Aloke,

Several tea merchants on the web will sell samples. I recently ordered a box
of samples from www.specialteas.com and I am very happy with their service.
They had a very resonable shipping cost of $3.29 and the tea was perfectly
packed in small foil bags. I called them twice to ask questions and both
persons I talked with were very nice and knowledgeble.
..
They have 33 Darjeelings, not all are in stock. The samples are between $1
and $4 depending on price of the tea.

Good luck,

Ulf

"Aloke Prasad" > wrote in message
...
> I am used to blended black Darjeeling tea (e.g., Lipton Green Label),
mainly
> bought at various Indian grocery stores in Ohio. I would like to move up
to
> better quality Darjeeling teas.
>
> I am looking for suggestions on where to buy this using mail-order. Also,
> which specific tea (blended, or single garden) would you folks suggest?
>
> Color is not important to me, flavor is. I grew up used to adding milk
and
> sugar to tea, but now I drink it black (no milk or sugar).
>
> I am willing to spend a bundle to see what's the best out there. I
believe
> that the best tea comes from the "bud" (that is plucked along with two
> adjacent leaves). Any suggestions to help me get started?
>
> Thanks
> --
> Aloke
> ----
> to reply by e-mail remove 123 and change invalid to com
>
> PS: I bought some Darjeeling tea at the wholesale markets in Calcutta
> (Dhruva tea store), from Happy Valley and Loptchu estates. I have no idea
> which flush these are from. The flavor is very subtle (gets masked if you
> add milk etc). The dry leaves have lots of "grey" like leaves. The
leaves
> open into pretty big pieces when brewed.
>
> Again, looking to try the "best" from a reliable mail-order store....
>
>