkin package from Short Sorceress, including cookies!

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Dexter said

Nothing. I have a new mailman who isn’t leaving my packages outside the door like the other guy did. Left a card instead, and now Canada Post is holding my package hostage. The web site says “it’s available for pickup at your local Postal Outlet”, but the clerk there says they won’t have it until Monday. :((

Lala said

I hate that. I had the greatest mail carrier for a long time. He would always leave my packages and would even hide them behind my flower pots- which is what I wanted him to do. He retired, and the new guy is way too by the book. He won’t even hand me the mail if I am standing outside in case I am just someone trying to steal it. It has to go in the box and anything that doesn’t fit in the box goes back to the postal outlet for pick up. Drives me nuts.

Dexter said

I live in a secure condo building. There are only 4 units on my floor – trust me my neighbors are not going to steal my packages. Just leave them outside my door. The one I picked up yesterday would have fit through the mail slot and he left a card for that too… Ugggg

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My swap from 20monkies came! Inside was Davidstea Banana Oolong and Vanilla Orchid (!!). They smell so good but I’m going to be good and wait till tomorrow since they have caffeine.

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