I used to drink Indian black teas exclusively. Which was good, because I'm
firmly in Indian tea territory here (Vienna, Austria).

A couple of months ago I lost my taste for black teas and started drinking
Chinese green teas. I like them a lot. Unfortunately, the selection of
green tea here is rather poor. While I can get at least a dozen different
Assams and a dozen different Darjeelings at any given tea store I'm lucky
if they have ten Chinese greens in total.

Asian (Chinese) stores are not an option as they are quite small and most
have about five different low-quality teas in small paper bags, many of
them flavored.

So I went looking for good online shops that carry a good selection of
Chinese greens. I didn't find any. The usual suspects like Mariage Frères
and Le Palais des Thé aren't too remarkable in that regard IMO, apart
from their high prices that is.

So, can anybody recommend either an actual (maybe even Chinese) store here
in Vienna that I haven't found yet or an online shop in the EU? I would
prefer Austria or Germany (shipping costs) but any EU country would be
fine. EU is a must; I don't think it's worthwhile to deal with the cost
and hassle of getting thing through customs.

Thanks,
Stefan

Hi,
www.demmer.at has a good range of green teas. Not only from China. Quality
is good.

tealeaf wrote:

> Hi,
> www.demmer.at has a good range of green teas. Not only from China. Quality
> is good.

Well, yes, they're not bad (not great either; in their smaller branches they
have tea in paper bags sitting on the shelves for weeks) -- they're a big
local chain.

But to be honest I find their range of greens somewhat lacking. At least
compared to other tea shops in Vienna. I guess what I'm looking for is
something that comes close to Upton's.

Stefan

> So, can anybody recommend either an actual (maybe even Chinese) store here
> in Vienna that I haven't found yet or an online shop in the EU? I would
> prefer Austria or Germany (shipping costs) but any EU country would be
> fine. EU is a must; I don't think it's worthwhile to deal with the cost
> and hassle of getting thing through customs.
>
> Thanks,
> Stefan

You could try Nothing But Tea in the UK, www.nbtea.co.uk. Never tried
their greens, but blacks and Oolong are good.

JB

Actually, le palais des thés' yearly 'primeurs' (fresh tea from the
year) are quite good and their price is good - you should wait for the
2006 to arrive I don't think they have yet and see what they propose on
their site.
I know some excellent shops in Paris, I could give you the adresses and
phone numbers if you want but I'm don't know if they could send you
stuff to Vienna...

Jean Danthès wrote:

> Actually, le palais des thés' yearly 'primeurs' (fresh tea from the
> year) are quite good and their price is good - you should wait for the
> 2006 to arrive I don't think they have yet and see what they propose on
> their site.

Thanks, I'll monitor their site in the next couple of weeks.

Stefan

On Tue, 16 May 2006 16:10:05 +0200, Stefan Goetzinger
> wrote:

>So, can anybody recommend
> or an online shop in the EU?

This is where I buy my tea;
http://www.teacentre.se/

As far as I know it is the best tea shop in Scandinavia. They also
export vast amounts of tea to far away. I hear they ship surprising
quantities to the US.

I live nearby and always shop right there. Only now did I check out
their web site. It looks very good, available in English and Swedish,
kronor, Euro or Dollars.

Check it out. I would be interested to see comments from tea
aficionados on the prices etc, compared to other web shops.

Lars
Stockholm

Lars wrote:
> On Tue, 16 May 2006 16:10:05 +0200, Stefan Goetzinger
> > wrote:
>
>>So, can anybody recommend
>> or an online shop in the EU?
>
> This is where I buy my tea;
> http://www.teacentre.se/
[...]
> Check it out. I would be interested to see comments from tea
> aficionados on the prices etc, compared to other web shops.

Thanks, looks good. Their prices are roughly comparable to local tea shops
and the Austrian/German web shops I know; most of their green teas are a
bit more expensive, some are cheaper. But who knows, maybe their tea is
better...

Stefan

Wow Lars, I note looking at that site that they carry both Bangladeshi tea
AND Georgian tea (weren't some people on this list looking for one or both
sometime in the last year or two?) I may have to get some at some
point...have you tried either of those two?

Melinda

--
"I know. You know I know. I know you know I know. We know Henry knows,
and Henry knows we know it."
We're a knowledgeable family." ::smiles:: -Geoffrey, Lion in Winter


"Lars" > wrote in message
news
> On Tue, 16 May 2006 16:10:05 +0200, Stefan Goetzinger
> > wrote:
>
>>So, can anybody recommend
>> or an online shop in the EU?
>
> This is where I buy my tea;
> http://www.teacentre.se/
>
> As far as I know it is the best tea shop in Scandinavia. They also
> export vast amounts of tea to far away. I hear they ship surprising
> quantities to the US.
>
> I live nearby and always shop right there. Only now did I check out
> their web site. It looks very good, available in English and Swedish,
> kronor, Euro or Dollars.
>
> Check it out. I would be interested to see comments from tea
> aficionados on the prices etc, compared to other web shops.
>
> Lars
> Stockholm

On Wed, 24 May 2006 23:05:11 -0700, "Melinda" >
wrote:

>Wow Lars, I note looking at that site that they carry both Bangladeshi tea
>AND Georgian tea (weren't some people on this list looking for one or both
>sometime in the last year or two?) I may have to get some at some
>point...have you tried either of those two?

I am afraid I have not. I am so much in love with their Oolongs that I
have just about stopped experimenting with other sorts.

I feel very fortunate to be on a good footing with Mr Mauris, I
respect him highly and he seems to be genuinely happy with my
appreciating his suggestions. Once in a while he offers me samples of
new tea he has acquired and I suppose should he suggest I try
Bangladeshi or Georgian tea I would do so.

He is a thorough gentleman originally from Sri Lanka and with quite a
British air about him. His shop is rather small but quite a marvelous
place. Should any of you come to Stockholm I really suggest you go
there. It is often crowded though.


Lars
Stockholm

The green teas went online at Palais des thés - I didn't taste them
yet; will tell you more once I get the chance to sample them

Jean Danthès

Jean Danthès wrote:

> The green teas went online at Palais des thés - I didn't taste them
> yet; will tell you more once I get the chance to sample them

Thanks, I may buy some of them. It seems like their focus is more on
Darjeeling though and I'm not really sure I can appreciate the fine nuances
of these teas enough to justify the prices ;-). I'm working on it, though.

I'm just about ready to place an order with them. While browsing their site
I stumbled upon a couple of flavored green teas I've never seen before.
They a

- Earl Grey Sencha
- "Citron vert Sencha", lime-flavored Sencha
- "Thé vert à la vanille", green tea with chunks of vanilla

I have to say, I can't imagine how any of these combinations could possibly
work. Any opinions on this? Which flavored green teas are good, apart from
jasmine and lotus of course?

Stefan

On Tue, 30 May 2006 01:00:43 +0200, Stefan Goetzinger
> wrote:

>- "Thé vert à la vanille", green tea with chunks of vanilla

That sounds disgusting!
Why don't you top it off with some marshmallows, dipped in honey?


Lars
Stockholm

Lars wrote:
> On Tue, 30 May 2006 01:00:43 +0200, Stefan Goetzinger
> > wrote:

>>- "Thé vert à la vanille", green tea with chunks of vanilla
>
> That sounds disgusting!
> Why don't you top it off with some marshmallows, dipped in honey?

My opinion exactly. But I have to admit that I like a strong Assam with real
vanilla chunks in it with milk and sugar. Sadly vanilla has become very
expensive in recent years (bad harvests I was told) so most tea shops now
use rather disgusting artificial vanilla flavors instead. Guess I have to
make my own.

But _green tea_ with vanilla... *shudder*.

Stefan

Stefan Goetzinger > wrote:
>Lars wrote:
>> On Tue, 30 May 2006 01:00:43 +0200, Stefan Goetzinger
>> > wrote:
>
>>>- "Thé vert à la vanille", green tea with chunks of vanilla
>>
>> That sounds disgusting!
>> Why don't you top it off with some marshmallows, dipped in honey?
>
>My opinion exactly. But I have to admit that I like a strong Assam with real
>vanilla chunks in it with milk and sugar. Sadly vanilla has become very
>expensive in recent years (bad harvests I was told) so most tea shops now
>use rather disgusting artificial vanilla flavors instead. Guess I have to
>make my own.

Here in the US, we can often get Mexican vanilla. It's definitely different
than the Madagascar stuff, in some ways I think more smooth. And it's really
quite inexpensive. I don't know what availability in Europe is like but
I recommend it.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Scott Dorsey wrote:
> Stefan Goetzinger > wrote:

>>Sadly vanilla has become
>>very expensive in recent years (bad harvests I was told) so most tea shops
>>now use rather disgusting artificial vanilla flavors instead.
[...]
> Here in the US, we can often get Mexican vanilla. It's definitely
> different than the Madagascar stuff, in some ways I think more smooth. And
> it's really quite inexpensive. I don't know what availability in Europe
> is like but I recommend it.

Interesting. I've never seen it here. I only really know Bourbon vanilla. We
used to buy powdered Bourbon vanilla in small jars at the supermarket but
now it's sold in small 20 gram bags for ever-increasing prices. Last year
it was 15-20 Euros. I don't know if it's getting any better; even those
small bags generally last for many months here.

Stefan

Stefan Goetzinger wrote:

> I only really know Bourbon vanilla.
> We used to buy powdered Bourbon vanilla in small jars at the supermarket
> but now it's sold in small 20 gram bags for ever-increasing prices. Last
> year it was 15-20 Euros. I don't know if it's getting any better; even
> those small bags generally last for many months here.

I just read up on the topic and it seems that vanilla prices went back to
normal in the second half of 2005. I just hope that the retail prices here
will reflect that.

Stefan