Looking for tea suggestions!!

Hello there!

I am new to Steepster.

I am semi-new to tea. I got really hooked starting in 2013 when I discovered loose leaf tea via Teavana and now I work for them. Funny how that works out.

Anyways, I really want to explore what else the world has in store for tea and I am looking for suggestions. What are some really good teas that I really need to check out?

I’m a huge fan of fruity, desserty, chai, and the occasional pure tea (so almost everything hahaha). Although going through my collection it’s more dessert then anything else (I have a sweet tooth I guess). To make matters even worse I already have ordered three more dessert teas from David’s Tea…. OOOh boy.

Fellow tea fanatics…. what should I try!!!?

29 Replies

You sound like you’re in the stage where you want to try absolutely everything! It’s a fun time. I would recommend picking a company or two, and buying a bunch of samples from them (Adagio is the company I started with, they have cheap samples and you can get a $5 off coupon from anyone who has an account there), and finding people to follow who have similar interests. Read their tasting notes and add anything that looks interesting to your wishlist. Then get involved in swapping, stash sales and/or traveling tea boxes. That’s a great way to try a bunch of new teas.

Yes, I want to spread my wings!!! I’ve been looking jealously on some of the tea flavors I’ve seen posted. Like chocolate macaroon and french toast (I mean WOW). I’m sitting her watching the delivery status of my order! lol. I am also staring at a cast iron pot that I want thinking “I should just buy it, what’s a fourth cast iron?”.

The addiction is bad over here guys. I blame my job.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Ooh, yeah, definitely try Adagio. It isn’t the most elite tea company around, but they have tons of different teas and great discounts and like to give out free samples. Here, use coupon code 303293247 to get $5 off your order and they’ll give me a dollar too!

:) * looks hopeful * (Actually I think that code is only good until tomorrow. Oh well.)

I’ll probably look into adagio soon! I got my Davids Teas order… I want to check out Capital Teas… and then Adagio maybe?

Eveleaf said

I second the Adagio recommendation – I LOVE them! For me, they are the perfect apex of good quality, low prices (especially for loose leaf, the teabags are a bit pricey), tons of fun flavors, easy-to-use website, and oh my goodness the freebies. Redeemable points coming out of your ears, and free samples from the company all the time, from your friends, etc.

There are probably dozens of us here who would be happy to hook you up with your first $5 off coupon. I know I would if no one else does. :-) And if you do decide to order from them, shoot me a private message and I’ll add you as a friend. I’m always sending my friends free samples! It’s really fun.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Hi!

Okay, here are my top favorites:

Art of Tea “tea for her” — not sure if you’re male or female; hope it wouldn’t be too emasculating (lol) but I like drinking this before bed, it’s creamy and floral and sweet.

Earl Grey from the bulk bin at my local grocery store (still haven’t found out where it’s from)

Rosali Tea’s milk oolong. You’ll probably see from my tea reviews that I love RT but I think that the milk oolong is truly unique, and very high-quality, too.

oooh I’ll have to look up art of tea! I also am definitely going to be trying some milk oolongs too ;)

And no worries I am female. LOL and even if I wasn’t I don’t think i’d be offended :p

Rosali Tea said

Thanks for recommending our Milk Oolong, Madam Oolong! So glad you like it.

Hi 13th Doctor, nice to meet you! Are there any tea shops near where you live? The people in them tend to be awfully nice and very informative (and may even talk your ear off if you’re willing to listen!)

Login or sign up to post a message.

AllanK said

I personally recommend the company Simpson and Vail at www.svtea.com. They are an excellent retailer and have around 350 teas or so. They sell tea from eight or nine countries and are also a good place to buy herbs for herbal tea such as chamomile. Their prices are quite reasonable too. Their quality is high. They are an excellent value.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Teaave said

You might be interested in our Rolling Fog Sampler: http://teaave.com/collections/all/products/rolling-fog-sampler that includes 6 naturally scented floral oolongs ;)

Login or sign up to post a message.

Ahhhhh, I missed this: To be fair, I have to offer you free tea as I do for everyone new :)

Hey, I’m new from last month. Can I has free tea? ;)

Free Teas oooooooh

Login or sign up to post a message.

Lindsay said

My advice for the experimental phase of tea fandom is to buy lots of different teas in small sample-sized quantities, like 10-25g. You can always buy more later, and you might be surprised how much your tastes change over time. :)

https://www.tealyra.com/ – Tealyra has quite a wide selection, including some good and affordable flavoured blends, in 25g sizes.

http://tippystea.com/ – I was all ready to recommend Tippy’s, but it looks like their site is down. :( Not sure what that’s about, but they had some nice blends and if you’re in the US, buying Canadian is a great deal because our exchange rate is so dismal. :p

http://www.zentealife.com/ – another Canadian company, I’ve had some lovely desserty blends from them

If you’re looking for really cool and innovative flavours, the popular ones on steepster are:
http://52teas.com/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/LiquidProustTeas
https://www.etsy.com/shop/AQuarterToTea

The other thing I like to suggest for people in the “Try ALL The Teas” phase is a monthly subscription box:
http://www.teasparrow.com/
http://amodatea.com/

Welcome to Steepster. :)

Login or sign up to post a message.

RoriRants said

Hi! If you message me your mailing address, I’ll send you some NM Tea Co. teas to try. If’n ya wanna.

Login or sign up to post a message.

AllanK said

If you want to try puerh tea you cant beat Yunnan Sourcing. They also have a great selection of black, green and oolong.

Login or sign up to post a message.

nycoma said

have you tried all teavana has to offer? sure its entry level stuff, but try to focus and get to know the back of your hand so to speak.

I work at Teavana, so I have tried all of them. They are awesome! I’m trying to branch out and find different flavors that we don’t really offer. I haven’t found a tea from another company that I really “love” though yet. sigh I’ve tried some lupicia and David’s teas so far.

AllanK said

If you want to try something that Teavana just doesn’t offer, try buying real puerh. Teavana if I remember right mixes black tea into their regular puerh. And their blends with puerh can hardly be called traditional puerh. Try something like Whispering Pines 2012 Huron Gold Needle puerh among the best in ripe puerh from a US vendor. Or branch out and try raw puerh. Mandala tea at www.shopmandalatea.com sells some excellent raw and is a US vendor. If you want to order from China you can’t beat www.yunnansourcing.com.

What’s it like to work for Teavana, 13th Doctor? Do you drink tea all the time? Are there people that prefer coffee? Very curious to hear about it :)

@Madam Oolong- I get the occasional person who prefers coffee but we also have teas that are meant to taste similar to coffee. Haha! yes, I drink tea daily, have to get my 32oz in to be happy. Ha!

@13th Doctor – lol! But…32 oz? So little! I need, like, 100.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.