"Pat" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>
> S. Chancellor wrote:
>> When I first realized, about two weeks ago, how much I liked green tea
>> I immediately bought some from coffee bean direct based on their
>> BizRate rating and the advertisement on google. However, I am
>> wondering if it was perhaps a mistake. It seems very odd to me that
>> their teas are at least 1/2 the price I find on any other website.
>> Does anybody here have any experience with them? I purchased some CO2
>> decaffeinated green and some Pinhead gunpowder (supposedly..) It'll be
>> here tomorrow. I'm looking for ways to tell if I receive what I
>> thought I purchased. Thus, is there any easy way to tell the
>> difference between CO2 decaffeinated tea and ethyl acetate
>> decaffeinated tea? I'm very suspicious as the stuff I purchased was
>> approx. 15 dollars a pound. The cheapest I've found elsewhere is
>> around 30.
>>
>
>
> If you like it and it is cheap, then what is the problem? Sounds like
> a good situation to me. Others might not think it is good "quality"
> but as long as you enjoy it, who cares?
>
> Sometimes online vendors manipulate their prices to make them look
> lower than they actually are by raising the shipping costs. If their
> prices are low but the shipping costs are higher than everyone else's,
> then the total cost might not be such a bargain after all. Be sure to
> take the shipping into account when comparing prices. Just a thought.
>

I'd agree with this and say: the "you get what you pay for" relationship is
not always exact. It seems to me that there are some sites that are way WAY
expensive, and while their tea may be just that tad bit more ethereal, I'm
not sure I want to pay double for the little bit of extra nuance that I
might get. Then there are places that do charge an arm and a leg for tea
that's not really that great. I think the only way you are going to be able
to tell is to taste. And look at it this way, if it doesn't taste good then
you're not out a ton of money. What really hurts is to pay an exhorbitent
amount for a tea and then get it home and find it's subpar. So I'd say, let
your palette be your guide...it will change too over time. Tea is (pardon
the pun) a very fluid hobby.

Melinda