Overall Experience: VERY POSITIVE
I have made two purchases from Verdant tea.
General Information:
David is the owner, and he seems to be genuinely passionate about tea and connecting others with his tea. I discovered his online shop after spending time reading the reviews and posts on this website, and for that, I am grateful. He specializes in small farm Chinese grown teas. He offers many different pu-erh teas, but he also has quality oolongs, greens, whites and blacks, and a number of blended, or flavored, teas. He is among the best on the web when it comes to how much information he provides about each tea, including information on location and year of harvest (which is very important to me). One thing lacking about each tea: information about how to best steep each particular tea (although he happily responded to an email I sent with questions about how to best steep one of his teas). He sells a few tea accessories. He had a sales event the weekend of Black Friday (Thanksgiving 2011). My understand is that he sources his tea directly from the farmers in China. He sells his tea in one, two, four, and 16 ounce sizes for most of his tea, providing a price break for each successively larger size. Gift-wrapped boxes are available. He offers samplers for a reasonable price, and he offers a tea of the month club. Although the prices of most of his teas are beyond my reach (over $5/oz.), I have found his teas to be of the highest quality anywhere. All of the tea I have purchased from him (mostly green) has been very fresh and it accurately matched the description on his website.
Website:
I like the ‘earthy’ look-and-feel to his website (lots of blues, greens and browns). It is well laid out, and easy to navigate. He provides very clear closeup pictures of each tea. There have been a few issues with his cart system, but if you alert him of the issue via email he is very responsive, and he will not only correct the problem, but my experience is that he will reward you for your patience by including extra tea with your order (if you purchase from him). I believe he uses PayPal to process your order and to send out information about your order, which allows you to review the status of it. To the best of my knowledge, he currently does not have the ability to create personal accounts on his website. His seasonal tea does sell out. On his website he provides information about tea and the tea business in a section called, Encyclopedia of Tea.
Shipping:
It is about as good as it gets on the web: free to the US if your order is over $10 (over $25 internationally); otherwise it’s $2. He offers the ability to track your package online once it is in route. He ships USPS (first class or priority mail). For me, everything listed as in stock was delivered in both purchases. He will happily include samples if you ask, or include one of his choosing if you don’t ask. He included a personally written card with each package (something only one other tea retailer has done for me).
Contact Experience:
I have exchanged many e-mails with him and he is very responsive; in them he comes across as very personable while still being professional. I have also found that he is very flexible and willing to work with you to meet your needs.
Packaging:
The tea comes in sturdy, resealable, ‘earthy’ light-brown colored bags. The labels are colorful and have the name of the tea handwritten on them.
Would I buy from them again?:
YES!
In my experience buying from roughly 15 – 20 online tea retailers over the past year, his customer service is the best, bar none. I really like the information about the farmers he provides on his website and that he provides the year and season of the picking (especially for the green teas). I like the close up pictures of each tea. I like his packaging and that he offers free shipping to the US (If over $10). When I emailed him requesting a sample of a tea I wanted to try before buying he sent me a very generous one (roughly 20 grams). In my experience, everything he does is professional. I judge his prices are fair, and I personally don’t mind paying a little more when I know when and where the tea is harvested and for many of the other reasons I list above. But the only downside to Verdant tea for me: the cost: the prices of most of his teas are beyond my reach. C’est la vie!
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Overall Experience: POSITIVE I sent Angel a Steepster PM requesting she send a few samples from a list of teas I was interested in, and she sent me 15 grams of basically every tea on my list! Thank you Angel! Each tea was fresh and was packaged exactly as advertised on her site: http://cdn.teavivre.com/media/wysiwyg//product_packaging/teavivre_package.jpg
The tea came in one silver sealed bag inside another creative looking zip-locked bag. She is great about replying promptly to any requests. They have lots of detailed information about each tea on their website.
Positive. The owner, Aaron, graciously offered to send me samples in response to an email query of mine regarding his shipping policy. They currently offer ten teas I believe to be reasonably priced (2 oz, 4oz, 8oz). Aaron has stated that he plans to offer more soon. They allow you to choose free samples with every order. He has responded promptly and thoughtfully to every e-mail I have sent. Their website is simple and well designed. Shipping is $4.95 USD, free if your order is over $50 USD. All of the tea I have tried has been fresh.
Overall Experience: POSITIVE
It was my first time buying from them (I ordered in March 2011).
General Information:
Facts and Observations: An Arizona couple started the business in 2002.They have a brick and mortar store in at least two states (Arizona and Colorado). They have a wide selection of loose leaf Chinese tea in every class. They do not sell flavored tea, although they do sell scented teas. Many of their teas are organic. One of the owners (Austin) spends many months out of each year traveling in China. They have the most detailed and comprehensive descriptions of any tea that I have ever encountered on the web, including providing information on season and year of harvest, province and town/city of the tea garden, tea bush cultivated, picking standard, etc (one yellow tea has 1100 words in its description!). Every month they have specials on certain select teas (20% off), and they have a year-end 25% – 70% off section for older teas (some of these seem to sell out pretty fast, and others don’t). They sell tea by the gram: 25, 50, 100, 500 (unfortunately, it does not get much cheaper when buying larger amounts). They sell tea samplers. According to their website they: 1) source their teas directly from “the growers and tea masters who make them,” 2) are committed to Fair Trade and the Environment, 3) make ‘green’ choices. They offer annual trips to China in the spring. I believe they have some kind of rewards program. Besides tea, they sell a few Yixing teapots. In general, I find their teas to be expensive (when not on sale); they range in price from about $3/oz to as much as $33/oz or more.
My Experience: They processed my order quickly; it came two days after it was processed. Each tea was appropriately fresh and exactly as described on their website.
Website:
Their website is colorful, simple, elegant and pleasing to the eye (colors are used sparingly). It is easy to navigate. You have the ability to review the status of your order and other ongoing personal information through an account system if you register. They have a very comprehensive section on information about tea. They have a related blog. They have a few ‘videocasts.’ You can pay by credit card or with PayPal.
Shipping:
Facts: Shipping cost is dependent on destination location and weight. I don’t believe there are any ‘free shipping’ break points. You have the ability to track package online once it is in route. I believe they ship Fed. Ex. I am not sure of international shipping, but I would be surprised if they didn’t as they state that people all over the world buy their tea.
My Experience: I paid $5.45 for shipping to the Midwest for 450 grams of tea. I purchased five different teas. Everything in stock was delivered. Box was carefully packaged with the tea, some filler, and the invoice. No free samples were included.
Contact Experience:
I phoned them once and they were very personable and helpful. I have e-mailed them a couple of times and they have been reasonably responsive.
Packaging:
Fairly standard opaque silver vacuum-sealed zip locked bags. The ink on the labels is water based (It rubbed off when I tried to take it off to put on a jar).
Would I buy from them again?:
YES. I really like their overall approach to selling tea; they seem genuinely passionate about everything and anything to do with the noble leaf. And they seem very professional and take great care with everything they do. Unfortunately, I can only afford their tea if it is on sale, so I keep my eye on their sales.
I updated this on 01/2012
Overall Experience: POSITIVE (with reservations regarding customer service, listed below)
I made three online purchases with them: one in January 2011, and two in January 2012.
General Information:
Facts and Observations : The only tea they sell is loose-leaf. Their focus seems to be on fruity, flavored teas. They do not have a wide variety of unflavored teas, but they do have a reasonable selection in every class of tea (with the exception of yellow), including Mate, Rooibos and other herbal teas. The descriptions of each tea seem to focus on the flavors of the fruits and other additives rather than on the base tea itself. They give no detail on the harvest date and little information on location—country only—-on any tea, with a few exceptions (Darjeeling is one). They offer a 10% discount for purchasing a pound or more, 15% for two pounds, and 20% for five or more. They sell many different tea accessories. You must buy at least two ounces of each tea. According to their website, they currently offer free samples with every order (although I received none). They occasionally have promotional offers. The have a big online sale at the end of the year, tea and items going for 30% – 75% off.
My Experience: 2011: I made an order for three different teas. After ordering it took over a week or more for my order to arrive, as they had to wait for one tea to come in from overseas before they could ship my order (even though it was listed as ‘in stock’). It turns out only two teas were shipped (see note below in shipping). Those teas, at least, were reasonably fresh. My understanding is that they source their own tea (being as large as they are). They have stores in most states, so if you live in the US it is likely you will be charged tax on your order, the amount of tax depending on where you live.
2012: They had a large selection of sale teas in their end-of-year sale. I received everything from my two orders, with the exception of one tea (that is currently on it’s way). Overall, I am happy with ordering from them. One interesting thing to note about their website, though: I noticed one tea that appeared that was not previously listed on their sale page. I put it in my cart, and took some time to decide on whether or not to order it. Less than an hour later it disappeared from the site, and later from my cart. What happened? I have NO idea. Yes, interesting indeed.
Website:
Their site is possibly the most colorful and professional looking tea site on the web. That is not to say it is the best. I personally do not like the continually changing images on their home page. And the pictures of their tea look like they put much more effort into the presentation than needed, and my guess is that that is reflected in the price of each tea. They do not give any specific information on how to brew each individual tea but only how to brew each class or type of tea. They have a section at the bottom of each tea page where they tell you which other teas blend well with it. You can maintain a wish list. You can get 5% your order if you choose auto-delivery. They have an account system whereby you can find the status of your order or shipment. They have some general information about tea, but its relegated to the bottom of the home page, which tells me they don’t think educating their customers about tea is very important. They have an interesting ‘Product Review’ system, but very few reviews have any criticisms at all about the tea, so I personally do not trust those reviews. They use secure server software (SSL) when you pay.
NOTE: When you buy their tea at the sale/discounted prices in the store, they do not add any bulk discounts in addition to the sale discounts. However, your online cart automatically takes the additional discount on sale teas. Yes, very cool. They currently have two discount codes: ‘5off30’, and ‘10off50’.
Shipping:
Facts: They use UPS for US and Canada, and IAPP worldwide: $4.75 per order in US ($8.75 for Canada; rates vary worldwide). You can also choose Priority, Air or Overnight shipping. Free shipping if order is $50 or over. You have the Ability to track the package online once it is in route. No matter how many ounces you buy they send it in tow ounce packages (I find this very wasteful when ordering over eight ounces of one particular tea).
My Experience: January 2011: there was one tea that was listed as ‘in stock’ but was not delivered (I was not charged for it). The invoice that came with the package stated that the tea was ‘backordered’. After waiting many days—-and checking my account on their website—-I finally called them to find out that they were completely sold out and would not be getting any more in. I was disappointed about that fact.
January 2012: I ordered twice; while both orders took a while to process and ship (at least a week from date of ordering to when they arrived), I did get everything I ordered in both shipments (there were no free samples in either, although their website states that they send free samples with every order). After I made my second order online, they sent me an email stating one tea was ‘on back-order’ and may take up to 30 days to get back in stock. A few days later I was notified that it shipped; although I have yet to get package, I expect it soon. I am glad that at least this year I have received/will be getting everything I ordered.
Contact Experience:
2011: I have called and talked to the sales people at the corporate offices and in local stores a number of times, and I judge that, although they seemed to know their ‘products’, they were not very knowledgeable about tea in general.
2012: I had a reasonably pleasant experience with the sales staff at one local store this year. She didn’t seem to be able to answer many questions I had about their teas, but she did make an effort to look for, and then find, answers to most of them; I was at least satisfied with that. I made two separate calls to this toll free phone number. The first time I was put on hold, and an automated system told me I was #164. I decided to wait, and was updated periodically on my place in line (which I appreciated), but after about 10 minutes, the system forced me to leave a message, due to ‘high call volume’. I left my number, and a message, but no one got back to me. The second time I called, I was, once again, put on hold (but for this call it did not give me my place in line. Strange.), and after 10- 15 minutes of waiting, I opted to leave a message for them to call me back; but something happened in trying to leave my number using the buttons on my phone (may have been my error) and I don’t think they got my number. Thus, again, no resolution. I have concluded that it’s about a snowball’s chance in h**l to get through to them (well, not really, but I mean really, come on guys! It shouldn’t be that hard to get a message through, let alone get called back!). Luckily, after each call an acceptable solution presented itself (not by Teavana).
Packaging:
No matter how much tea you order, it comes in small, decorated 2 oz vacuum-packed zip lock bags with the name of the tea and the ingredient list on a label (interestingly enough, I could not find the ingredient list on their website).
Would I buy from them again?: Conditionally, YES.
It is my belief that the quality of the tea they sell is not commensurate with the price. A large portion of the tea I buy is green tea, and they do not provide harvest seasons/dates for their any of their teas; since I do not know how old the tea is, I am only willing to buy it at a discount. The only reason I have ever bought tea from them was because it was discounted. And given their prices, that is the ONLY way I see purchasing from them in the future. I also realize I will very likely not get good customer service if there is an issue and I have to call them during a busy time. Having said that, I do think that most of their tea is worth buying at 50-75% off the regular price, and I have enjoyed every tea I have bought from them so far.
Overall Experience: POSITIVE
First time buying from them (I ordered from them in April of 2011).
General Information:
Facts and Observations: They offer a wide selection of tea in every class with the exception of yellow tea (only one; my understanding is that very few yellow teas are available in the US). They offer a few flavored teas, organic teas, and a small number of blends and tisanes. They offer tea from China, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Korea and a few other countries. Their descriptions of their teas are the most comprehensive and well written of any I have ever encountered (with the exception of Seven Cups). They provide information on location and year of harvest for their green, yellow and white teas, some Darjeelings and pu-erhs, and a few other black teas and oolongs. Two of their books-–The Tea Enthusiasts handbook and The Story of Tea—are the most contemporary and comprehensive books written about tea I have ever encountered. They occasionally have sales on their teas (especially when the new years harvest arrives). They travel to a different tea producing country each year and provide information on their travels on their website. They sell some tea-wares and accessories. Although I do not like the price of their samples—-very expensive for the amount you get: $5 – $8 for half of an ounce—-their prices on the four, eight and 16 ounce packages are very reasonable as compared to teas of similar quality anywhere else in the US.
My Experience: They processed my order in a reasonable amount of time. The teas I ordered—eight different varieties—were very fresh and accurately matched the descriptions on their website. They included one free sample with my order (a quality spring green tea).
Website:
Their website is very professional looking and very easy to navigate. They provide great pictures of every tea. They provide helpful information for each class of tea and each country. The use of the cart/basket when purchasing items is intuitive. You can review the status of your order and other ongoing personal information through an online account system. My experience in regularly looking at their website is that their teas rarely sell out. They have a great section on general information about tea (health benefits, definition of classes of teas, ‘tea 101,’ etc). They also have a related blog.
Shipping:
Facts: Their shipping policy: $10 for shipping if the total order is below $15; $8 if order is below $25; $6 if below $50, and free if over $100. They provide a shipping number so you can track your package.
My Experience: Everything I ordered—-and stated as ‘in stock’ on their website—-was delivered. Invoice (initialed by the owner) and one free sample included.
Contact Experience:
I e-mailed them once with a general question that had nothing to do with my order. One of the owners (Mary Lou) replied with a satisfactory answer in a reasonable amount of time.
Return Policy:
You can return items purchased for a refund minus a restocking fee (I believe it is 7%).
Packaging:
All four-ounce teas came in black (the yellow tea came in a red bag) zip lock re-sealable bags with a small oval ‘window’ on the back to view the tea through. The label has the name and weight of the tea with brewing parameters displayed on it. The sample came in a small, thin transparent bag with a label.
Would I buy from them again:
YES. I hope to buy from them at least once a year (when the new spring greens become available). They offer many fresh spring green teas for a reasonable price, and the prices of most of their other teas are also very reasonable. They will always have a special place in my ‘tea’ heart, as they so masterfully introduced me to the wonders of artisan loose-leaf tea!
Overall Experience: POSITIVE
It was my first time buying from them (I ordered in June 2011).
General Information:
They have a reasonable selection of loose leaf teas in each class: Oolongs (many , they seem to specialize in these), Greens, Reds/Blacks, and Pu-erhs, but only a few White and Yellow teas. No flavored, and only a few scented. For most every tea you can order a sample (25g) for about the same price as per gram as their standard size (100g). They sell some tea ware. They offer a few teas in an ‘Everyday Teas’ section for very reasonable prices. Most of the rest of their teas are very competitively priced. Update: They now offer modest price breaks for buying larger lots of tea.
Website: They updated it as of 10/2011
Very simply designed and very easy to navigate. Most teas have pictures of both the dry and wet leaves (and a close-up shot). There is detailed information given for each tea they carry (including year and time of harvest). They do occasionally sell out of some teas they carry, and it seems that once it’s gone you have to wait until next year or season. They list newly added products on their homepage.
Contact Experience:
The owners responded in a reasonable amount of time to two e-mail inquiries.
Shipping: Their shipping policy changed as of 10/2011
Facts: They ship from China. They offer a flat rate of $5.90 to any country. They offer two ways of shipping: Registered Airmail, and upon request, EMS.
My Experience: The package arrived sooner than time frame given. From the tea I have tried so far, it is all fresh and exactly as described on their website. Each tea I purchased was in stock. They sent me everything I ordered, with two free samples (weighing seven grams each), all very tightly packaged, without any filler material.
Packaging:
Each tea came in thin foil-like bags, with the tea name and their company logo simply and elegantly displayed on a white label.
Would I buy from them again?:
YES. They have great prices as compared to most other online tea retailers I have encountered, and all of the tea I have ordered from them has been very fresh. I hope to buy from them again next year (2012).
Overall Experience: POSITIVE
It was my first time buying from them (I ordered from them in July 2011).
General Information:
They have a wide selection of every class of tea, including tisanes, iced teas and fruit teas. They sell loose-leaf, as well as teabags and tea sachets. They provide a least a few sentences describing each tea. Although no detail is given on location or year of harvested tea, each tea has a five-digit lot # displayed on each tin or sample bag, representing the ‘date of production’: first two digits are last two digits of year, last three digits are the number of days in the year (my understanding is this number is indirectly related to the harvest date, not directly). They have a rewards program, I believe it is for every $100 USD you spend, you get a five dollar credit toward your next purchase. They sell many tea accessories and other related items (including books). They offer $2 – $4 samples on many of their teas (most are $2). Occasionally a few of their teas will go on sale. They often have promotions (through their mailing list): for example, 10% off your entire order, or free shipping. On occasion, they stop carrying some teas (I, at least, have seen a few that are no longer listed on their website).
Website:
Their site is very professional-looking, well laid out, and easy to navigate with colorful pictures of each tea.
Shipping:
Facts: They ship US Postal and Fed Ex. For US, if your order total is under $25, shipping is $4.50, if it is up to $50, shipping is $5.50, if your order is $50 or over shipping is free. They do Two Day and Next day delivery. They deliver to Canada and internationally.
My Experience: I ordered after business hours, so my order was processed the next business day, and the package was promptly delivered via Fed-Ex. Although there was one item I wanted that was listed as out of stock on their website, everything I ordered (and advertised as in stock) was delivered, all packaged with the invoice and a small amount of filler material (no free samples). From the tea I have tried so far, it is all fresh and exactly as described on their website.
Contact Experience:
The gave me a reasonable response to one e-mail query. No phone contact attempted.
Packaging:
The black tins (prism shaped) have a rounded-square base, are outlined in gold trim with tea name and company logo elegantly displayed on front, and are well sized for the amount of tea purchased. Samples are in small opaque similarly decorated zip-lock bags. I like their tins as they are very elegant.
Would I buy from them again?:
VERY LIKELY. What drew me to this company was Michael Harney’s book. In it he writes like he really understands the world of tea, and I believe he has a genuine passion for it (those two things don’t seem to come together too often). I like the elegant look that they maintain in everything they sell. I have enjoyed every tea I have tried so far. I like that they offer samples for a very reasonable price.
