Hello, all.

Just visited a shop this weekend and would love to let others know
about it. It's called "Dream About Tea" and is located in Evanston,
IL.

http://www.dreamabouttea.com/comersus6f/store/index.asp

Super-nice proprietors, amazing selection of tea with pick times and
origins clearly listed--also, an incredible selection of Yixing pots,
tea trays, cup sets, etc. Also, lots of shu and sheng puerh, although
I didn't buy or sample any of that and won't speak to their prices for
it.

More information (read: glowing, in-depth review) can be found on my
blog--link's down below my signature.

You hopefully all know by now that I'm just a beginner at this and am
definitely not on anybody's payroll--I just was delighted by my visit
and wanted to share in case anyone in the area is looking or had any
other feedback.

Thanks much!

Tess
http://teadonism.wordpress.com

Tess wrote:
> Hello, all.
>
> Just visited a shop this weekend and would love to let others know
> about it. It's called "Dream About Tea" and is located in Evanston,
> IL.
>
> http://www.dreamabouttea.com/comersus6f/store/index.asp
>
> Super-nice proprietors, amazing selection of tea with pick times and
> origins clearly listed--also, an incredible selection of Yixing pots,
> tea trays, cup sets, etc. Also, lots of shu and sheng puerh, although
> I didn't buy or sample any of that and won't speak to their prices for
> it.
>
> More information (read: glowing, in-depth review) can be found on my
> blog--link's down below my signature.
>
> You hopefully all know by now that I'm just a beginner at this and am
> definitely not on anybody's payroll--I just was delighted by my visit
> and wanted to share in case anyone in the area is looking or had any
> other feedback.
>
> Thanks much!
>
> Tess
> http://teadonism.wordpress.com

Glad to hear of a competent tea shop, they are a rarity unfortunately
in most of the U.S. I checked it out and it appears to me that the
prices are a bit on the high side, but (and it isn't often I say this)
price isn't everything. The atmosphere, the owners, and the tangibility
of being there in person vs. an online vendor have value. And in the
same token, I've only seen the website and not the experience or the
actual quality of the tea so I can't speak of much else. The Yixing and
tea wares seem a bit high though even still. They have overhead and are
dealing in a "niche" product so premiums are to be expected in a brick
and mortar shop, if they deliver though, then the additional cost is
more than made up for.

The only thing I'd be wary of was from your blog you mentioned that
they had some dragonwell that they "bought up" to corner the market
on... that raises a big red flag for me. Unless the tea is
$800-1000/lb. and they have a very strong clientel to buy it this is
generally not the truth. At $200/lb. they would have to be sitting on a
hundred pounds to have bought out a small grower at least. With the
rapid decay of greens this is generally not the case, to think there is
a grower that only produces 20lbs. (which is still a lot to sell
quickly) of tea and and took say $50-100/lb. for it is a little far
fetched. Most likely it is just a tea that rarely gets exported and
they are bolstering the price with a story. I could be totally wrong,
but I've been in this game long enough to be skeptical. That was the
only black eye on an otherwise great post/story.

- Dominic
Drinking: Ten Ren 2nd grade Jasmine Green

Tess > wrote:
> Just visited a shop this weekend and would love to let others know
> about it. It's called "Dream About Tea" and is located in Evanston,
> IL.

> Super-nice proprietors, amazing selection of tea with pick times and
> origins clearly listed--also, an incredible selection of Yixing pots,
> tea trays, cup sets, etc. Also, lots of shu and sheng puerh, although
> I didn't buy or sample any of that and won't speak to their prices for
> it.

Yes, they're terrific. I'm an irregular customer (I go when my family
schedule permits). I have a rave for them on my web page (search for
"Tea FAQ" to find it).

Strongly recommended.

Chris Roberson