Companies I would LOVE to try but haven't

I’ve never had Samovar either. I have some Teavana but not their Pu Erhs…are you interested in general or specifically/only Teavana’s Pu Erhs???

General- I’ll try almost anything. Oh, and Samovar has Tencha!:)

Let me see what I have – I still have your box here so I will throw in some stuff from Teavana!

As much as that’d be awesome, I’m reserving that til I can get to the store, it’s 2 hrs from so while I’d be a rare occasion, I can definitely buy their stuff in store. Thanks though.

Took Lupica off now that I placed an order and am adding Art of Tea for their cocoa nibs and ginger matcha!=D

Maeda-en will be my next matcha purchase I think. I was really psyched about TeaFrog til I found out they put their samples in plain ziplock. So now I’m on the fence- having to put them in something else to me is a major draw back.

It seems pretty snobby to diss a tea company just because they don’t send you your tea in pretty, hi-tech packaging. I sincerely doubt that a week or so in a bag while en-route is going to hurt the tea. If it bothers you that much you can just empty it into a tin when it’s delivered.

But I don’t want to create more work for myself. Thank you for your opinion but please don’t call my preferences snobby. I want my tea free from light while stored- while I don’t say you have to think that way, it’s not a bad thing.

I have to agree with Cofftea. One of the reasons I started my tea company is I was receiving tea in packaging I did not like. First impressions is everything.

Jade Teapot, it’s not so much a 1st impression factor for me. It’s a quality control issue. I could be the type of tea drinker that will take any dust in a bag and be happy, but I’m not. If that is snobby- then yes I’m snobby. But I pay good money for good tea so why would I want to damage that quality? More importantly, why would a company want to create packaging that would damage the quality of their product over time, even if it’s after the tea has left their posession? I think a company’s tea and tea packaging should be of good quality as is, I don’t want to have to do anything to improve the quality (like add something to a tea’s flavor so it lives up to it’s name) because I don’t think that’s the responsibility of the consumer.

It’s my responsibility (as the consumer) to store the tea properly. I’d rather not pay (and pay and pay) for storage when I have plenty of storage already at my house! It’s just not necessary.

At least with Adagio I can get “refills” after I buy the canister once. The H&S tins aren’t (what I consider) adequate storage and I have a TON of them kicking around my house. I don’t know what to do with them and wish I could get their tea without the tin (or without buying a TON of it at a time, since you can sometimes buy a bag of 50 pyramid bags).

I don’t think that storing your tea properly is “do[ing] anything to improve the quality”. It’s just making sure that the quality remains.

When I want storage, I buy canisters and stuff specifically for storage. When I’m buying tea… I just want tea.

I completely agree w/ everything except for your 3rd paragraph, when “making sure that the quality remains” means putting it in different storage, that to me is “doing something to improve the quality” because if you don’t take action, quality will suffer.

I agree with you Cofftea, and also know exactly where your comming from. And your not snobby.

Yikes ;) Just Dug up this thread – felt my 2 cents was warrented…

Cofftea – you are correct in that you would not want your tea in a clear “zip lock” – I think that is not quite on the mark as to how it is pacakgeed however, for a couple of reasons:

1. The bag is clear, but food grade plastic resealable – and heat sealed at the top – all to ensure that it will not re-open, and that it seals in scent/flavour.

2. The bags are packaged “to-go” – not pre-packed and sitting on a shelf. It is a lot more work this way, but it ensures that the tea is properly stored while awaiting distribution, and only put in the zip short term.

3. There is only 3-4 cups in the sample – and in our experience, the first cup is almost immediately brewed on receipt, meaning no long term storage.

4. The packaging is actually pretty easy to store, and once in the cupboard, it is light, and of course, moisture safe.

While there are other methods of packaging (and we have tried many ;)) we just find that this method is the easiest to access and see the tea, and since it is not intended for long-term storage anyhow, we did not feel that the light thorough the packaging was much to be concerned about.

Thank you all for discussing this tho, it really is great to hear what people are thinking, and that has before (and will again I am sure!) spurred us to make changes!

Jillian, I just reread your message and actually pretty, high tech packaging is the last thing I want. I want functional packaging.

…which I thought was exactly what the company described, hence there not being any reason to look down on them.

*sigh * Do you really want to dig up this month-old disagreement up again? I have to say I’m not particularly interested.

I only thought it necessary to point out my mistake in misunderstanting you and defending myself.

I’ll try and remember to include some in the make-good package to you I am sending out on Friday…KUSMI, that is…I will throw in some MISC from the others too…

TeaEqualsBliss – that would be lovely!!

Hey, since I’m putting a box together for you are there any of the H&S that I have that you want to try?

Chinese Flower or Dragon Pearl Jasmine both look like I may enjoy them… :)

Okie, will stick some in the box for you. :-)

Oh yes, Lupica is another!

I think I might be ordering some from Lupicia soon though, because they have a US website and free shipping over $35. I’m mostly interested in their flavored teas.

I’ll try and include some Adagio in your package when I send it :)

Thank you, Bliss!

I think we should start calling her BlissEqualsTea for all the surprises she’s giving people:)

Ditto!

I sometimes like to use steepster’s company list and just randomly select a company and look at their reviewed teas, and usually then have to keep myself form buying them!

Yay for $1 samples (or at least a majority of them are)! I also like that they tell you the weight of the samples on their website.