Intimidated by tea....
Ok. I’m brand new here. For years I purchased box tea bags and wondered why they were always bitter. Fast forward. Last year I found Teavana while in another state. I returned this year and I’m obsessed. Not kidding. In the past week I’ve spent about $300 on teas from teavana. And purchased a Breville one touch tea maker- it was my birthday present. So here’s my question- I’d like to venture out and purchase another brand. Prefer organic. But I’m afraid I won’t like it. How do you pick a tea online (and from what company?) I kinda know what to expect with teavana. Thanks for any help for a newbie!!
Oh my. I may as well tell you now that there’s not a whole lot of love for Teavana around here. Even if there’s a specific blend or type of tea that you like, you can often find it elsewhere cheaper.
There are a few companies that are very popular on Steepster – Butiki (though they’re closing so move fast), Teavivre (will give you free samples for review), Mandala, Whispering Pines, Della Terra (especially for dessert teas), 52teas, Yunnan Sourcing, DavidsTea. I’m sure that I missed a few, but those are the ones that come to mind when I think about which reviews show up on my dashboard most often.
Is there a particular kind of tea you’re interested in? Green, white, oolong, black, pu’erh, fruity, dessert-like, Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Indian, Kenyan, etc.?
Also, I’m totally jealous of your Breville.
Thanks for the reply. I’ve been to a couple of those sites but then I’m lost. I don’t know where to go from there. I love Chai tea. White seems to not be strong enough for me but I do like Teavanas white chai. I like hot teas. So I’m thinking fruity is out of the question. I have the four seasons oolong and really like it as well. I would stay away from black due to the caffeine. From there I’m lost. Thanks for any help. :)
I’m sorry to say that most of the information on caffeine out there is not correct and the ‘rule of thumb’ that black tea has the most caffeine can range from a little wrong to horribly inaccurate. Any of the types of tea can have a lot or a little caffeine and it’s due to a lot of factors that we usually don’t have information on. Just something to keep in mind (and sorry to make it more difficult).
Congrats – you are officially a teaholic! I don’t usually buy organic but there is a place in Michigan that I’ve been to called Light of Day. I find organic costs more and at this point it doesn’t matter to me. I think TeaGschwedner has some organic too, but not positive. As for buying online, just try to get samples or small amounts to try things. You can also post in the swap thread and exchange samples with other members.
Check out the places tab on the top of your page, plug in your city state or zip code and it will come up with nearby tea stores, shops, etc. Sometimes there won’t be much, but you don’t know till you try. Also, sometimes you can find loose leaf tea or higher quality bagged tea at grocery stores, fruit markets, bookstores, sometimes kitchen supply stores, TJMaxxx occasionally will carry some of the fancier brands like Mariage Freres (Sp?)or Fanchon. Many companies have reasonably priced samples, like Fusion, Della Terra. Georgia Tea Company as well.
If you check the tea companies section, sometimes there are good sales, and the companies offer tea samples for review. Besides what Kaylee mentioned, I like Lupicia (but they really only have a few store locations).
You are starting off well if you got a Breville. I got mine after about a year in the tea world. :D It makes all the difference in the taste of teas.
One way to get to know what you like and try some different companies is to try swapping with some people. If you would like, follow me and we can pm and set up a swap. :)
Thanks Carol. Your the first person I’m following. Still learning this site. Very excited about my tea journey. I don’t think I know enough about teas or have enough to swap. How does that work?
There is also those who sometimes will sell some of their stash, like say a few grams to ounces of anywhere from 1-100 or even more. And most of the time the prices would be really cheap.
Teavana: Like someone else said, Teavana does not have a good rep here, however there are many here that are Teavana customers, like me…even though I havn’t been in a long while…though due to lack of moola and wanting to branch out more.
Check the Database on this site lots of stuff in there. Welcome to Steepster! lots of good people on here and good sellers as well. Say goodbye wallet as I have.
LOL! Yes, Hubby has found that part out already! Thanks for the welcome.
It’s a bit late now but I’ll throw in my usual suggestion to slow down. It’s easy to spend a lot, and buy a lot of tea but it can be harder to actually enjoy all the teas you’ve bought. I know there are people that swear by their Brevilles, and others that regret the cost or avoid them in the first place. I’m obviously the latter, but if you want it and can afford it, enjoy it. The same goes for Teavana, or any other store. What matters is what works for you, but buying a lot of stuff doesn’t necessarily help as much as it seems.
If you’ve got a number of teas already, try them. See what you like. Flavours or straight tea? Green or black or white or oolong or puerh or yellow or purple or other things I am forgetting. Then break it down more – teas from different locations and elevations taste different. For example, I love Chinese blacks but don’t like Indian blacks. I don’t like green in general, but some Chinese greens are okay. Japanese greens are right out. It took me a long time to learn what I even like, so I bought a lot of tea that if I had paid attention I would have known I was not likely to enjoy. There are tonnes of great online tea shops but I think the best thing to do is find out what you like or what you want to try before you try them all out.
Steepster makes it especially easy to get caught up in the spending sprees, but there can be regrets and eventually undrank tea getting stale. And tea is a terrible thing to waste. :)
So true! Thank you. I just purchased a ton from teavana. Two of the ones I bought online are awful!! One really taste like cough syrup! I was thinking of starting a tea journal. That might help. Thanks again.
SAMPLES SAMPLES SAMPLES! Teavana is horrible for making you buy a 2oz minimum. Go to a shop that’ll sell you no more than 1 oz, or 0.5 an oz (or around 10 to 30 grams) so you can try it without dropping a ton of cash. Only buy samples unless you know you will like it – resist buying more even if it is a deal.
Lots of good sellers do samples or sell in 1oz sizes, just to name a few:
Upton Tea
New Mexico Tea Co
Teavivre
Mandala Tea
Verdant
Taiwan Tea Crafts
In store:
DavidsTea (not online)
Since you are new, be sure to grab all the cheap goodies for new buyers
Den’s tea green tea sampler $3 http://www.denstea.com/bnew-to-dens-teab-3-green-tea-sampler-for-novices-c-377_386.html
Verdant 5 for 5 (once its in stock) http://verdanttea.com/teas/5-for-5-tea-samples/
New Mexico Tea Company will let you choose one free sample per month. With your order.
I also recommend Teasenz (www.teasenz.com). They’ll send you 5 1-oz samples of tea (your choice) completely free – no shipping cost, either.
Welcome to Steepster. Everyone has already given some great advise and I totally agree about the sample thing. Just buy in small sample size quantities. Your tastes will change over time. Pick any of the companies mentioned and go with a small order. Before you know it, your cupboard will be overloaded (like the rest of us!).
When I was really getting into trying new kinds of tea I ordered a ton of the sample sizes from Upton, most were pretty inexpensive and they had a lot to choose from. That and I just ordered the top rated teas on the front page of steepster that sounded good.
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