# Online Tea Specialists!



## CoffeeChris (Dec 2, 2011)

Does anyone know if a list exists to purchase Loose Tea online (like the roaster list over on the coffee forums)


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## cjbailey1 (Jan 17, 2011)

I can highly recommend Lahloo, Waterloo Tea and Canton Tea.

http://www.lahlootea.co.uk/

http://www.cantonteaco.com/

http://www.waterlootea.com/


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

Not sure about a list but I really like Quilliam Brothers tea. They're a family run business based in Newcastle. Great selection of teas on their website - http://www.quilliambrothers.com

Michael

Fun in a Cup Coffee Training


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## RolandG (Jul 25, 2010)

No list as such - but there are lots of good tea sellers out there. One's I've used at some point but not mentioned yet include:

http://www.pekoetea.co.uk/

http://www.postcardteas.com/

http://www.wanlingteahouse.com/

http://www.everymanteaco.com/

I visited East Teas at Borough Market on saturday, who also do mail order - http://www.eastteas.com/ - and they sell excellent teas (content partially crosses over with Postcard Teas).


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## CoffeeChris (Dec 2, 2011)

Thanks for the links everyone. The have noticed a massive difference with prices. E. G canton tea and suki tea and smaller local tea shops. is there a quality difference or just smaller companies being more competitive?

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2


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## RolandG (Jul 25, 2010)

inaboxmedia said:


> Thanks for the links everyone. The have noticed a massive difference with prices. E. G canton tea and suki tea and smaller local tea shops. is there a quality difference or just smaller companies being more competitive?
> 
> Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2


There are definitely quality differences - the tea names don't define quality generally, just the style of tea. One source of info is http://www.steepster.com , which has users reviews of teas - it's not comprehensive, but can give a clue. Bear in mind that, as with many speciality products, going from £2 per x to £4 per x will have a bigger impact than going from £4 per to £6 per x would. That said, it also depends to some extent what kind of tea you're looking for - many of the more expensive black teas wouldn't take milk well, for example.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre3 using Forums


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## CoffeeChris (Dec 2, 2011)

Ok....For example just looking at Assam......Suki Tea Fairtrade Assam is £3.99 per 100g. Note this is fairtrade. Canton Tea. Organic Assam Second Flush is £8 per 100g and a shop in nottingham lee-rosy is £2.95 per 100g. I know its unfair to compare Organic and Fairtrade...But comparing most black teas seems to be around the same kind of prices.

Im new to loose tea...So was just wondering if some are charging more because they are a 'bigger company' with more overheads or is there a quality in suppliers.

I guess the best way is to try them and see if I notice the difference!


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## CoffeeChris (Dec 2, 2011)

I have two more questions!

1. Any good books on tea?

2. I know with coffee theres different process's when drying...Is this the same with tea? or is it the quality of the plants?


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## RolandG (Jul 25, 2010)

inaboxmedia said:


> Ok....For example just looking at Assam......Suki Tea Fairtrade Assam is £3.99 per 100g. Note this is fairtrade. Canton Tea. Organic Assam Second Flush is £8 per 100g and a shop in nottingham lee-rosy is £2.95 per 100g. I know its unfair to compare Organic and Fairtrade...But comparing most black teas seems to be around the same kind of prices.
> 
> Im new to loose tea...So was just wondering if some are charging more because they are a 'bigger company' with more overheads or is there a quality in suppliers.
> 
> I guess the best way is to try them and see if I notice the difference!


Try and see is always best! That said, the difference in prices is generally reflective of the grade of tea you're getting. Assam is a very broad term - think of it a bit like a Brazilian Coffee. It gives you an idea of the flavour profile to expect, but not the quality. Canton mentions Second Flush - that's a bit like giving the crop year for a coffee, they know when it was picked. My personal favourite for black teas like Assam is Waterloo (disclaimer - I work for HasBean, who sell Waterloo teas, and I've met the owner, Kas - so I'm biased). Their top Assam is £7 for 50g. One thing that you can look for is the grade for the tea - black teas have a formal grading system, which for the Waterloo tea above is FTGFOP1 (Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe - yeah, the names for the grades are very obscure!). Another thing to look for is the name of the farm/estate it was grown on - i.e. Canton's second flush assam is from Mothola Tea Estate.



inaboxmedia said:


> I have two more questions!
> 
> 1. Any good books on tea?


My best book I've come across is The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook, followed by Tea Classified.



inaboxmedia said:


> 2. I know with coffee theres different process's when drying...Is this the same with tea? or is it the quality of the plants?


There are 6 classes of tea - white, green, yellow, oolong, black & pu-erh. Each class of tea indicates a different process of making it from freshly picked leaves into the finished product.


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## CoffeeChris (Dec 2, 2011)

Thanks for the reply and help! Will get those books on order!

How do I find out about the grading system? Have had a look on my canton teas but cant seem to find anything?

Thanks for the steepster website also....

Any other good sites around?


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## RolandG (Jul 25, 2010)

There's a wikipedia article - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_pekoe#section_2 - on the black tea grading system, but the books are probably an easier (and more easily understood!) read.









Unfortunately, there's rarely a lot of information about the teas we buy. If a website hasn't specified a grade or other information, you can e-mail, but teas are often supplied with a lot less provenance information than we've got used to expecting from speciality coffee.

I haven't found any other websites besides steepster, but let me know if you do!









-- Sent from my Palm Pre3 using Forums


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## CoffeeChris (Dec 2, 2011)

Quick question about infusions for black tea. Is it true that you can get at least two infusions from black tea? Suki tea people were saying that I can only get one. But canton are saying at least two to three.

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## RolandG (Jul 25, 2010)

It depends on the quality of the tea and the ratio of tea leaves to water.

Black teas tend to suit multiple infusions less well than other teas, however higher quality black teas can give two or three reasonably tasty infusions. To do that, try using more leaf for the same amount of water, and brewing for a shorter time. This is the Chinese style of brewing (also called gong fu brewing). (what are you brewing your tea in? This is tough to do with large tea pots, for example)

I quite often prefer the 2nd or 3rd infusion of oolongs, green, yellow and white teas, but I haven't usually enjoyed later infusions of black teas as much as the first infusion.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre3 using Forums


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## CoffeeChris (Dec 2, 2011)

I've got a piao I tea infuser and a small suki tea pot on its way with a 2003 vintage Puerh to try.

Sent from my HTC One S using Tapatalk 2


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## joshc (Nov 6, 2012)

I have ordered products from them. Good service and products.

http://www.pekoetea.co.uk/

http://www.nuvolatea.com/en



inaboxmedia said:


> Does anyone know if a list exists to purchase Loose Tea online (like the roaster list over on the coffee forums)


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## CoffeeChris (Dec 2, 2011)

Anyone used j.atkinson, just had there breakfast blend.... Very fine. Ground really.... Is there a difference between whole leaf and ground tea? Wished it was stated. As it just seeps through my teapot caddy

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## tea-tea.co.uk (Mar 25, 2013)

You can find a large selection of flavoured and unflavoured loose teas at http://www.tea-tea.co.uk with very low worldwide shipping costs.


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## WMTKevin (Nov 13, 2013)

Hello! Saw some old questions here, well covered by RolandG, but since this was the first thing that I found when searching for "tea forums UK" I thought I'd add my 2 cents, as a (small!) tea retailer.

Firstly, as mentioned, terms like 'Assam' are very broad. But even on a more specific level, there can be a big difference. I specialise in Korean green tea, and source it directly from the producers. From only one specific farm, the wholesale price of the very first picking (roughly mid April) is around 10x the price of the last picking (late May - by the way, Korean tea has its own distinct grading system). These are leaves from the same plants, produced by the same people, using the same method. The early pickings yield tiny leaves which are prized for their taste, and are picked in much smaller quantities, therefore they are more expensive. Rare things always are, no matter what the market is, right? I suspect the difference might be even more pronounced in Far Eastern countries, as tea appreciation is so deeply a part of traditional culture. Okakura Kakuzo's "The Book of Tea" was the first tea classic aimed at explaining all this to the western reader, I believe you can get a Kindle version free on Amazon. Regarding Korean tea, "The Korean Way of Tea" by Brother Anthony of Taize and Hong Kyeong-Hee is delightful and informative.

I do detail the provenance of the teas I sell, but as RolandG pointed out, there is often a lack of information. It's getting better, as interest in loose leaf tea seems to be increasing. But there are still a lot of people who aren't entirely clear what the difference between green and black tea is, let alone the difference between two teas from the same farm in a small village in Korea.

There is a whole lot of variety in the world of tea, which is good, as it's delicious









P.S. Kyle548 - Got your private message but I can't reply as I have under 5 posts and don't want to post a bunch of junk just to get there. Thanks for the advice, post edited as you can see. Sorry about that. I love mugicha too, used to drink it a lot when I lived in Korea (called boricha there), have to admit I've never tried hojicha though!


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## Guest (Dec 2, 2013)

For Loose leaf Darjeeling Teas visit Darjeeling Tea Boutique.


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## Guest (Dec 2, 2013)

Darjeeling Tea Boutique specializes in Darjeeling Teas only.

This member has not contacted the admin prior to advertising his product and is in breach of the advertising rules


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

Guyfromdarjeeling - I assume as your still advertising that you have contacted the site admin and paid the appropriate fees? If not please stop posting about your companies tea.


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## origmarm (Mar 7, 2012)

How is this darjeeling joker not banned yet?


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

I PM'd him the advertising rates earlier. I couldn't be less subtle!

Personally I would rather he didn't post on here again.... EVER!... P*ss taker


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Stupid me, I gave him the benefit of the doubt as I really don't like banning people.

He's being dealt with now


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## hilltopbrews (May 17, 2013)

I get mine from http://www.theteamakers.co.uk love their jasmine pearl, vanilla rooibos and lapsang souchong


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