sebdhaese said

New tea drinker and looking for a place to buy tea

Hi, I’m new here. I started drinking tea last week (bagged) and I’m loving it. I tried tea several times before, but never liked it, till I added a dash of milk last week (just like my coffee). Now I’m looking into trying some strong loose leaf black tea, that goes well with milk. The problem is that I live in France in the middle of nowhere, so I need to buy it online. Can anybody recommend an online shop that ships to France and teas I could try?

22 Replies

Hi Seb, welcome to Steepster and the great world of tea! There are several places to buy online, depending on your preferences.

I am ofcourse biased, I represent a teashop, but we do have some tea that works well with milk. My personal recommendation would be this Lapsang Souchong tea: http://healthy-leaf.com/product/lapsang-souchong-2016/

sebdhaese said

Thank you for your suggestion, but I was looking for more of a everyday kind of tea. The teas you are offering are a little bit on the special, pricey, kind of side. I will keep your shop in mind and the day I feel bold enough, I’ll give it a try.

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AllanK said

Two words, Yunnan Sourcing

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AllanK said

Teavivre is also very good.

sebdhaese said

I was looking for tea to have with milk. Aren’t the teas from Yunnan Sourcing and Teavivre a little too good to add milk to?

Ken said

Yes, try yunnan black teas, most of those are assam cultivar and can hold up to milk and sugar, its the same plant that’s used in most of india.

You can also try Vahdam tea’s, though you want to steer clear of the darjeelings and go to the Assam blacks collection.

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yyz said

If you are looking for black teas that hold up to milk Assams and Ceylons and some Nigrilis tend to do fairly well as well as the breakfast blends. Some sellers will even tell you which ones will hold up better with milk as some of the more tippy ones which may have more complex flavours may be too light for it. Living in France you have access to some pretty famous teashops. Some that include straight teas as well as flavoured that have easily affordable options Include :

https://www.mariagefreres.com/FR/accueil.html

http://www.dammann.fr/fr/

https://www.betjemanandbarton.com/en/37-blends

There are many other companies in France alone.

There are several companies that ship direct from India and China as well.

Teabox comes to mind at the moment. They used to have a number of nice samplers and they carry a wide variety of estates.

It might be worth contacting some of the shops above and see what they recommend.

sebdhaese said

thanks, I’ll have a look.

Psyck said

Yes Indian breakfast blends would be ideal to have with milk and sweetener. In addition to teabox, lochantea, teaemporium, thunderbolttea, udyantea, jayshreetea, makaibari are but a few of the tons of sites you can order tea online from India to be shipped anywhere.

yyz said

Your welcome.

I buy most of my straight Indian teas from a shop local to me. The owner will ship internationally but outside of Canada and the US it is by weight. He does give indications on teas that can handle milk and the exchange rate may be favourable to you at the moment. I am in Canada. http://www.capitaltea.com/shop/
sebdhaese said

any recommendations for a particular tea, preferably in the price range of bagged teas?

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sebdhaese said

To add a little to the question. The best black tea I can get my hands on anywhere near me is Twinings Earl Grey and English Breakfast. I would like to find some loose leaf black teas that are better at about the same price or a tiny bit more expensive and can be ordered online.

tperez said

If you’re looking for good strong Indian black teas I would check out Upton Tea. I’m not sure, but I believe they would ship to France. They have very good prices and a huge selection of teas that would stand up to milk well.

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MrQuackers said

I agree with previous posters about Assam or Ceylon tea.

If you want a strong tea bag, try Yorkshire Gold. It’s really good.

Once you buy loose leaf in bulk amounts, the price drops considerably. From $10 / 100g to $40 / Kg.

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You might start with Adagio. You can buy small inexpensive samples of many strong black teas, and they ship to France. I recommend all the breakfast teas, the Assam teas, and the Ceylon teas (Sri Lanka).

http://www.adagio.com/black/index.html

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mrmopar said

Harneys has some good stuff and I think Andrew and Dunman have some strong stuff. I normally drink puerh but I have heard good things on the ones above and these as well.
Welcome in!

Ken said

Harneys is like crazy expensive.

mrmopar said

I agree but they have some well sourced tea.

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Ken said

ive noticed the Ceylon teas have a bit stronger bitterness than the India or China assams.

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Hi, welcome to Steepster.
I represent Vahdam Teas which provides premium loose leaf teas. You are most welcome to explore the range at www.vahdamteas.com.
We have a flat 20% off on your first purchase along with frequent markdowns for you to indulge in. I hope you find a tea you’d like with us.
Yes, we ship to France.
Happy sipping!

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