So how do you difine a 'good' tea....? Remember I'm new to this.
A Coffee and/or Tea Pass?
- Thread starter TimmyBoston
- Start date
Has a good flavor that doesn't require the addition of sugar or other substances, smells nice, not bitter. That's my list of requirements. I had the pleasure of having real tea from a friend's step-father's plantation a while back and drank two pots by myself. This stuff steeped for an hour and never got bitter and was naturally sweet. Unfortunately, it's now the benchmark I compare all other teas against.
"Good" tea is anything you like that you don't put sugar or milk in (as M. Cat Wrapper says), and also which isn't scented or flavoured with something wacky.
Just tea leaves, in other words! No-one's going to complain whatever you contribute, though, it's a friendly affair.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
Just tea leaves, in other words! No-one's going to complain whatever you contribute, though, it's a friendly affair.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
"Good" tea is anything you like that you don't put sugar or milk in (as M. Cat Wrapper says), and also which isn't scented or flavoured with something wacky.
Just tea leaves, in other words! No-one's going to complain whatever you contribute, though, it's a friendly affair.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
It's quite a compliment when the Earl of Grey agrees with me.
Generally something you have to go to a specialty shop for - vs. something you find on the supermarket shelves. Not that there's anything wrong with supermarket teas - just that the teas for a pass should be stuff that people havent' tried and should be of higher-than-average quality.
I'm not trying to be a snob (while I enjoy good tea and am branching out, I certainly don't consider myself to be an expert), I just think that the purpose of a pass is to allow people to try new teas that they can't readily find (although it would be good if most of the teas are obtainable in some way - I'd hate to find something I liked that is unobtainable).
I'm not trying to be a snob (while I enjoy good tea and am branching out, I certainly don't consider myself to be an expert), I just think that the purpose of a pass is to allow people to try new teas that they can't readily find (although it would be good if most of the teas are obtainable in some way - I'd hate to find something I liked that is unobtainable).
Good point: "whole leaf" or "loose leaf" are good descriptions of what'd be nice to see in a tea pass. There are a bazillion good Internet sites (see posts passim) where you can quickly score some really good tea for small amounts of money.
That's a funny thing. Good tea (from a decent Internet vendor) can often cost exactly as much as hideous supermarket tea. Why is that?
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
That's a funny thing. Good tea (from a decent Internet vendor) can often cost exactly as much as hideous supermarket tea. Why is that?
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
I'd be all over a tea pass, but sadly, I don't have much interesting to add. What about someone, or a few gents, putting together some samplers? I'd be happy to pay.
Hmm...I think the 'Earl of Grey' should start that side business.
So true - for the price of Bigelow or Twinings, you can get some very good loose leaf tea.
If you live in a city with a large Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Sri Lanken or any other ethnic group that drinks tea, you can often find good tea in ethnic shops for very reasonable prices.
- Thread starter
- #30
My thinking is that all teas we would pass would be loose leaf.
We will also probably have to have a price limit or within each box have a mulitple price settings for example if you put a tea in the $25 bag (or the $10 or the $5, etc) , you may take one out, etc.
It seems like we do have enough people to be interested in a tea pass. A question though, should we possibly have a few passes going: One for each country to save on shipping?
Also will anyone interested in participating in a tea pass please send me a PM so I can calculate interest and please include what country you reside in as well. Also if you are interested in being the one that actually stocks the box and begins the pass, please let me know.
Thanks
We will also probably have to have a price limit or within each box have a mulitple price settings for example if you put a tea in the $25 bag (or the $10 or the $5, etc) , you may take one out, etc.
It seems like we do have enough people to be interested in a tea pass. A question though, should we possibly have a few passes going: One for each country to save on shipping?
Also will anyone interested in participating in a tea pass please send me a PM so I can calculate interest and please include what country you reside in as well. Also if you are interested in being the one that actually stocks the box and begins the pass, please let me know.
Thanks
Im definately interested. I was also under the impression that it would be only loose leaf. I don't have a huge variety of stuff since I only drink green tea. I'll probably have a good bit more once the box makes it to mee though. I'm working my way up the dragonwell ladder. I thought it would be sort of useless to drop the money on expenseive stuff before I could really appreciate it.
On a side note, I always thought green tea tasted like dirt. Thats because all bagged green tea DOES taste like dirt! I used some of my roomates green bagged tea (Stash I think) before my resupply came in the mail. It tasted horrible. Even the worst prepared loose leaf tastes 10X better than anything you can get in a bag. My days of ignorance are over!
On a side note, I always thought green tea tasted like dirt. Thats because all bagged green tea DOES taste like dirt! I used some of my roomates green bagged tea (Stash I think) before my resupply came in the mail. It tasted horrible. Even the worst prepared loose leaf tastes 10X better than anything you can get in a bag. My days of ignorance are over!
- Thread starter
- #32
My goal is to have a Tea Pass for both the UK and for North America. We've already got a leader for the UK pass to supply the initial run. Now we just need a leader for the North American Pass, oh and members to participate in buy.
If interested in participated or leading off the buy, please send me a PM.
If interested in participated or leading off the buy, please send me a PM.
I was thinking about this last night and one of the issues that seems to come up is that several members are interested, but aren't sure about what they should put into a pass box.
So, what I was thinking is that it might be fun to have a "tea of the month club" or something similar.
Basically, we could do this a couple of ways - we pick a couple of teas each month, one of us orders the tea and ships to the other "club members". We would make sure that the cost of the tea is about the same as between months - the only time someone would have to pay is when it was their turn. We would have an initial sign up and then membership would be closed unless someone dropped out (this way we don't have a situation where the first guy ships tea to 10 guys and and the 10th guy is shipping tea to 50).
Alternately, we work with a couple of good vendors to develop monthly samplers where you'd get 25g or so of two or three teas for a monthly cost of around $10 to $15, including shipping. Most vendors offer samples, and this way, as many people could participate as possible (unless limited by the vendor). The value would be low enough so as to not attract duties/taxes and the quantities would be small enough to ship cheaply. I think vendors would be intersted in working with us in the hopes of getting future quantity orders.
Finally, what appeals to me about a club, rather than a pass is that we could start a sub forum (assuming the mods all agree) and then discuss the teas of the month. We'd all be drinking the same tea at the same time, could discuss proper preparation techniques for each of the teas (water temperature, washing, tea:water ratio, etc.) and then compare notes. I think this would be a better way for us to share information and learn about different teas in a way that wouldn't be possible with a pass.
Any interest in this sort of concept?
So, what I was thinking is that it might be fun to have a "tea of the month club" or something similar.
Basically, we could do this a couple of ways - we pick a couple of teas each month, one of us orders the tea and ships to the other "club members". We would make sure that the cost of the tea is about the same as between months - the only time someone would have to pay is when it was their turn. We would have an initial sign up and then membership would be closed unless someone dropped out (this way we don't have a situation where the first guy ships tea to 10 guys and and the 10th guy is shipping tea to 50).
Alternately, we work with a couple of good vendors to develop monthly samplers where you'd get 25g or so of two or three teas for a monthly cost of around $10 to $15, including shipping. Most vendors offer samples, and this way, as many people could participate as possible (unless limited by the vendor). The value would be low enough so as to not attract duties/taxes and the quantities would be small enough to ship cheaply. I think vendors would be intersted in working with us in the hopes of getting future quantity orders.
Finally, what appeals to me about a club, rather than a pass is that we could start a sub forum (assuming the mods all agree) and then discuss the teas of the month. We'd all be drinking the same tea at the same time, could discuss proper preparation techniques for each of the teas (water temperature, washing, tea:water ratio, etc.) and then compare notes. I think this would be a better way for us to share information and learn about different teas in a way that wouldn't be possible with a pass.
Any interest in this sort of concept?
- Thread starter
- #34
I like it. I like it a lot.
Interesting idea.
Passes work as long as people have reasonably (low) expectations. For instance, way back when I started off a few shaving-related passes, I put in a bunch of Penhaligon's, T&H, etc. When it eventually made its way back to me it was filled with Nivea and other el-cheapo products. That is fine, but some people may have issues with the equity changing over time.
Passes work as long as people have reasonably (low) expectations. For instance, way back when I started off a few shaving-related passes, I put in a bunch of Penhaligon's, T&H, etc. When it eventually made its way back to me it was filled with Nivea and other el-cheapo products. That is fine, but some people may have issues with the equity changing over time.
Hey, you fellas are serious! This is great news. 
I like Suzuki's idea of a tea-of-the-month club. Let me summarise what I see are the issues:
1: A "Pass"
(I.e., a big box filled with tea that sails the high seas for several months.)
In its favour:
"Fire and forget" - it can get plentifully stocked at the start, and recipients can try a whole bunch of teas and perhaps put something small and incremental in when they receive it. Limited interaction, limited burden.
Convenience - it's one parcel, and you're done.
To its detriment:
Delay - you might not see it for months, by which time you'll forget it even existed, or your enthusiasm may have at least waned. People will be discussing teas on B&B and you won't have tried them yet.
Single expense - it might cost a pretty penny if your next recipient for the 3 Kg package is on another continent.
Quality - you want to get into tea, but you're not sure what to add. You don't want to let the side down by adding a duff tea to the pass - but what's a duff tea?!
2: A Tea Club
(I.e., monthly samples)
In its favour:
Variety and frequency - good new teas each month, and perhaps picked by sad fools who claim that they know what they're doing - or selected by a committee decision, or whatever works. Voting on a short-list (like the Book Club) could do it.
Distributed expense - there is the option of paying per month, rather than in one lump sum.
Community tasting - drink your tea alongside those with more experience, and check your observations against the notes of your B&B buddies. A gentle learning curve.
To its detriment:
Inconvenience - sending out samples to 10-20 people every month is, actually, quite a lot of work. I find that sending out 3-4 is quite hard, for example, given my schedule.
Commitment required - as Suzuki suggested it, everyone would have to be in at the start, and then the doors would be closed. This would mean that new folk couldn't get in on the act, and some the existing members would (statistically speaking) lose enthusiasm before it finished.
Proposed solution:
I like Suzuki's club idea, but I suggest that it becomes more open, and distributed. That is, simply have a list of folk who want to join the next month. Naturally, some people will want to join later (and we don't want to exclude them), and old members will want to retire.
The teas could be selected each month (perhaps by committee, poll, or another method), the total cost of materials divided by the members, and a (very generous) estimate for P&P added to each members bill. This means that we're all square at the end of every month, so you can opt out/in whenever you wish.
I suggest that the person who has the responsibility as Sender isn't fixed, and that responsibility for it rotates between people - buying and sending out tea is a major hassle (more than it looks, believe me!), and you'd soon tire of the burden if it became a regular obligation. The generous P&P allowance would ensure that the Sender is never out of pocket.
We can all pay by Paypal to the Sender for the coming month. Anyone that fails to pay simply isn't in - nice and easy.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
P.s. Speaking personally, I have neither the time (sadly!) nor inclination to try and make a profit out of tea, and would much rather retain my reputation as an unbiased, independent observer/critic.
I like Suzuki's idea of a tea-of-the-month club. Let me summarise what I see are the issues:
1: A "Pass"
(I.e., a big box filled with tea that sails the high seas for several months.)
In its favour:
"Fire and forget" - it can get plentifully stocked at the start, and recipients can try a whole bunch of teas and perhaps put something small and incremental in when they receive it. Limited interaction, limited burden.
Convenience - it's one parcel, and you're done.
To its detriment:
Delay - you might not see it for months, by which time you'll forget it even existed, or your enthusiasm may have at least waned. People will be discussing teas on B&B and you won't have tried them yet.
Single expense - it might cost a pretty penny if your next recipient for the 3 Kg package is on another continent.
Quality - you want to get into tea, but you're not sure what to add. You don't want to let the side down by adding a duff tea to the pass - but what's a duff tea?!
2: A Tea Club
(I.e., monthly samples)
In its favour:
Variety and frequency - good new teas each month, and perhaps picked by sad fools who claim that they know what they're doing - or selected by a committee decision, or whatever works. Voting on a short-list (like the Book Club) could do it.
Distributed expense - there is the option of paying per month, rather than in one lump sum.
Community tasting - drink your tea alongside those with more experience, and check your observations against the notes of your B&B buddies. A gentle learning curve.
To its detriment:
Inconvenience - sending out samples to 10-20 people every month is, actually, quite a lot of work. I find that sending out 3-4 is quite hard, for example, given my schedule.
Commitment required - as Suzuki suggested it, everyone would have to be in at the start, and then the doors would be closed. This would mean that new folk couldn't get in on the act, and some the existing members would (statistically speaking) lose enthusiasm before it finished.
Proposed solution:
I like Suzuki's club idea, but I suggest that it becomes more open, and distributed. That is, simply have a list of folk who want to join the next month. Naturally, some people will want to join later (and we don't want to exclude them), and old members will want to retire.
The teas could be selected each month (perhaps by committee, poll, or another method), the total cost of materials divided by the members, and a (very generous) estimate for P&P added to each members bill. This means that we're all square at the end of every month, so you can opt out/in whenever you wish.
I suggest that the person who has the responsibility as Sender isn't fixed, and that responsibility for it rotates between people - buying and sending out tea is a major hassle (more than it looks, believe me!), and you'd soon tire of the burden if it became a regular obligation. The generous P&P allowance would ensure that the Sender is never out of pocket.
We can all pay by Paypal to the Sender for the coming month. Anyone that fails to pay simply isn't in - nice and easy.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
P.s. Speaking personally, I have neither the time (sadly!) nor inclination to try and make a profit out of tea, and would much rather retain my reputation as an unbiased, independent observer/critic.
P.p.s. With monthly sending now a possibility, we could also add interesting coffees to the agenda.
Hobbesoxon - I agree with your comments about trying to run a club ourselves, which is why I suggested that we should find a couple good vendors to work with - that way it could be open (opt in or out as your mod/finances dictate on a monthly basis) AND, the vendor would take care of packaging and shipping.
I know there are several vendors who already offer samples, so shipping a bunch of samples out to multiple recipients shouldn't be a huge issue - as they're already doing it. If anything, doing this on a coordinated basis might allow us to get a discount if we have enough people involved (and it shouldn't take much more than 10 or so) - also, if a vendor doesn't have samples of what we want, we may be able to have them divide up a larger quantity (i.e., a pressed cake of pu er) of tea among us.
As I said, I think a vendor might be quite interested in getting involved in this type of thing, as it could easily drive sales. I know that I would be much more inclined to order from a vendor if I had sampled their wares and who had supported a tea club.
I spoke to someone at special teas and while I would have to speak to the "boss", she didn't think this would be a problem - especially since they already package samples and if we were to do this on an ordered basis (as opposed to a recurring automatic shipment). They also have no problem shipping to Canada and the UK or EC. Before we can take a proposal to them, we'd need some approximate numbers (but again, since they're already doing this, changes in numbers shouldn't be a problem).
So far, I'm encouraged that we could find enough vendors to work with so that all we'd have to do is (i) pick the teas for the month, (ii) order our teas, (iii) wait for the mail and (iv) drink end enjoy!
I know there are several vendors who already offer samples, so shipping a bunch of samples out to multiple recipients shouldn't be a huge issue - as they're already doing it. If anything, doing this on a coordinated basis might allow us to get a discount if we have enough people involved (and it shouldn't take much more than 10 or so) - also, if a vendor doesn't have samples of what we want, we may be able to have them divide up a larger quantity (i.e., a pressed cake of pu er) of tea among us.
As I said, I think a vendor might be quite interested in getting involved in this type of thing, as it could easily drive sales. I know that I would be much more inclined to order from a vendor if I had sampled their wares and who had supported a tea club.
I spoke to someone at special teas and while I would have to speak to the "boss", she didn't think this would be a problem - especially since they already package samples and if we were to do this on an ordered basis (as opposed to a recurring automatic shipment). They also have no problem shipping to Canada and the UK or EC. Before we can take a proposal to them, we'd need some approximate numbers (but again, since they're already doing this, changes in numbers shouldn't be a problem).
So far, I'm encouraged that we could find enough vendors to work with so that all we'd have to do is (i) pick the teas for the month, (ii) order our teas, (iii) wait for the mail and (iv) drink end enjoy!
Excellent thought!
Probably have to work with different vendors, but again, shouldn't be an issue so long as we're willing to order in whatever the smallest size they currently package in.
That's a very good idea, getting the vendor to send out the samples. The world of good vendors is quite small, and they are (as you say) very amenable to such ideas, because it improves sales.
Several times in the past, I have run one-off tasting sessions at the Half-Dipper, where vendors contacted me and agreed to provide all the tea for free, and to send it out to the participants (limited in number to around 10 people). However, for a rolling monthly tea club, we would of course need to pay - though it would be fairly easy to get a discount, and to get good shipping rates, I think.
I'd suggest that we don't pick just one vendor - variety is the spice of life, and it would be best to move around.
Also, I suggest that just one person makes the payment to the vendor - vendors are less likely to agree and give good terms if they have to individually receive 10-20 payments from B&B members. Rather, the B&B members should Paypal one representative, who then pays the vendor.
That's very nice and very simple, I like it.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
