Tea types, brands, and companies... which ones do you prefer?

Mandala – love their blacks and pu-ers (both raw and ripe)
Whispering Pines – lots I love, but really you need to try Golden Orchid
Verdant – I love their blacks, esp Golden Fleece, Zhu Rong and Laoshan Black

All of these companies are delightful to deal with. Welcome to your new addiction

When I first started drinking a lot of tea, I started with tea bags for flavored teas mostly from the grocery store – Lipton, Bigelow and Stash. Someone I know mentioned Teavana and I tried ordering things from there. Eventually I found my way here, and a whole new world opened!

I tried almost everything I could think of and decided my faves really were still flavored black tea, with some greens. I also liked rooibos, maybe more than green or other non-black tea.

I have lots of tea companies that I like – some of my faves are TeaSource for reliable, reasonably priced teas especially their Minnesota Nice for iced tea and Moon Over Madagascar vanilla. (maybe my “desert island tea”. I love Della Terra for some dessert and fun teas such as Pineapple Upside Down, Lemon or Lime Chiffon and Smores.

I like Harney and Sons for chocolate tea, vanilla and a few others.

Mahamosa and Zen tea life have some fun green teas and other teas that are perfect for iced tea – lots of nice fruity flavors.

i’ve only recently tried Whispering Pines and so far I’m very pleased.

Lupicia is a nice mix too. I started out not liking a lot of the things I got, but then I found some wonderful ones. Their caramel rum rooibos is incredible and I’ve liked some of their white peach teas as well as English caramel. Their sets of tea bags are very helpful when I travel or am out of the office for work.

And can’t forget Nina’s tea. Especially love their Jet’aime, but I’ve liked pretty much everythign I’ve tried.

I’m sure there are lots more that I’m forgetting but these are some of my faves.

If you like flavored teas but don’t want all the candies and what not, you should really check out Butiki teas if you haven’t already. It is a completely different flavor experience than DAVIDs and Teavana. If you want something more similar to those companies, check out Della Terra or 52 Teas. Lupicia is another company that is great for flavored teas but not one that is easily accessible in Canada (unfortunately).

I personally have had great experiences with Nina’s Paris and I LOVE their Nina’s Japon. If you are in the states, they are willing to send free samples.

Honestly, there are so many companies and teas out there that a good way to really explore a bunch is through swaps and tea boxes. That way, you can try before you buy without having to invest in large quantities blindly. Also, look for companies with sample sizes. As I said above, Nina’s has samples and I know Della Terra sells sample sizes as well (you can get a sampler box of 5 teas you want to try).

My favorite types are
1. blacks, flavored or unflavored
2. matchas, especially flavored
3. herbals
4. pu erhs
5. oolongs
6. spice teas (chai)

My favorite brand/companies so far:

1. Adagio (great selection, quality, service, excellent rewards program)
2. Red Leaf (all the Matchas ;_;)
3. Della Terra (everything I’ve tried so far is delicious…)

Favorite places so far:
Serendipitea: (love their buccaneer tea. Still my favorite Roobios)
Culinary Teas: (nice muddied of the road company that gives 1oz sample sizes at great prices)
Adagio: (of course)
Tealux: again great quality and prices for 1oz samples
Rishi: for fruity summer tea blends
Yezitea: for yummy straight teas
Puerh shop: great priced tuochas and cake samples with reasonable shipping. I don’t have anything to compare it to in quality though

Still waiting on a few orders for reviews but I’ve heard awesome things about:
Harney & Sons
Art of Tea
terra delta
Republic of tea
Teavivire and Sloane Tea Company

I agree that sometimes too many bells and whistles can be a turn-off. I am especially wary of “tea” blends which contain only a modicum of real tea, as indicated by its place in the ingredients list…

I just don’t believe that food soaked in water constitutes tea. I’d rather eat my food and drink my tea!