online orders
im pretty new to ordering online, what are some recommended sites? I’ve ordered from silk road, mandala, and whispering pines.. im looking into yunnan sourcing usa atm. who has good pu-er selection with samples? i live in bc canada so if you know how long shipping takes let me know.
Since you’re in Canada: http://www.wymmtea.com/
Not only is their selection rather decent, the presentation is beautiful with great customer service :)
Yunnan Sourcing will probably be the best bet for selection and price though… but as you said, shipping is no fun.
Also, the 5-for-5 deal is a must for anyone who hasn’t ordered from Verdant.
White2tea, Crimson Lotus, Pu-erh.sk, yunnan sourcing, chawangshop, Essence of Tea, Tea Urchin, Houde off the top of my head. Here is a good list that has all these and more http://teadb.org/puerh-vendor-guide/
http://www.thechineseteashop.com/
If you live in – or visit – Vancouver, The Chinese Tea Shop is amazing. They have an online store, but the hospitality was fantastic when I was there earlier in the year. Worth a visit.
I also recommend Yunnan Sourcing (I use the China site – greater selection – shipping usually takes 2-3 weeks) and Crimson Lotus. Also Streetshop88 and Berylleb on
ebay – at least I’ve had good experiences with them.
Verdant is great – love their black tea, but not as much puerh as some of the other sites. As suggested their 5 for 5 deal is great – check them out if you are interested in more than just puerh.
If you are looking for more than just puerh – Teavivre is another good Chinese option.
second for Chinese Tea Shop. I was there last Friday and spent 3 hours in shop sampling pu’er. Daniel is the best!
i live in north van so i will make a trip to the chinese tea shop. thanks for all the recommendations.
If you do, and still have time, I’d walk over to Treasure Green as well. Not as well-known, but still a great place. What I love about the independent tea industry in Vancouver, is it’s all very connected. (Ten Ren is also between the two shops, though I haven’t been there myself).
Also O5, which is easy to get to via the UBC buses. Lastly, Cultivate Tea, which doesn’t sell through their website, is (almost) brand new, and is a very nice little shop by ShakTea.
Actually, one more: Oollo Tea. Online shop, but also sold/partnered with a few little independent grocers. Specializes in Taiwanese teas.
Wait, sorry, I’m bad at keeping lists short. JusTea is a Vancouver-based company that specializes in ethically sourced Kenyan tea. They sell online, but is also found in some markets around Vancouver. Donald’s Market and Nesters Market mostly. (Do-Matcha and Domo-Matcha [not affiliated with each other, confusing, I know] are two Canadian matcha companies that can also be found online and in the above two grocers).
Editeditedit: Also Teaave, which is Vancouver-based but sell online only, and specializes in oolongs.
I didn’t have a great experience at Treasure Green so I’m not keen on recommending them. Mostly about not selling samples and the sales person I dealt with had little knowledge of their own teas.
I’ve mainly used this site for flavored teas, so I’m not sure how it would work for your preferences, but I’ve always enjoyed Zen Tea, plus I believe it’s Canada based so that may help with shipping costs.
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