Are there any online sites that you use for buying loose tea? I'd just like
orange pekoe without the bag, thanks. We used to be able to skip across the
border to Canada to buy Red Rose but it's getting harder and harder to find
it in the loose form.

Any good sites online will be appreciated.

Giselle

On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 19:21:19 -0500, in article
>, Volfie "I got your nose!"
Jackson wrote:

> Are there any online sites that you use for buying loose tea?

www.specialteas.com (the only one I've used)
www.uptontea.com

and many others.

> I'd just like
> orange pekoe without the bag, thanks.

"Orange pekoe" is a description of the condition and quality of the leaf --
not a variety of tea. See the Tea FAQ if you found that statement
interesting:

Message-ID: >

> Any good sites online will be appreciated.

I've had excellent luck with SpecialTeas. I've never tried Upton but I
hear many good things about them.

I'm the opposite. I've enjoyed quite a number of the teas from Uptons (the
Irish Breakfast especially) and wouldn't hesitate to reccomend them. I'm
intrigued by Specialteas and expect the same sort of satisfaction based on a
lot of reccomendations from folks whose tastes I trust. I just haven't made
an order yet myself.
-Doc

--
---------

"...it's only the giving that makes you... what you are.."


"Jules Dubois" > wrote in message
...
> On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 19:21:19 -0500, in article
> >, Volfie "I got your nose!"
> Jackson wrote:
>
> > Are there any online sites that you use for buying loose tea?
>
> www.specialteas.com (the only one I've used)
> www.uptontea.com
>
> and many others.
>
> > I'd just like
> > orange pekoe without the bag, thanks.
>
> "Orange pekoe" is a description of the condition and quality of the
leaf --
> not a variety of tea. See the Tea FAQ if you found that statement
> interesting:
>
> Message-ID: >
>
> > Any good sites online will be appreciated.
>
> I've had excellent luck with SpecialTeas. I've never tried Upton but I
> hear many good things about them.

Thanks Jules and Doc. I will check out both sites AND the FAQs.

Giselle

Volfie "I got your nose!" Jackson wrote:
> Are there any online sites that you use for buying loose tea? I'd just like
> orange pekoe without the bag, thanks. We used to be able to skip across the
> border to Canada to buy Red Rose but it's getting harder and harder to find
> it in the loose form.
>
> Any good sites online will be appreciated.
>
> Giselle
>
>

People have given you a couple of suggestions for upscale teas online,
so I won't add to that. But I did want to mention that if you are not
looking for hi end tea, just grocery store type loose tea, you can
probably find that in pretty much any size city by going to an 'ethnic'
food store. Indian or middle eastern stores are likely to have black
tea, and asian stores green tea. These won't be nearly of the quality
that one can get from Uptons or Specialteas, but they can be quite
servicable, a lot cheaper, and no waiting.

On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 23:27:10 -0500, in article
>, Gregory Allen-Anderson wrote:

> But I did want to mention that if you are not
> looking for hi end tea, just grocery store type loose tea,

You made a good point, especially for a person switching from tea bags.
You're proposing what I'd call "better than" grocery store type loose tea.

> you can
> probably find that in pretty much any size city by going to an 'ethnic'
> food store.

We have a large Chinese grocery here. They have a small selection of
Darjeeling, Assam, and Ceylon, and a large selection of Chinese and
Japanese teas.

> Indian or middle eastern stores are likely to have black
> tea, and asian stores green tea.

We've got only a very small Indian grocery (sniff) but I went recently to a
very nice Arabic grocery in Tucson (Caravan). They've got (perhaps) ten
brands each of Darjeeling, Assam, and Ceylon.

> These won't be nearly of the quality
> that one can get from Uptons or Specialteas,

I got (Lipton "Connoisseur" Darjeeling (Green Label)) and some Ceylon brand
I've never seen before. Neither are quite as good as what I've gotten from
Special Teas but I'm having no trouble drinking them.

> but they can be quite
> servicable, a lot cheaper, and no waiting.

I'd say more than servicable and a whole lot cheaper.

I've never thought of Upton and Specialteas as "upscale". True, they
have better stuff than you'd find at a grocery store, but not nearly
the quality (or prices) you'd find at In Pursuit of Tea, Imperial Tea
Court, or Silk Road Teas, to name but a few.

I'm of the thinking that Specialteas and Upton are very good
compromises between the "bankrupt-yourself" upscale sites and the
generic stuff in grocery stores.

BTW, I hear that Specialteas is far better with green, but Upton
specializes with black tea. DON'T get any of Upton's samplers (you can
find my full rant on the Google r.f.d.t archives). In short, the tins
are horrible, it's too much tea for a "sample", and the teas are not
always representative. Check out
http://www.normbrero.com/cgi-bin/vie....cgi?pageId=10 (in fact,
check out that entire site).

Have fun,

ZBL

Gregory Allen-Anderson > wrote in message >...
> Volfie "I got your nose!" Jackson wrote:
> > Are there any online sites that you use for buying loose tea? I'd just like
> > orange pekoe without the bag, thanks. We used to be able to skip across the
> > border to Canada to buy Red Rose but it's getting harder and harder to find
> > it in the loose form.
> >
> > Any good sites online will be appreciated.
> >
> > Giselle
> >
> >
>
> People have given you a couple of suggestions for upscale teas online,
> so I won't add to that. But I did want to mention that if you are not
> looking for hi end tea, just grocery store type loose tea, you can
> probably find that in pretty much any size city by going to an 'ethnic'
> food store. Indian or middle eastern stores are likely to have black
> tea, and asian stores green tea. These won't be nearly of the quality
> that one can get from Uptons or Specialteas, but they can be quite
> servicable, a lot cheaper, and no waiting.

On 2/1/04 9:10 AM, in article
, "Zephyrus"
> wrote:

> BTW, I hear that Specialteas is far better with green, but Upton
> specializes with black tea. DON'T get any of Upton's samplers (you can
> find my full rant on the Google r.f.d.t archives). In short, the tins
> are horrible, it's too much tea for a "sample", and the teas are not
> always representative.

I would agree that there is too much tea there for a sample - but I have
bought their Darjeeling sampler and had good luck with it. I tend to buy
entire tins, though, and would reocmmend someone buy sample sizes of the
teas they think they'd like from Upton rather than the "gift pack" of tea
(as I like to call it).


>Check out
> http://www.normbrero.com/cgi-bin/vie....cgi?pageId=10 (in fact,
> check out that entire site).

"Gregory Allen-Anderson" > wrote
> People have given you a couple of suggestions for upscale teas online,
> so I won't add to that. But I did want to mention that if you are not
> looking for hi end tea, just grocery store type loose tea, you can
> probably find that in pretty much any size city by going to an 'ethnic'
> food store. <snips for space>

That's pretty much the problem. I'm two hours outside of a major city and
right now I'm sitting on a ice-slicked hilltop. I can get to my mailbox but
not much further. I thought it might be nice to order my tea brought to me
until spring.

Giselle (now does anyone know where I can order a nice British butler by
mail?)

2/1/04


> I've never thought of Upton and Specialteas as "upscale". True, they
> have better stuff than you'd find at a grocery store, but not nearly
> the quality (or prices) you'd find at In Pursuit of Tea, Imperial Tea
> Court, or Silk Road Teas, to name but a few.

I'm in complete enthusiastic agreement here. Thanks for clarifying it.
>
> I'm of the thinking that Specialteas and Upton are very good
> compromises between the "bankrupt-yourself" upscale sites and the
> generic stuff in grocery stores.

Silk Road Tea, as an example, has a number of $10. per quarter pound teas
and some less expensive in the catalogue. That strikes me as reasonable.
IME, some of them are excellent.

snip

Michael

Take a look at http://teameister.com/
"Volfie "I got your nose!" Jackson" > wrote in message
...
> Are there any online sites that you use for buying loose tea? I'd just
like
> orange pekoe without the bag, thanks. We used to be able to skip across
the
> border to Canada to buy Red Rose but it's getting harder and harder to
find
> it in the loose form.
>
> Any good sites online will be appreciated.
>
> Giselle
>
>


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"Vole \"I got your nose!\" Jackson" wrote:

> That's pretty much the problem. I'm two hours outside of a major city and
> right now I'm sitting on a ice-slicked hilltop. I can get to my mailbox but
> not much further. I thought it might be nice to order my tea brought to me
> until spring.
>
> Giselle (now does anyone know where I can order a nice British butler by
> mail?)

I can serve tea but do not know the postage cost to your location :-)

BTW, no one has mentioned Betty's by Post selling the Taylor's online. I
buy their Mountains of the Moon by the kilo, and with shipping to the
USA it is still cheaper than some of the other online stores. They also
do some fine Estate ceylon, Kwazulu and a great Lion Mountain Keemun.

One of the little touches is to have them make up a caddy with your
blend, labeled as your tea, a neat gift.

<http://www.bettysbypost.co.uk/>


JJ

On 1 Feb 2004 06:10:47 -0800, (Zephyrus) wrote:

>I've never thought of Upton and Specialteas as "upscale". True, they
>have better stuff than you'd find at a grocery store, but not nearly
>the quality (or prices) you'd find at In Pursuit of Tea, Imperial Tea
>Court, or Silk Road Teas, to name but a few.
>
>I'm of the thinking that Specialteas and Upton are very good
>compromises between the "bankrupt-yourself" upscale sites and the
>generic stuff in grocery stores.
>
In a conversation with someone at Silk Road Teas, I was told that
Specialteas purchased a lot of Drum Mountain from Silk Road.
SpecialTeas catalog mentions their "buyer" who travels all over China
and buys lots of tea from small tea farmers, etc., sounds just like
David Hoffman to me. I wonder if SpecialTeas would reveal which teas
they obtained through Silk Road?