AllanK said

Bitaco ColombianTea Group Buy

I have been discussing with Blodeuyn the possibility of a group buy with this Colombian Tea Estate. They only sell in large quantities. They make six teas with a minimum order of 1kg each. In addition the minimum total order is over 5kg. This group buy if it happens would be the purchase of all six teas in 1kg quantity for $50 or a total of $300. I believe they have free shipping but am not positive. Each person in the group buy would commit to 100g of each tea and it would cost $30 plus a small fee for packaging materials and shipping within the USA. The easiest shipping within the USA is the medium flat rate box. This way I don’t have to go out and buy boxes. If anyone is interested in this group buy please respond here. We need ten people to make this happen.

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AllanK said

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You already know I’m in, but now it’s official! :)

AllanK said

Now we just need eight more people.

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Ken said

What’s this tea like? Mostly flavored it looks like?

They have a pure black and a pure green, the other four teas are flavored (2 black and 2 green).

I’ve only had the pure black, which I loved – so much so I wrote a review after a year of no tasting notes (lovely malt with notes of cherry and a creamy mouthfeel at the end of the sip). I think Oolong Owl has reviews for some of the other teas on her blog.

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KimK said

Count me in Allan. I am always interested in trying new teas and amassing a hoard of different types. :)

AllanK said

Now we need seven more people.

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Count me in! :)

AllanK said

Only now a few more people to make this work. I bought this black tea from Simpson and Vail and really enjoyed it but you get a much better price buying direct.

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I would be very interested if it was just for the unflavored tea, I haven’t had flavored in forever. I hope you get 10 people, the tea sounds very interesting and I appreciate that you are putting together a group buy for the community.

AllanK said

In theory if you found someone else who only wanted the flavored teas that could work. Otherwise no.

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AllanK said

Is no one else interested in this. This is a great price and the tea is good quality. 600g for $30 plus shipping to you. I am not interested in simply acquiring 6kg of tea for myself so there would have to be a few more people involved.

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tperez said

It’s a great price, and I’d like to try the unflavored black and green as well, but personally I don’t have any interest in obtaining 400g of blends.

AllanK said

The problem with just ordering the unflavored blends is we would have to order 3kg of each. Then we need thirty people to make this work. If you look at their website it says the order must be over 5kg.

tperez said

Oh, I thought it was just the minimum 1kg per tea, that makes sense

AllanK said

No it is a minimum of 1kg per tea and 6kg per order. That is why this would not work buying just the black and green. I definitely don’t see thirty people interested in this. It does not look like we will get to ten.

Well, it sounds like we only need five or six more people, and it looks like this thread has only been up for a day or so. Don’t give up yet. I know I don’t read all the discussion threads every day—surely some people just haven’t seen it yet. :)

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Oooh I have a question. Do we have to buy absolutely equal amounts of all six teas or would it be possible to order extra black tea in addition to meeting the minimum order requirements?

AllanK said

I everyone wanted 200g of black we could get 2kg of black. If we did this we could also get one less flavored tea.

The problem for me is that I want to try all 6 teas, and don’t want 200g of any. If only they didn’t sell in 1kg quantities. :(

AllanK said

I would prefer all six too. If everyone wanted 200g of black we could buy an extra kg of just black. But we still do not have the required ten people.

AllanK said

If we had only five people it could work if everyone was willing to take 200g quantities of all six teas. But right now we don’t even have five interested. Only four people have expressed interest.

I’m sure more will be interested. :) Keep in mind, we can also swap on the back end after the buy, to keep things simple.

AllanK said

If only four people are interested in this group buy I don’t expect it will happen. While someone could buy the 6kg of tea themselves and then charge double and it would still be a good deal they might also get stuck with 5kg of tea. Unless there is a sudden miracle of interest I don’t see this group buy happening. It seems that people only want to commit to group buys that involve sample sizes. This is by far the best value in a group buy I have yet seen, 600g of tea for $30 plus shipping. But I don’t at this point think it is meant to happen. If there is sudden interest I will still do it mind you it just looks like the prospects are dim.

AKuMa said

I may be interested, but if the group buy was to only be split among 5 people, wouldn’t the cost go up? (nearly doubling the estimated $30 cost)

AllanK said

If the group buy was split among only five people the amount of tea you would get would double and the cost too but everyone who wants this is not willing to take 200g of each tea. I personally would be willing to take 200g of each.

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Maybe it would help if we added “Colombian” to the thread title.

AllanK said

Done but I don’t know if it will help. I think maybe the problem is people don’t believe the tea is good quality for that price. But I think the tea I got through Simpson and Vail was good quality. Maybe not up to the standards of Whispering Pines at that price but I thought it was good.

Ken said

I think the tea is good, but I think the problem is too many flavored teas. And you are slamming into that 6k min.

IF there was less flavored tea, I would definitely be in on it .

AllanK said

Those flavored greens look good for ices teas, easy to use up a lot that way.

I’ll vouch the flavored teas are really good. Pretty unique vs what is out there. Cacao Kisses is the best one.

Unfortunately Bitaco’s minimum order is 5kg. Owl’s reviews of the flavored teas really made me want to try them! :)

AllanK said

It really is not that much green tea to drink up in a year. I know I can go through 300g pretty fast. If you make a lot of iced tea in the summer 100g is about 5 big 2 liter pitchers.

I’ll do 200g each if we get close. I can give half to my sister.

AllanK said

I would agree to take 200g of each also, but would everyone else? We could do the buy with only five of us if everyone was willing to take 200g of each. Let us know if you are willing to do this those who expressed interest.

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