Has anyone ordered tea (to the US) from Best Tea in Vancouver? How is
the quality? How are the selections and the prices?
Thanks much! Xie! Xie!
Shen

On 2008-02-09, Shen wrote:

Has anyone ordered tea (to the US) from Best Tea in Vancouver? How is
the quality? How are the selections and the prices?

I have. Selection is the same as that listed on the main BTH site;
quality has been good, though based on memory, I think the Song Zhong
Dan Cong Phyll had from the HK shop was more memorable than the same tea
from BTH Canada. They're a big shop, so batches may vary (or perhaps
Phyll's kung fu is just stronger than mine).

The prices are high, especially (if you're in the US, anyway)
considering the current exchange rate... however the HK branch doesn't
tend to answer their emails and don't want to order via fax, esp. since
the English version of their site is so out of date. If I had to order
stuff from BTH in the future, I'd be tempted to call the HK branch (also
not cheap).

He's got some old Yixing; some nice stuff (I ordered one piece); the
prices are pretty high. I'm not an expert, so I won't try to make
judgements on the quality relative to other dealers; I suspect that the
pieces are what they were claimed to be, and I've been happy with the
piece, but I'm not sure whether it's worth what I paid for it.

I believe "Michael" Fung is the person I've spoken with there. They do
have email - bestteacanada -at hotmail dot com is the address.

w

In addition to what Will said, they DO have variations between
batches, so the same tieguanyin you bought a year ago and the one you
buy now will most likely taste a little different. I think they try
their best to keep it the same, but tea being what it is, it's not
always possible.

Sometimes the variations can be quite large, especially in their mixed-
puerh selections (by this I mean teas that have been blended). Other
times they are minor differences that may or may not be noticeable.

MarshalN
http://www.xanga.com/MarshalN

Will Yardley wrote:
On 2008-02-09, Shen wrote:

Has anyone ordered tea (to the US) from Best Tea in Vancouver? How is
the quality? How are the selections and the prices?

I have. Selection is the same as that listed on the main BTH site;
quality has been good, though based on memory, I think the Song Zhong
Dan Cong Phyll had from the HK shop was more memorable than the same tea
from BTH Canada. They're a big shop, so batches may vary (or perhaps
Phyll's kung fu is just stronger than mine).

The prices are high, especially (if you're in the US, anyway)
considering the current exchange rate... however the HK branch doesn't
tend to answer their emails and don't want to order via fax, esp. since
the English version of their site is so out of date. If I had to order
stuff from BTH in the future, I'd be tempted to call the HK branch (also
not cheap).

He's got some old Yixing; some nice stuff (I ordered one piece); the
prices are pretty high. I'm not an expert, so I won't try to make
judgements on the quality relative to other dealers; I suspect that the
pieces are what they were claimed to be, and I've been happy with the
piece, but I'm not sure whether it's worth what I paid for it.

I believe "Michael" Fung is the person I've spoken with there. They do
have email - bestteacanada -at hotmail dot com is the address.

w