I've bought many teas from Rishi over the last ... oh, 2 1/2 years or so.
I've liked some, didn't like others. But the kinds of tea I don't like from
them - e.g., green teas, green oolongs - I've since found I don't like from
any other dealer either. I've liked a number of their black/red teas and
their oolongs, including their standard grade Iron Goddess, which I assume
is the one you got.

I know Michael had a bad experience with them. However, I've met some of the
Rishi people, and corresponded extensively with others (though I have *no*
connection with the company at all), and believe them to both completely
honest and extremely dedicated to tea and to delivering high-quality tea
(that is: what they believe to be high-quality tea, which is all you can say
about any tea dealer) to their customers. Puer is, I think, by far the tea
that Western dealers themselves are most likely to have insufficient
knowledge of, and also by far the most likely that the dealers will
themselves get screwed on. While this doesn't excuse their apparent
ignorance in Michael's case - Michael *did* also got screwed - I do think it
explains how it happened (even if one thinks it still inexcusable). Ask Mike
Petro and other long-time Puer lovers here how many times they've gotten
screwed on supposedly old/aged Puer, or would have if they hadn't been wary
enough. I will also note that Rishi no longer carries anything like the Puer
that Michael got - their Puers now are all young or relatively young organic
cooked and raw teas. Maybe they learned their lesson on the (alleged) old
stuff.

In any case, it does seem a mite unfair to so completely condemn a tea
dealer on the basis of one bad experience. If I applied that standard to the
14-15 tea companies I've dealt with, I'd never buy anything from any of them
ever again, nor any of the tea shops I've bought from, nor any other tea
dealers I'll ever do business with in the future, because they ALL have tea,
including expensive tea, that sucks - meaning: that *I* think sucks (since
you might think differently).

Just my $.02.

Doug


"Steve J. Bryan" > wrote in message
news
>I picked up some Iron Goddess from this place the other day and enjoyed it.
>
> http://www.rishi-tea.com/
>
> What is the general consensus on this Rishi Place?
>
> Are you getting a good product for the price?