Favorite and Least Favorite Tea Companies

Thanks for the reply. I’ve never actually tried anything from Yunnan Sourcing, but I’ve heard good things about their products. Red Lantern Tea I’ve never heard of…

Both Tea-Masters and White2tea have been on my list of companies to try for awhile now. Maybe I can do that once I complete a few more sipdowns.

I forgot to add that one of my all time favorite stores is Simpson and Vail. They don’t really sell puerh so I don’t buy from them often anymore but they are among the best values for good tea. www.svtea.com

The only products I own from The Tao of Tea I bought on Amazon so I didn’t have any problems.

I have to second the vote for Mandala Tea. They provide some seriously good products, their prices are very reasonable, and their customer service is good. I’ve heard good things about Crimson Lotus, Tea Urchin, and Chawang Shop as well. I’ll have to check those out sometime in the near future. The bad experience with The Tao of Tea really surprises me. I’ve only been buying from them for a very short time, but their products are mostly very good, and I have yet to have any issues with their customer service. Honestly, they are one of my favorite companies at the moment.

eastkyteaguy, if they had answered any of my emails I think it would have been worked out. It was a easy mistake and if I hadn’t paid quite a bit more in the difference of what I ordered vs what I got I wouldn’t have said anything. $20.00 difference well you know.

I’ll also add that lately I have been heavily exploring the products from Steven Smith Teamaker and Simpson and Vail. I like both companies quite a bit. I find Steven Smith to be a bit pricey, but I’m a total sucker for their branding, their customer service is good, and I have yet to have a bad tea from them. Simpson and Vail doesn’t get much love on Steepster, but I really enjoy their offerings, they have a huge selection, and their customer service is, at least in my experience, incredible. I also love Whispering Pines, Verdant Tea, and DAVIDsTEa (more for the cute teaware than the actual tea. I tend to strongly dislike heavily flavored teas and I think they do way too many. Some of their straight teas are solid though.). Some people might not like me saying this, but I have a bit of a soft spot for Adagio. They got me into loose leaf teas as a teenager. Again, I’m not a fan of their flavored blends, but some of their straight teas are quite good. I also like some of the green and oolong teas I have tried from Rishi.

I have heard good things about Joseph Wesley tea as well.

mrmopar, that’s understandable. $20 is quite a difference. I just took a look at the Joseph Wesley website. It looks like they have some interesting stuff. The locally made teaware is particularly appealing. Still, I kind of wish they provided a bit more information on their actual teas. I know this is nitpicking, but I would really like to know if their Darjeeling is a first or second flush, or perhaps a blend.

I am not sure since my main forte is puerh. I think J. Wesley has had a good reception. Especially on Instagram. Pu-ersk is one I probably should have added too.

@eastkyteaguy im a big fan of Joseph Wesley teas. tried them all. if you have any questions you can always email to Joe, he comes back right away. All his teas are high quality. Darjeeling id a second flush, not blend. Currently they are on a sourcing trip in China. they have limited edition seasonal teas as well. small batches

Again, I am a big fan of Whispering Pines as well. I don’t love all of their teas, and I think a few are slightly overhyped, but for the most part, their product range is remarkably consistent.

I have been using WPT for many years. Brenden always treats me like a friend and I sent him a Christmas gift in 2015. For a 1 man operation, he amazes me.

By the way, don’t feel apologetic for liking Adagio. If they provide good tea and good service to you, that is all that matters.

I took forever to finally give Whispering Pines the time of day. I’m glad I did. For the record, I don’t really feel apologetic for liking Adagio. I just know that Adagio doesn’t really have the best reputation in certain segments of the community. A lot of people seem to be under the impression that their teas are low grade. I think some of that stems from the fact that they produce a lot of flavored blends that appeal to a lot of people who are casual fans. I also think some of that is due to the perception that Adagio came on the scene at the right time and seemed to get big really quickly, so people then tend to make the assumption that quality must necessarily have been sacrificed. I know for awhile there around the mid 2000s their products seemed to be ubiquitous, at least in and around my area. Honestly though, I still enjoy a number of their products. I still like their Assam Melody, Yunnan Jig, Yunnan Noir, and Fujian Baroque. I also rather like their Lapsang Souchong. It’s not my favorite, but it’s solid. Even if I didn’t happen to like some of their teas, I would still have a sentimental attachment to the brand. For Christmas one year, my aunt in Georgia sent my family a giant sampler of loose leaf teas from Adagio (it was almost like she just ordered a ton of tins and decided to mail them to us) and we desperately tried to drink them all. We failed, but had a great time. I remember keeping several of the tins in my kitchen as decorations or for storage. I can’t find them now. I’m guessing they were either lost or thrown out when I moved out of my old condominium in Louisville.

I agree, Bigelow and Adagio were my gateway teas.

Whispering Pines has some of the best teas. Their prices keep me from stocking up most of the time.

On a completely different note, I have yet to find a company that does not market at least a couple of likable teas. I do, however, remember what I feel to be a really bad idea. Allow me to explain. When I was still living in Louisville, I used to live across the street from a little family owned grocery store that carried a really eclectic range of products. Whenever I needed something immediately or had a little extra cash, I would always pop in and pick up a few things. One day I noticed a number of unique bottled teas in the cooler beside the register. Somebody had gotten the bright idea to bottle lapsang souchong and several different oolongs and market them as iced teas. They were all on sale, so I bought three or four bottles. Each and every one of them was awful. The lapsang souchong, in particular, was the stuff of nightmares. It tasted like a mixture of pine tar, cigarette butts, and dust. When I think of iced tea, I just don’t think of lapsang souchong, especially what I presume was low quality lapsang souchong. The oolongs weren’t much better. They all tasted like butter and plant stems. I can’t remember the name of the company that produced these things. I’m not really sure I want to.

Feelin’ the love :) thanks so much for the kind words, everyone! feels lost without emojis

@Whispering Pines Tea Company-feel more love; I just opened my Dark Roast Anxi Tieguanyin this morning and was transported. I had 12 steeps and can’t wait to do it all over again tomorrow. Don’t even know how to begin to say how many wonderful sessions I’ve had with your various teas. There is an entire shelf devoted to WPT in my tea cupboard.

@WPT, yes this site really needs emojis. I cant convey my feels properly

For me Yunnan Sourcing beats out White2Tea simply because they sell a much larger variety of ripe puerh tea. White2Tea’s raw productions can be really good however.