I've been ordering from Upton Tea Imports for over 20 years. They sell hundreds of kinds of teas - black, green, flavored, tisanes - as well as accessories for tea lovers (tea pots, strainers, etc.). Shipping is reasonable, takes about 2 days to arrive, and the quality is excellent.

I have never been in Teavana, so I don't know how the price compares. I just received an order of tea from Upton that cost about $35 for 750 total grams of tea (about a 1.5 lbs), which will last us about two months at a rate of 7-9 pots per week.

You can look at www.uptontea.com and see if anything strikes your fancy.

Cheers.

fuck tea and your patrick bateman-esque post

I am another Harney and Sons fan (I order online) ...my favorite is Cinnamon Spice - but they have plenty of flavors. They carry both loose tea and tea bags. If you want to try beforehand, I believe it the tea Einstein Bagels uses (it was how I discovered it).

Well, for those of us who need to buy local instead of becoming tea farmers....I buy Turkish tea (Caykur Rize) at a local bakery/grocer (Cenan's in Vienna) very strong tea, very inexpensive (about $4 for about a 1 lb bag)...if that's not convenient for you...check out whatever international grocer might be near you to see what they have.

Anonymous wrote:

Tamil ladies? did you get them from Jaffna? Sinhalese maybe. I smell a rat.

Please do not question my bona fides. I think you will find that the Hill country Tamils are quite the best at managing tea - and certainly not to be confused with either the Ceylonese Tamils of the North and East, or the Sinhalese.

Until recently it was widely held that would could not even grow chilies in Jaffna, nor onions by the sea. That they do at all is testament to the skills of the Jaffna farmer. But they know nothing of tea, of course. That is the preserve of the up-country Tamils.

1. Agree that Wegmans has great loose leaf tea. They generally have a decent selection of organic and decaf, too (and rooibos, yay!)

2. Williams Sonoma carries Fortnum and Mason -- by far the best tea on the planet -- but only a few types. Worth checking out if you like Earl Grey, Breakfast, or whatever else they carry!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find that commercially-grown tea can tend to have a chalky aftertaste.

After doing a bit of research I have leased around 1/4 acre in Ceylon, near Badulla. It had never been farmed before so I knew it was free of pesticide residue. For a few hundred dollars some village women have cleared and planted a few dozen bushes, which are more than sufficient to satisfy my hot beverage needs.

Yes, it is a little more trouble than barrelling down to Safeway in your Explorer, but this is the only way you control the elevation, harvest time etc. to ensure the perfect cup of tea.

Do you even live in this universe? Talk about Princess and the Pea.

Thanks, Alice Waters. Way to be totally oblivious.

I don't understand the vitriol this post has engendered.
If it is a crime to demand quality, then I guess yes, I am guilty. Let them take me away.
But I can assure you that I am far from oblivious. I am very conscious of the results of my actions. Thanks to my investment, several Tamil ladies now have some hard cash in their pockets to spend on their food or healthcare needs or what-have-you. Ladies, I might add, who may have a way with tea, but have very few other marketable skills.

Now, I think you owe me an apology.

Tamil ladies? did you get them from Jaffna? Sinhalese maybe. I smell a rat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find that commercially-grown tea can tend to have a chalky aftertaste.

After doing a bit of research I have leased around 1/4 acre in Ceylon, near Badulla. It had never been farmed before so I knew it was free of pesticide residue. For a few hundred dollars some village women have cleared and planted a few dozen bushes, which are more than sufficient to satisfy my hot beverage needs.

Yes, it is a little more trouble than barrelling down to Safeway in your Explorer, but this is the only way you control the elevation, harvest time etc. to ensure the perfect cup of tea.

This has got to be a joke.

Should have bought in Nuwara-Eliya instead

Wegmans. They have a wonderful loose tea department.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find that commercially-grown tea can tend to have a chalky aftertaste.

After doing a bit of research I have leased around 1/4 acre in Ceylon, near Badulla. It had never been farmed before so I knew it was free of pesticide residue. For a few hundred dollars some village women have cleared and planted a few dozen bushes, which are more than sufficient to satisfy my hot beverage needs.

Yes, it is a little more trouble than barrelling down to Safeway in your Explorer, but this is the only way you control the elevation, harvest time etc. to ensure the perfect cup of tea.

Do you even live in this universe? Talk about Princess and the Pea.

Thanks, Alice Waters. Way to be totally oblivious.

I don't understand the vitriol this post has engendered.
If it is a crime to demand quality, then I guess yes, I am guilty. Let them take me away.
But I can assure you that I am far from oblivious. I am very conscious of the results of my actions. Thanks to my investment, several Tamil ladies now have some hard cash in their pockets to spend on their food or healthcare needs or what-have-you. Ladies, I might add, who may have a way with tea, but have very few other marketable skills.

Now, I think you owe me an apology.

I adore you. Please post more often.

PP I thought your post was a spoof. It kinda sounded like copy Elaine would have written for the J. Peterman catalog on Seinfeld.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find that commercially-grown tea can tend to have a chalky aftertaste.

After doing a bit of research I have leased around 1/4 acre in Ceylon, near Badulla. It had never been farmed before so I knew it was free of pesticide residue. For a few hundred dollars some village women have cleared and planted a few dozen bushes, which are more than sufficient to satisfy my hot beverage needs.

Yes, it is a little more trouble than barrelling down to Safeway in your Explorer, but this is the only way you control the elevation, harvest time etc. to ensure the perfect cup of tea.

Do you even live in this universe? Talk about Princess and the Pea.

Thanks, Alice Waters. Way to be totally oblivious.

I don't understand the vitriol this post has engendered.
If it is a crime to demand quality, then I guess yes, I am guilty. Let them take me away.
But I can assure you that I am far from oblivious. I am very conscious of the results of my actions. Thanks to my investment, several Tamil ladies now have some hard cash in their pockets to spend on their food or healthcare needs or what-have-you. Ladies, I might add, who may have a way with tea, but have very few other marketable skills.

Now, I think you owe me an apology.

Anonymous wrote:I find that commercially-grown tea can tend to have a chalky aftertaste.

After doing a bit of research I have leased around 1/4 acre in Ceylon, near Badulla. It had never been farmed before so I knew it was free of pesticide residue. For a few hundred dollars some village women have cleared and planted a few dozen bushes, which are more than sufficient to satisfy my hot beverage needs.

Yes, it is a little more trouble than barrelling down to Safeway in your Explorer, but this is the only way you control the elevation, harvest time etc. to ensure the perfect cup of tea.

This has got to be a joke.

Anonymous wrote:I find that commercially-grown tea can tend to have a chalky aftertaste.

After doing a bit of research I have leased around 1/4 acre in Ceylon, near Badulla. It had never been farmed before so I knew it was free of pesticide residue. For a few hundred dollars some village women have cleared and planted a few dozen bushes, which are more than sufficient to satisfy my hot beverage needs.

Yes, it is a little more trouble than barrelling down to Safeway in your Explorer, but this is the only way you control the elevation, harvest time etc. to ensure the perfect cup of tea.

Do you even live in this universe? Talk about Princess and the Pea.

Thanks, Alice Waters. Way to be totally oblivious.

I find that commercially-grown tea can tend to have a chalky aftertaste.

After doing a bit of research I have leased around 1/4 acre in Ceylon, near Badulla. It had never been farmed before so I knew it was free of pesticide residue. For a few hundred dollars some village women have cleared and planted a few dozen bushes, which are more than sufficient to satisfy my hot beverage needs.

Yes, it is a little more trouble than barrelling down to Safeway in your Explorer, but this is the only way you control the elevation, harvest time etc. to ensure the perfect cup of tea.