Perusing Persimmon Tree Tea

There seems to be a strong connection between Web technology and tea. I started as a Web Designer who turned to blogging about tea, and several tea vendors I’ve written about here have combined their Web tech skills with selling tea online. Another one is Persimmon Tree Tea.

Melanie Etemadi, the company’s CEO, has expanded on her career as Project Manager at Eyemaginetech.com and as mom to one of the cutest chubby-cheeked babies on Facebook to bring a variety of teas and teawares to customers across the globe.

The Persimmon Tree Tea Website is attractive and easy to navigate. The color scheme is a study in drab, though. I think this is meant to imitate tea colors, having seen a couple of other tea sites with similar schemes. So, I photographed one of the tins their samples came in against my sleek, modern black granite kitchen countertop. Makes that simple little tin look pretty snazzy.

The “About Us” page is part of a growing trend I’m seeing where the people running the company are hidden from consumers. One tea vendor said this was because he has a Facebook page. In Etemadi’s case, her Facebook page doesn’t tell anything about what she knows about tea. Where does she get the teas? Where did she learn about tea? Etc.

Not picking on her or the company here. Most small tea vendors out there are the same way.

Is it just me? Or do you also think it’s important to know about the people who are selling the tea you buy? I’ve looked into the people behind the processors of foods in the grocery store (gee, maybe it is me) and other consumables like toothpaste.

Whatever the story is, based on the teas I saw on the site, Etemadi is on the right track. Loose teas, plenty of them without a bunch of stuff added in to mask their tea flavor, such as Classic Black and Silver Needle, plus a variety of flavored teas. Not to get ahead of myself, but I am anticipating some tasty tea tastings. Watch for them on my companion blog, Little Yellow Teapot Tea Reviews.

Sadly, this is another in a long line of tea companies that touts health benefits of tea without any references. It might be due to the US FDA mandate against tea companies showing these references. Not sure. Whatever the reason, it’s disheartening to see. Having heard recently that the claims made for years about how we should all eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day was instigated by processors of fruits and vegetables, I don’t take anyone’s word anymore.

By the way, the company gets a silver star for the packaging of their samples. The tins (about half the size of normal ones) successfully block light, air, and moisture. As the tea in them gets used, however, air will be trapped in them and affect the tea. Some of the packing material (it’s some kind of “confetti” possibly made of wood) has an odd smell to it. I’m going to remain hopeful that this smell did not seep into the tins.

Their Website: http://www.persimmontreetea.com/

Tea Veterans — Jane Pettigrew

As a tea aficionado devoted to knowing more about this beverage that is becoming an increasingly important part of my life, I am taking a look at some of the people who have been in the “tea trenches” for many years. Their dedication to the Camellia Sinensis plant (the tea bush) and to processing it for a variety of tastes contributes daily to the enjoyment of tea by people the world over. In a way, they are unsung heroes, veterans in the world of tea.

Read the rest of the article on The Taste of English Tea Blog.

Tea and the Movies — “The Assam Garden” with Deborah Kerr

First, I want to say that I have not seen The Assam Garden. The name sounded so intriguing that I had to look it up, plus I’m a fan of Deborah Kerr (pronounced “Car”).

Sadly, unlike the novel Dark Road to Darjeeling, the action does not take place in a tea garden, despite the movie’s title. In fact, the garden does not grow tea. It’s a typical British garden, and Helen (played by Kerr) is trying to win a prestigious gardening award in memory of her late husband.

Let me back up a moment: The story is about a widow who had lived in India in the Assam area with her husband until he died. Then, she returned to Britain to tend her husband’s garden and try to win an award. She gets to know her neighbors (a woman and her ailing husband), who are also from India (natives). A relationship develops between the two women who both miss India. (Beware, though, I hear there is quite a bit of intense gardening action.)

One thing the synopsis makes me think of is what it’s like to live in another country for years and then to leave it behind. I can relate. I still miss some things from my few years spent in Europe. One of those things is a good British tearoom with lace curtains on the windows and a genteel atmosphere for enjoying a rich-tasting pot of tea with fresh, tasty treats.

Hubby and I do our best to recreate that atmosphere here, but our accents aren’t British. Other than that, we do pretty good.

Some of our favorite British tearoom style teas:

• Devonshire Tea (relatively new but very nice)
• PG Tips (been around quite awhile and the taste tells you why)
• Typhoo (the name means “health” and the flavor is brisk)
• Barry’s Gold Blend (rich and caramelly, Ireland’s fave)

Maybe we’ll find a copy of the movie on DVD and watch it while sipping one of the above teas. But how to choose which tea? Hm…eenie meenie minie moe…

Get Liberated with LibreTea

Are you tied to teabags? Get liberated with LibreTea and their steeping mugs. I’ve done three experiments with my mug so far (such fun!) and will be doing some more in the months ahead.

Wendy Weir, CEO and company founder, users her marketing prowess to get the word out to tea drinkers everywhere. Inspired by her observations during a trip to China, Weir returned to Canada and set about establishing the company and promoting it.

The product has been mentioned in press releases and news items. The Website Vancouverisawesome.com touted the mug as a revolution in enjoying loose leaf teas. Namasthé Teas featured it at the Yoga Conference in Vancouver, Canada, in 2009 (that year keeps coming up as one where great tea ventures were started, including my blog). Stories about the company and this unique steeping product appeared about the same time in both the Toronto Star and the Calgary Herald. It seems that whenever anyone gets their hands on one, they start crowing in praise. Moms in both Canada and the U.S. are discovering the joys of taking tasty teas with them in theirs. Also, Wendy spends time on Facebook, Twitter, and her blog making sure you get to know about this liberating mug.

The company really stresses the environmental aspects of their mugs. I want to stress the practical aspects. (I’m just the practical type.) The mug is reusable, saving you money. The mug is clear so you can see what is steeping. The larger mug (which is the one I have) holds enough tea to get you at least from home to the work place. Refill it there and get through even the longest and most boring meeting.

The design is practical. The glass interior surrounded by an insulating poly exterior is quite a nice touch. Glass is always very practical for cleaning and for keeping tastes true. My sensitive tastebuds tend to pick up the flavor imparted by plastics, metals, and similar materials (one reason I don’t like teabags). Ceramics and glass tend to avoid this. Both can conduct heat fairly well, though, so there needs to be a way to keep them cool to the touch. Ceramic mugs have handles. This LibreTea mug has a poly exterior. Of course, they have a new mug design with a handle, which helps keep the heat away from your fingers even more.

A disappointment is that LibreTea offers only one loose tea to steep in their stylish and practical mugs. For now, they seem to be partnering with places that carry teas. Maybe that will be changing in the future (hint hint!).

White tea test
Black tea test
Blooming tea test

Expensive Teas Tease

Expensive teas can be a bit of a tease. They’re pricey up front, making you think they’re fairly elite. Yet, many of them can undergo multiple steepings, so at heart they’re fairly practical and can even be enjoyed on a daily basis. In that case, you can also buy a larger quantity which reduces the per ounce price and makes them even more affordable.

Here are some examples…

Read the rest of the article on The Taste of English Tea Blog.

My experience with this tea and cost calculations:

Young Pu-erh — one of the less expensive pu-erhs (some are priced in the hundreds of dollars for a “brick”); I got 3 tasty infusions and a 4th that was a bit weak. The cost calculates out as follows:

Purchase price:	about $1 per ounce (a lot cheaper than luxury items like caviar)
Amount used per steeping session:	about 1/10th of an ounce
Cost per steeping session:	about 10 cents
No. of cups per steeping session:	4
Cost per cupful:	2.5 cents (try to buy a cup of coffee for that!)

Review Part I, Part II.

Tea Health Authorities Are Not Created Equal

Lots of health claims are out there for tea, and some tea sites even make an effort to substantiate these claims by citing various experts. One of these is Dr. Sanjay Gupta, an assistant professor of neurosurgery.

“Well, well,” I first thought on seeing him pop up on a particular site, “at last, a medical man backing up these claims.” Then, I dug deeper.

Dr. Gupta has done what Dr. Joyce Brothers did: make himself a very public media figure. (Dr. Brothers appeared on TV boundless times, including a memorable cameo spot on Frasier.) And don’t even get me started on Dr. Phil (is there a channel he’s not on?).

Some of Dr. Gupta’s “healthcare” activities:

• Appearing before Congress all aghast that 84,000 chemicals are around us every day and that their effects on our bodies haven’t been studied. (Psst! Dr. Gupta! Our bodies are chemicals! In fact, everything is chemicals!)
• Posing for photos more often than he appears in an operating room or a classroom (he’s even described in a political article as having a “photogenic smile”) — at least it seems that way with the hundreds of posed photos of him online.
• Appearing numerous times on CNN (yeah, they get their scientific reporting right every time — not!) as a paid medical correspondent (I saw a statement that he was chosen based in large part on his appearance).
• Being on Twitter (well, there’s probably a paid intern doing this).
• Withdrawing his name for consideration as Surgeon General under the current White House Administration. (Don’t get too excited. He wasn’t rushing back out of the media spotlight. It was probably because he’s such good buddies with Hilary Clinton and spent a year as her medical advisor.)
• Appearing on CNN to make a statement about how Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords survived her gunshot wound to the head. (The statement was so uninsightful that I was tempted to hurl something at the screen, but reconsidered just in time.)
• Filming his cameo appearance on Contagion with Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, and Gwyneth Paltrow.

After seeing all this, a few things came to mind:

• How does he have time to practice or teach medicine? (I thought it was “Publish or perish,” not “Pose pretty for the cameras and say silly things or perish.”)
• His cameo appearance gives new meaning to the phrase, “I’m not a doctor. I just play one on TV.”
• One has to wonder about his alma mater, the University of Michigan. Didn’t they teach him that we are all made of chemicals and that doctors and the media are not a good mix?

But seriously, folks, I would have been much more impressed if the tea site had quoted people who had actually conducted the studies of tea health effects, instead of this media attention seeker. Please don’t misunderstand. I support his right to choose how to live his life. He could plaster posters of himself along every street in America (as long as he respected the property owners’ rights) or put up a big electric sign in Times Square with his “photogenic smile” beaming down on us all (and paid the electric bill himself). But the tea site’s choice for him as an authority on tea benefits is not the best. In fact, it calls their assertions into question. Sometimes, quoting unreliable sources is worse than quoting none.

P.S. — I didn’t link to some of the articles because I don’t want to get them any kind of promotion. Ditto for why I didn’t link to the tea site that quotes him.

Rocky Mountain High with Element Tea

Denver, Colorado, is nicknamed “The Mile High City.” It sits on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. Pioneers traveling westward for a new start at life reached that point and some decided to stay rather than continue on through the mountains. The city is now home to businesses large and small. One of the smallest (so far) is Element Tea, but if their Website is any indication, their potential for growth is indubitable.

For one thing, they offer a number of premium teas, not a bunch of teas loaded up with fruits, spices, herbs, etc. (some “loaded” teas can be tasty and others not so much so). For another, they’ve actually taken time to learn about tea, what it is, how it’s processed. They have one of the best-designed online tea stores, easy to navigate, steeping instructions, clear descriptions of the teas, even estimations of how many cups of tea you can expect to get out of the amount of tea you’re purchasing (so you can see that these teas aren’t as expensive as you might think — the cost per cupful is far less than a grande tea at places like Starbucks).

They offer some organics but, thankfully, also plenty of regular items.

Element Tea started in April 2009, and the Website was launched in October 2009. That seems to have been a busy time for tea-minded entrepreneurs. (Indie Tea started about the same time, and I started this blog in August 2009.)

Rachael Hoffman and Julia Suiter team to bring some wonderful teas to you, along with some great teawares. I can’t tell you what kind of background each has in tea (other than what is on their site’s “About Us” page), but somewhere along the line they learned what they needed to know to offer such teas as Dragon Well Green, Black Silk, and Assam Satrupa FTGFOP1 in loose form (some bagged teas also available).

One disappointment is that they call Rooibos and herbals by the term “tea,” adding to the confusion that reigns right now in the tea market. Also, like many tea vendor sites, Element Tea touts health benefits without linking to clinical studies, so take these with a big, fat grain of salt (or, better yet, not at all).

Hubby and I will be exploring the samples they sent with great interest and invite you along for the journey.

Their site: http://www.elementtea.com/

Tea Sweetener Roundup

Sweeteners and tea have been in a loving partnership for centuries. In the Southern U.S. “sweet tea” (iced tea with lots of sugar added) reigns supreme. Drinkers of hot tea also find a spoonful or two can relieve that astringency some teas are prone to. So, besides sugar, what are your options? More than you might think at first.

Read the rest of the article on The Taste of English Tea Blog.

Sample Packaging — The Best and the Worst

Samples tea vendors send out for reviewers like me to try aren’t always packaged the same as they would be for you the customer. There are several possible reasons for this:

• The vendor is sending these out at his/her own expense and is trying to reduce that expense.
• The sample size is usually smaller for reviewers than even the samples you can buy from the vendors’ sites.
• The vendor may not have packages small enough for the small amount of tea being sent.
• The vendor is sometimes new to sending out samples and is not sure what kind of packaging to use.

Of course, there are always exceptions. Some of the samples I have received were in full-sized containers. Others were the same sample packages that you can buy on their sites.

Criteria for sample packaging:

• Keep out light, air, moisture, odors
• Keep strong flavorings in the tea sample inside the package, especially important if it is in the same shipping box with other samples
• Resealable, since the reviewer may not use the whole sample for the review
• Can be used for long-term storage

[For me, a container is airtight only if I can squeeze air out before resealing it. Therefore, tins aren’t airtight.]

A rundown of how some tea vendors “stack up”:

BEST – Foil Pouches:

Company	Tula Teas
Pkg Type	Pouch, heat-sealed
Pkg Material	Foil
Airtight*	Yes
Blocks Odors	Yes
Blocks Light	Yes
Resealable	Yes
Store Long-term	Yes

Company	Thunderbolt Teas
Pkg Material	Foil
Airtight*	Yes
Blocks Odors	Yes
Blocks Light	Yes
Resealable	No
Store Long-term	Yes

Company	thepuriTea.com
Pkg Type	Packet, heat-sealed
Pkg Material	Foil
Airtight*	Yes
Blocks Odors	Yes
Blocks Light	Yes
Resealable	No
Store Long-term	Yes

Tea Tins:

Company	Joy’s Teaspoon
Pkg Type	Tin
Pkg Material	Metal
Airtight*	No
Blocks Odors	No
Blocks Light	Yes
Resealable	Yes
Store Long-term	Yes

Company	Adagio
Pkg Type	Tin
Pkg Material	Metal
Airtight*	No
Blocks Odors	No
Blocks Light	Yes
Resealable	Yes
Store Long-term	Yes

Company	Golden Moon
Pkg Type	Tin
Pkg Material	Metal
Airtight*	No
Blocks Odors	No
Blocks Light	Yes
Resealable	Yes
Store Long-term	Yes

Company	Chicago Tea Garden
Pkg Type	Tin
Pkg Material	Metal
Airtight*	No
Blocks Odors	No
Blocks Light	Yes
Resealable	Yes
Store Long-term	Yes

Plastic Pouches/Bags:

Company	Tipu
Pkg Type	Pouch
Pkg Material	Heavy plastic
Airtight*	Yes
Blocks Odors	Yes
Blocks Light	Yes
Resealable	Yes
Store Long-term	Yes

Company	The English Tea Store
Pkg Type	Pouch
Pkg Material	Heavy plastic
Airtight*	Yes
Blocks Odors	Yes
Blocks Light	Partially
Resealable	Yes
Store Long-term	Yes

Company	California Tea House
Pkg Type	Pouch
Pkg Material	Foil, heavy plastic
Airtight*	Yes
Blocks Odors	Yes
Blocks Light	Yes
Resealable	Yes
Store Long-term	Yes

Company	Royal Tea Company
Pkg Type	Pouch
Pkg Material	Foil, heavy plastic
Airtight*	Yes
Blocks Odors	Yes
Blocks Light	No
Resealable	Yes
Store Long-term	Yes

Company	Zhi Tea
Pkg Type	Pouch
Pkg Material	Foil, heavy plastic
Airtight*	Yes
Blocks Odors	Yes
Blocks Light	No
Resealable	Yes
Store Long-term	Yes

Company	Boston Tea Company
Pkg Type	Pouch
Pkg Material	Heavy plastic
Airtight*	Yes
Blocks Odors	Yes
Blocks Light	No
Resealable	Yes
Store Long-term	Yes

Company	Obubu Tea
Pkg Type	Packet
Pkg Material	Plastic
Airtight*	Yes
Blocks Odors	Yes
Blocks Light	No
Resealable	No
Store Long-term	Yes

Company	Two Leaves and a Bud
Pkg Type	Bag
Pkg Material	Plastic
Airtight*	No
Blocks Odors	No
Blocks Light	No
Resealable	Yes
Store Long-term	Yes

Other:

Company	Kalahari
Pkg Type	Packet
Pkg Material	Coated paper
Airtight*	Yes
Blocks Odors	Yes
Blocks Light	Yes
Resealable	No
Store Long-term	Yes

Company	Shui Tea
Pkg Type	Packet
Pkg Material	Foil-lined paper
Airtight*	No
Blocks Odors	No
Blocks Light	Yes
Resealable	No
Store Long-term	Yes

Company	Teatulia
Pkg Type	Pouch
Pkg Material	Paper, foil
Airtight*	Yes
Blocks Odors	Yes
Blocks Light	Yes
Resealable	Yes
Store Long-term	Yes

The Project Manager’s Approach to Tea Tasting

Tea tastings usually are a project and, as such, can be approached like any other project. As a Project Manager, part of my job was to identify the various tasks and sometimes even the various steps to complete each task. Then, I would have to identify “resources,” that is, people who could be part of the team and perform those tasks.

Read the rest of the article on The Taste of English Tea Blog.

“Basic Black” Teawares

Black teawares? “Drab, morose, depressing,” you say. “Classic,” I say. Audrey Hepburn was stunning as Holly Golightly in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” especially in that classic “little black dress.” Of course, Wednesday was rather morbid in “The Addams Family” (both movie and TV series). The difference? Saturation.

Read the rest of the article on The Taste of English Tea Blog.

My classic cast-iron Japanese teapot. Read the story of it.

Tea Kettle Philosophy — A Humorous Word

A lot of great thoughts can occur to you while you’re waiting for that tea kettle to boil. My mind certainly wonders down various paths. The other day, in the midst of that interminable wait, I started thinking how humor works wonders to diffuse what could be an upsetting situation, many of which could occur during the tea steeping process.

Read the rest of the article on The Taste of English Tea Blog.

Going Genmaicha!

One of the best known Japanese green teas is actually a blend of tea and rice. Toasty tea taste goodness. From the first time I tasted it I was hooked and am now totally going Genmaicha!

Well, maybe not totally. But I am drinking quite a bit of it these days.

Read the rest of the article on The Taste of English Tea Blog.

Some versions I’ve tried:

Obubu Tea

The English Tea Store

Two Leaves and a Bud

Getting Artistic with Indie Tea

Las Vegas is known for its casinos, nightclub shows with big-name entertainers, and, of course, the TV show “CSI” (the original version which takes place in this wonder in the desert). Thanks to Carolyn and Mike Johnson, and their daughter, Rachael Wilson, this city also now boasts one of the most artistic and unique small tea vendors around.

The business launched in April, 2009, as a natural extension of their passion for art, entertaining, cooking, and devising their own recipes. Like some of their competitors, the blends are all their own creations, which came about after attending a World Tea Expo and then diving into the business of tea. Carolyn also is ready to show others how to enjoy these blends of tea and other ingredients or even to create their own (she was at the Gaia Flowers holiday gift-making workshop recently, showing attendees how to blend the perfect tea cocktail for the holidays).

Indie Teas has a good marketing plan, keeping their attention on tea drinkers who like a little something artistic in their teacup. A good idea. One thing that is important for a company of their size is to focus on that part of the market that they can address well, instead of trying to compete with the bigger players like Kusmi, Adagio, and TeaGschwendner. Too many businesses start out trying to be all to everyone. Like several others, Indie Tea is in a niche in the tea market: exotically flavored teas. As long as they can present a product that is appealing and worth the price to their customers, they will do well.

Considering that hubby and I are generally steering clear of flavored teas (which all of Indie Tea teas are) and that we also are not too keen on organic stuff (the idea of cow manure in my food makes me shudder, plus, there was an outbreak awhile back of e-coli from organically grown spinach), you might be asking: “So, why are you reviewing some of their teas?” Simple. They take an artistic approach to tea, and both hubby and I are artists. We also did our best to select from their line-up those blends with the fewest additions and with flavors that we know we like. Plus, one of the samples is a straight tea. However it goes, we are always objective and will give these blends a fair taste test.

Their samples came in the cutest clear plastic tubes. However, for long-term storage, we recommend that you put the teas into airtight, light-blocking containers, since these tubes are neither.

Indie Tea was recently spotlighted on “Tea Guy Speaks,” a blog by William I. Lengeman III, as part of his series. (I started posting write-ups here when I received samples to review to give you, the reader, a bit more background on where that tea comes from and who the people are behind it.)

Tea Traditions — “High Tea” Then and Now

“High Tea” has changed since it began in the 1600s. This evolution has taken a strong turn from its origins. These days, many tea rooms in the U.S. tout “High Tea” as their most special tea of the day, a time to serve taste-tempting dishes like crab salad with mint and lime and dress up fancy, all the way to hats and white gloves. But was it meant to be this way? The word “high” in “High Tea” could be the culprit here. A look at where the term comes from will add a bit of clarity and show how far tea rooms have veered from the original “High Tea.”

Read the rest of the article on The Taste of English Tea Blog.

Types of Tea Vendors

Tea vendors (the people whose main focus is the selling of tea as opposed to the growing and processing of tea) come in several general types, or so I’ve been observing. Finally, I’ve gotten around to putting down a few of those observances for the benefit of my fellow tea drinkers.

Just so you know, there is no judging of value here. The market for tea in the U.S. is a big one and growing every day. These vendors all have the challenge and choice of giving the customers what they want and/or helping customers grow in their general knowledge of tea. Also, every tea drinker has his/her preference, whether it’s a fruity blend such as The Boston Tea Company’s Ginger, Peach, & Apricot Black Tea or an artisan tea such as thepuriTea.com’s Ti Kuan Yin Oolong.

First of all, these companies vary in size from one-person operations to having hundreds of employees. Some have been around for as long as 163 years and some as short as a year. They also range from vendors who bring stuff to market that has the label “tea” slapped on it despite having 0% of the content coming from the tea bush (Camellia Sinensis) to vendors who source directly from specific tea gardens and processors.

Some big, everything-tea-for-everyone vendors
These companies try to come up with every flavoring they can add to their teas as possible. Their theory seems to be that more people will drink tea if the taste is covered up by a bunch of stuff (fruits, florals, vanilla, chocolate, etc.). Some of them also carry some straight (unflavored) teas, even a few that are more artisan. Some examples are:

• Celestial Seasons
• Teavana
• Kusmi
• TeaGschwendner
• The Republic of Tea
• Bigelow
• Lipton

Some vendors with a number of flavored teas but also straight teas
These companies sport a lot of quality straight (unflavored) teas but also a number of flavored teas. Some examples are:

• The English Tea Store
• The Boston Tea Company
• Adagio
• Golden Moon Teas
• Element Tea

Some smaller vendors that focus on high-quality teas
Often, these vendors are one- or two-person operations. They focus on bringing high-quality teas, sometimes from tea grown in a single tea garden, to their tea-loving customers who want an alternative to the big vendors’ offerings. They may also carry non-teas such as guayusa and maté. Some examples are:

• Thunderbolt Tea (strictly Darjeeling teas from a select number of gardens
• Obubu Tea (teas from the Obubu tea gardens near Kyoto, Japan)
• thepuriTea.com
• Canton Tea
• Tula Teas
• Chicago Tea Garden
• Shui Teas
• California Tea House
• The Royal Tea Company
• Two Leaves and a Bud
• Zhi Tea

Some smaller vendors that focus on uniquely flavored teas
Vendors that focus on creating quirky, unique, or just downright unusual flavored tea blends. They try to compete in the tea market based on those flavors. Some examples are:

• Indie Teas
• Joy’s Teaspoon
• Madam Potts
• Tipu’s Chai (mainly authentic Indian spiced tea)

Many tea vendors out there (including some named above) also are very bad about distorting the term “tea” by labeling everything with it, even their products made from chamomile, Rooibos, honeybush, guayusa, maté, etc. Fortunately, some vendors maintain a clear difference between true teas made from the tea bush (Camellia Sinensis) and tisanes and herbal infusions.

Some vendors focus on political issues, like Fair Trade, Organic, carbon footprints, etc. Personally, I never regard these as reasons to choose buying from one company versus another. The quality of their products and the value they give in exchange for the price customers pay for those products is what matters, at least to me. It just seems rational. (Of course, if I find that the teas are coming from someone who has workers chained to the tea processing tables or whatever, I would avoid buying from them.)

Check out these and other great tea vendors for yourself. Most are well worth the time.

Soon, I’ll be looking at some of the blogs these companies host in conjunction with their store sites.

The Ethics of Tea Reviews

Just as there is value in tea reviews, I would like to present my take on the ethics that should guide them.

Ethics is basically a sense of right and wrong. Some things are right to do when reviewing teas, and some are wrong.

Examples:

• Right — Give a tea sample a fair shake by being as objective as possible in the review.
• Wrong — Use the review as a weapon to get back at the tea vendor (or tearoom owner) for some disagreement between you.

My personal ethics when reviewing a tea:

• Acknowledge my own prejudices and preconceptions regarding the tea and do my best to set them aside.
• If I feel that I cannot set them aside, let the tea vendor know that I will not be reviewing the tea (or rooibos, guayusa, etc.).
• Better yet, let the tea vendor know up front that certain of their products are not in line with my tastes and would, therefore, not be items I could give a reasonable review.
• Approach the review in a serious and organized manner, including learning a bit about the tea (if it’s one I haven’t tried before) before trying it.
• Conduct the review myself (ably assisted by hubby and Little Yellow Teapot, of course).
• If by any chance I have an altercation with the tea vendor, let my emotions cool before trying the tea so that I can remain objective in my evaluation.

Some of the dilemmas I have dealt with so far:

• Vendors have sent me something containing rooibos after I posted the proviso on Little Yellow Teapot Tea Reviews that we would only be reviewing true teas.
• Some samples of finer teas have arrived in bagged vs. loose form. Sometimes this was my fault for not being specific, and sometimes it was the tea vendor’s. Solution: cut open the bag and try steeping the tea loose. Tea vendors have generally reacted positively to this, especially since they knew I wasn’t being mean or spiteful.
• A tea vendor and I disagreed on something I had posted. What was disturbing was how they approached me about it. Things got a bit heated on both sides. At the time, I still had several samples from them to review. My ethics required me to cool off before reviewing those samples so that I could stay objective. So I did. And the results so far have been quite favorable.

I’ve gotten into the habit of giving the tea vendor a list of teas off their site that I’d be interested in trying as a way of avoiding receiving something that I would not like to try. These samples cost the company sending them, so I have a real struggle deciding to pass on any of them. For example, a sample of guayusa was sent, and I had to pass on it. Now, I am close to passing on a couple of others that were sent but that weren’t on my list of suggestions (because they contain things I don’t want to imbibe or the vendor will not say what is in them).

Just passing this along for whatever it’s worth.