Hmm, smells like a really old thread but I'll bite,
Given a choice I would greatly prefer to walk into a teashop, try a
few cups of something that intrigues me, and then buy the ones that
make the grade. I was able to do this when I lived in Los Angles
without any problem at all.
Unfortunately I am now about 427 miles from the nearest Chinatown and
while there are a few good tea stores within a 1-2 hour drive they all
have a very limited selection of puerh. Not wanting to let a little
thing like lack of local availability stop me I ventured out onto the
Internet and standard Snail Mail Order sources.
There is a much higher risk with Internet/Mail order vendors in that
you cannot see, touch, smell, or taste samples of the teas before you
buy them. The risk is particularly high with the finer grades as the
cost tends to be higher. This has been very frustrating to me because
my favorite tea is puerh and there is a lot of trial and error in
finding mail order/Internet vendors for this variety.
Now, there are those amongst us who shiver and curse at the mere
mention of a URL but I found that, much like neighborhood tea shops in
the bigger cities, you can find a few choice vendors who will cater to
your particular tastes and even procure specialties for you. The
process is certainly slower and you lack that feeling of instant
gratification that you get when you walk out of a brick and mortar
store with a prize selection of your favorites. But alas I find it
better to compromise than to do without. To be sure I have wasted a
lot of money as I traveled down this road but I have found some very
knowledgeable and reputable people along the way and I have gotten
pretty good at recognizing a scam before spending any money
For those who are interested in Internet sources for Puerh just go to
my website. (
http://www.pu-erh.net) You will find links to every US
site that I know of, and a few international ones too, that carries 6
or more varieties of puerh. A lot of good Vendors that only had 1 or 2
puerh offerings didn't make the list. If any of you know of a site
that I missed please email me. And of course my standard disclaimer,
while I do have my favorites, I am not affiliated with any of them!
Mike Petro
On Sat, 6 Mar 2004 10:59:04 -0800, "Peter" > cast
caution to the wind and posted:
>Usually in Chinatown, Vancouver. I also buy 3-for-$20 Hong Kong DVD's, for
>that matter. Chinatown here is not where the best Chinese teas in town are
>to be had, though. It's more for everyday tea. There are shops in
>Richmond, and other areas of Chinese concentration which carry much higher
>grade stuff. I once bought some sow-mei that was $17CAD for 100 grams at a
>place just outside an Asian supermarket, and it was heavenly. It's not
>really a steep price, but more than you can pay in Chinatown, at least any
>place I've seen.
>
>Peter
>
>
>"ws" > wrote in message
om...
>> Just a little curious. Do most of you purchase from online stores?
>> Which ones? Or do most of you purchase from stores near where you
>> live?
>