Looking for online tea store suggestions
Hi everyone.Another newbie here! I always read reviews and forum but first time writing here. I’m so excited to try new teas but I’m a bit lost with all those companies.
I have always been a big tea drinker,we mostly drink loose black tea in Turkey but I want to get into other teas as in loose form too.I found a local brand called Beta Tea currently purchasing my rooibos and flavoured ones from there but they don’t have a big selection.So I’m looking for online alternatives.
1.Flavoured teas/rooibos/chai and fruit tisanes
I always drink a Ceylon&Turkish black tea mix at the breakfast so during the day I’m enjoying different tastes.I love dessert teas (with flavors like vanilla,caramel,chocolate etc),chai tea and rooibos blends.Fruit tisanes are always welcome too.
2.Non/less-flavored teas which have mostly pure taste
I enjoy green tea with jasmine as well as black tea,but I have only tried tea bag form (which is basically tea dust) of it before.I have recently tried white tea for the first time (from Mighty Leaf) I’ve never tried pu-erh or oolong before
So in conclusion I’m looking for online stores which I can find these.I’ve noticed companies leaning more on one or the other mostly so I’m open for different store suggestions for each category.Since I’m a newbie and I have currently limited budget I want purchase samples with not so steep prices :)
I’m so excited!!
PS: Not having international shipping option is not an issue
With the variety of teas you mention you might like Simpson and Vail although I don’t know if they ship to Turkey. Their website is www.svtea.com.
Also, Yunnan Sourcing is a seller that is hard to beat specializing in Yunnan Tea including Puerh, Black, Oolong, White etc. They have two websites, a Chinese site and a US site. Their websites are www.yunnansourcing.com and www.yunnansourcing.us
hello,you can taste this china yunnan black tea:Dianhong 58
the website:http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/2014-year-380g-bag-Yunnan-Dianhong-Dian-Hong-Classical-58-China-Fengpai-Phoenix-brand-Black-Tea/1048797_2028806268.html
I’m relatively new to online tea shopping as well. I am in the US, but your last statement leads me to believe that shipping from the US would be ok? Anyways, this is the knowledge I have gathered so far:
Lupicia: good for flavored oolong teas, though some are too roasted for my taste and they don’t tell you which ones.
Naivetea: better flavored oolongs- the lychee is amazing!
Verdant Tea: Generally well-loved, beautifully curated teas. If you like all kinds of tea, this one is a good gamble. I am personally in love with their Yunnan White Jasmine, and I know that their Laoshan Black and early spring Tieguanyin are renowned.
Upton Tea Imports: Great place to try a bunch of stuff- they sell all their teas in sample sizes as well as full sizes. Relatively cheap.
Harney & Sons: good, strong flavored teas.
Dammann Freres: Incredible flavored teas, black, white, green, oolong, you name it, it will be good. French company that ships worldwide.
Yunnan Sourcing: If you know what you want (which I usually don’t) this is apparently the place to order Chinese teas.
Mandala tea: people really seem to fawn over this company. I have their milk oolong and it is wonderful.
Mariage freres: another french company that is less clear about what you are going to get.
Teavivre: High quality stuff. Good for flavored and unflavored teas and teaware.
Hmmm… that’s all I can think of off the top of my head. I will update this later when I comb through my receipts!
Back!
Adagio teas: Many teas to choose from, but slightly over priced (not as bad a David’s tea or Teavana).
Taiwan Tea Crafts: Great teas direct from Taiwan, I’m currently eyeing some of their unflavored milk oolong and their wenshan bao zhong.
Den’s Teas: Japanese green tea galore! They have a new tea drinker’s sampler that I just ordered.
Red Blossom Teas: your source for quality matcha, which I have never brewed at home, but people are big fans of lattes and smoothies made with it.
Golden Moon Teas: select teas that seem popular here and are well priced. Coconut pouchong and caramel sugar oolong are some I would like to try.
I think it depends on type of tea you enjoy drinking
I purchase taiwan oolongs and korean tea- www.shanshuitea.com
darjeelings- www.goldentips.com, www.teabox.com, www.silvertipstea.com
different types-http://camellia-sinensis.com/en/tea
sampling different types with very large choice-my suggestion for exploration-www.uptontea.com
You should definitely check out companies like Lupicia if you like flavored teas. Adagio ships to Turkey and you should find that their teas are affordable. They aren’t the highest grade, but they have a large variety of flavors to choose from. I don’t know if 52teas ships internationally, but if you like flavored teas, then you will find even more variety with them. The Dammann Freres will be a bit trickier to navigate and their teas are pricier, but I have read great reviews, and I plan to buy tea from them as well.
I recently bought some flavored teas from Damman Freres. Their flavored teas are very reasonably priced. If you venture into their oolongs and such they start to get pricy.
For someone who lives in Europe, DF wouldn’t be difficult. Also check out Fauchon.
Thanks for all your suggestions :)
AllanK- I checked Simpson and Vail and they surely sound very interesting! Have you ever tried their products other than their teas? I’m gonna check their tea ratings :)
Equusfell-Wow what a list thanks for your help! I will look into them :) I have an US address for shipping and my best friend travels to US twice a year so shipping is not a problem :) worst case,I will ship to my cousin who goes to college in France currently.Hmm that makes Dammann Freres a good choice too :P
jpr54_- Thanks for your suggestions,noted :)
ThainofBuckland-I’m gonna check Lupicia for sure :) I’m browsing Adagio in ages but haven’t had the courage to order from them yet .I really like their fandom blend concept :) I read great reviews about 52teas so I’m gonna check them too.
Looks like for now I’m gonna focus on Upton and Dammann Freres mostly because Upton’s sample prices are really cheap and Dammann Freres surely sounds delicious:) Ugh but it is so hard to choose ,how do you guys do this :) I’m intrigued by Teavivre and Lupicia too!
EDIT: I just noticed Simpson and Vail’s 2oz prices good for me too.Their dessert teas and rooibos blends looks pretty good :)
I think I’m gonna dive into Yunnan Sourcing after I have more experience and know what to look for in tastewise :)
You might already know this company but someone recommended it for someone travelling to Turkey and it may be local too you. http://www.kedocay.com/collections/yesil-caylar
http://www.ctscorner.ro. is another company that may ship to you faster. The teas are from a Czech company for the most part and the prices are pretty reasonable. If Turkey isn’t listed as a country they ship to contact them. They were willing to ship to Canada.
yyz- Oh I have never heard of that Turkish company,it says they are an online company on their site so probably that’s why.I’m gonna check the other one too.Thanks :)
For premium loose leaf tea www.theteashelf.com.
We source teas directly form the estates in Darjeeling, Nilgiri, Assam, Dooars etc.
Not sure what shipping from the US would cost, but for chai, Persimmon Tree is really good — and currently having a 50% off sale. What I look for in chai is an absence of artificial or “natural” flavorings — and a good balance between the spices and taste of the tea.
For Ceylon, my favorite is The Finest Brew — those are also deeply discounted until they run out of last year’s supply, and are some of the best black teas I have ever had. My favorite from them is the Superfine Ceylon FBOPFEXSP. I just bought 5 bags of it.
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