Hi all,

I would like to hear from you about the prices of tea and what prices
suggest about the teas' qualities.

Recently I have become disturbed by how Starbucks labels its coffees as
"premium" coffees. But given that the costs of their coffees are at a
level that are not "premium", I feel that the use of the english
language is extremely "loose." Same applies to some of the tea
retailers that I see who sell their teas as "premium" at 2-4 dollars
for 3 ounces or 12 sachets. If that's premium than what are the teas
that are sold for at 15 dollars an ounce at places such as
rishi-tea.com, nalatea.com, thefragrantleaf.com, and
inpursuitoftea.com?

Of course if a tea is priced high does not mean that it is good or the
person drinking it will think that it is good. However, I would have
to say that there is a reason for the price differences. I have high
doubts toward teas being sold at such low prices.

I guess tea is tea and every kind of tea has its own respective
charctheristic depending on its growth environment (high elevation vs.
low, humidity vs. dry heat, etc.). This even means that low priced
teas have their own unique charactheristics that are appealing.

I guess my point is that to claim lower priced teas as premium or top
of the line teas can be misleading.

Any thoughts on this?