Another Online Tea Vendor: Teaflection

Everyone is jumping on the tea bandwagon, it seems. New online tea vendors sprout like mushrooms. Some, like Shui Tea, Mad Pots of Tea!, and Chicago Tea Garden, are small operations focused on unique, high quality teas and herbals. Others are part of a group of online stores run by one company, such as The English Tea Store which is part of Online Stores, Inc.

A big media campaign is being waged to promote a relative newcomer in this online tea sales arena: Teaflection.com. The site was launched in September 2009 and falls into the category of one store as part of a group. Media Relations contact Heather Johnston has made sure the word has gotten out through such networking sites as Facebook and Twitter and by offering free samples to review.

My sample (Chinese Hyson Green Tea) arrived recently, and was reviewed on Little Yellow Teapot Tea Reviews.

With so many new online tea vendors popping up, and with no information on this company arriving with the tea sample, I decided to see what I could find out. I must confess the search turned up both some puzzling items and some interesting ones.

Teaflection is one of several stores under the umbrella company Groovy Stores, LLC. The names of the owners are not listed online. However, Ms. Johnston is listed as not only the Media Relations contact for Groovy Stores but also the Administrative Assistant for Neboweb, a web design company at the exact same address: 1031 Marietta Street NW, Suite B, Atlanta, GA 30318. This leads me to think there is a connection between them (other than just shared office space). The CEO of Neboweb is William Easter, and the President is Adam Harrell, according to the Better Business Bureau of Atlanta, GA.

I only found a couple of press releases, but they appear on a multitude of public relations sites, showing that Ms. Johnston is doing her job diligently. She states that their tea selection is “expansive,” but I personally found it limited, compared with other tea vendors like Adagio and The English Tea Store.

Tea categories listed are:

• Black Tea
• Chai Tea
• Chinese Tea
• Decaf Tea
• English Tea
• Flavored Tea
• Green Tea
• Super Premium Green Teas
• Herbal Tea
• Tisane Teas
• Holiday Tea
• Loose Leaf Tea
• Oolong Tea
• Organic Tea
• Rooibos Tea
• Tazo Tea
• Yerba Mate Tea

The editor in me noted lots of misspellings, but that is getting quite common on most Websites these days. I’m not sure whether it’s carelessness, a lack of professionalism, or a staff shortage. Also, they, like many tea vendors, whitewash their products with the name “tea,” even the herbals, rooibos, and tisanes. For some reason, they include Tazo “ready made” teas among the loose leaf teas. I also found it odd to see Formosa Oolong in the Black Tea category, especially since they have an Oolong Tea category. Other teas were also listed in multiple categories. An attempt to make their selection look larger?

I’m a bit turned off by the hippie approach to marketing on the main site but am happy that Teaflection.com looks fairly normal. Unfortunately, they tout various health benefits for their teas but without any links to clinical studies. This is becoming a worrisome trend with tea vendors. I tend to agree with other members of the Association of Tea Bloggers that such studies should be referenced when these health claims are made. However, I also subscribe to caveat emptor (“buyer beware”) and, from my own sense of personal responsibility, I do not accept such claims without something scientific evidence backing them up.

Also, Teaflection.com claims that they are “different than other online retailers and giant companies that mark up their products to turn a larger profit at the expense of the customer.” I find their prices to be about the same as similar vendors. As a supporter of the free market, I don’t buy the story that big companies try to overcharge their customers. Competition makes sure that doesn’t happen, especially now that you can go online and find dozens of vendors for a particular product, like tea. Maybe their statement is meant to be in line with the hippie attitude of their umbrella company. (The homepage states “Another great way to stick it to the man!” Rather childish.)

Overall, I prefer Online Stores’ The English Tea Store. They have a bigger selection, plus teawares, foods, etc. Also, I was able to find out easily who the owners are. To me, that means they really stand behind their products.

On a comic note, Ms. Johnston happens to have the same name as a couple of other Heather Johnstons in the Atlanta area I found online. One is a former member of a punk rock band called The Drownout. The other was one of the Barbie Bandits. Of course, when I search on my own name, you should see what comes up!

In summary, they seem to have great teas marketed in a quirky way amid unsubstantiated claims that they have the lowest pricing and that their teas are healthy. Make of that what you will.

Disclaimer: I am a paid guest blogger on The English Tea Store's two blog sites and receive free tea samples from them occasionally to review on Little Yellow Teapot Tea Reviews.