"Zephyrus" > wrote in message
om...
> > I try to order tea from their country of origin, usually I
> > get better grades for a better price.
>
> Really? Sounds interesting. Could you mention some of your vendors,
> exp. Chinese?

I have the impression that mentioning vendors is extremly unpopular by some
the participants of this forum. Anyway... Chinese retailers that send abroad
are notoriously difficult to find. I don't know if that has something to do
with Chinese legislation or just the fact that most Chinese don't speak
(very well) English. I have been very satisfied with the products and the
service I have got from Michael Ryan's company which is located in China. I
have also been very happy with the teas and service from Sun Sing Tea of
Hong Kong. They do sell some old puerh, I see on their website that they are
at the moment offering pieces of a teacake from 1920 for $HKD 880(~US$ 112)
per 10 grams. Teaspring is located in the US, but they ship from China.
Their service is also very good. In the hopefully near future I and some
friends plan to import larger amounts of teas from a wholesale export firm,
which is much easier to find.

> I was going off of something WS posted a while back (note that I was
> invoking that as something that the site in question *didn't* do).

That's right. I read that too quickly. Thanks for the link to his very
interesting post!

>
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...e .com&rnum=3
>
> > You are lucky if you think10 per kg shipping is expensive. That is what
I
> > have to pay for *domestic* shipping in Norway!
>
> Really? Wow. That helps put things in perspective. Maybe that's not so
> bad after all...
The same friends that I hope to import teas together with, recently stayed 6
months in China, and they tell me that $10 per kg is actually a very
reasonable rate. But as always, shipping and taxes have to be included in
the total cost of the tea. So is it worth it? Maybe not if you have a good
tea store nearby.

Lars