Please.

Next year, I'm definitely buying from
http://www.darjeelingnews.net/darjee...ping/index.php
(They are way cheaper than other importers..).

Meanwhile, I need to buy some samplers to tide me over till spring, and get
an idea about the various estates' quality ..

So far, I have located samplers from the following:

http://www.culinaryteas.com/Black_Teas/SAMP-DAR.html ($12.00)
Darjeeling Castleton 2nd Flush - FTGFOP - 1 oz loose tea sample
Darjeeling Mim 2nd Flush - TGFOP1 - 1 oz loose tea sample
Darjeeling Soom 1st Flush TGFOP - 1 oz loose tea sample
Darjeeling Soom Gunpowder - BPS - 1 oz loose tea sample
Margaret's Hope 2nd Flush FTGFOP - Darjeeling - 1 oz loose tea sample

http://store.yahoo.com/teastores/darsam.html ($40)
Muscatel Valley First Flush,
Goomtee Estate Second Flush,
Selimbong Estate Second Flush
(doesn't say how much quantity)

http://www.specialteas.com/product_d...tem_no=ASC1003 ($12.50)
Orange Valley FTGFOP-1 1st Flush (No. 102) - 1 oz
Puttabong FTGFOP-1 1st Flush, (No. 105) - 1 oz
Sungma SFTGFOP-1, 2nd Flush (No. 143) - 1 oz
Margaret's Hope SFTGFOP-1 Autumnal (No.173) - 1 oz
Poobong SFTGFOP1 Vintage (No. 148) - 1 oz

http://www.uptontea.com/ SD46 ($24)
Sungma Estate SFTGFOP1 (CH) First Flush (TD97),
Arya Estate Organic Ruby Second Flush EX-5 (TD03),
Puttabong Estate SFTGFOP1 Supreme First Flush (TD90),
and Margaret's Hope Estate FTGFOP1 Muscatel Second Flush (TD35).
(Doesn't say how much quantity)

Any suggestions on which one to go for?
Thanks.
--
Aloke
----
to reply by e-mail remove 123 and change invalid to com

I can recommend the North Tukvar first flush from Upton (DJ-19), very
nice tea.

I can recommend the North Tukvar first flush from Upton (DJ-19), very
nice tea.

Aloke:

Namaste, I saw your selection and I will suggest you some estates name
rather then a particular on-line vendor-

-Margaret's hope(good for 2nd and Autmnal flush)
-Puttabong(any flush)
-Goomte(1st flush is best but others are fine too)
-Castleton (Vintage is best but others blended are fine too)
-Last couple of years, maybe 2 or 3 Selimbong & Sungma are producing
good Darjeeling. I don't know about this year production. I met this
two estates official broker in Kolkata this year and they told me to
buy their teas from western vendors rather then any Indian broker or
vendors. That means their best stuffs are only for export.

How come you are missing Makaibari? This year, 1st flush vintage
Makaibari was the best in the auction house. The best lot went to
Germany and Japan.

Ripon
Vienna,VA

Aloke:

Namaste, I saw your selection and I will suggest you some estates name
rather then a particular on-line vendor-

-Margaret's hope(good for 2nd and Autmnal flush)
-Puttabong(any flush)
-Goomte(1st flush is best but others are fine too)
-Castleton (Vintage is best but others blended are fine too)
-Last couple of years, maybe 2 or 3 Selimbong & Sungma are producing
good Darjeeling. I don't know about this year production. I met this
two estates official broker in Kolkata this year and they told me to
buy their teas from western vendors rather then any Indian broker or
vendors. That means their best stuffs are only for export.

How come you are missing Makaibari? This year, 1st flush vintage
Makaibari was the best in the auction house. The best lot went to
Germany and Japan.

Ripon
Vienna,VA

Doesn't all this come down to what you like and what you consider
"expensive?"

One thing to consider about Upton. They have the packaged samplers, as you
describe, but they also will provide you with a smaller sample of any tea at
a lower price (not per volume, but absolute). Upton's samplers come in 2 oz
or so tins and if you like all the teas in the sampler, then Woo-Hoo! If
you don't then you've purchased a bit more than you needed to really sample.
But both the Upton (I love the Arya Ruby Organic as a reasonably-priced
organic Darjeeling) and the Specialteas packaged samplers sound fine. I've
tried almost all of those teas.

And Ripon is right, Makaibari teas are very nice and all organic.

Warren



"Aloke Prasad" wrote in message
...
Please.

Next year, I'm definitely buying from
http://www.darjeelingnews.net/darjee...ping/index.php
(They are way cheaper than other importers..).

Meanwhile, I need to buy some samplers to tide me over till spring, and
get an idea about the various estates' quality ..

So far, I have located samplers from the following:

http://www.culinaryteas.com/Black_Teas/SAMP-DAR.html ($12.00)
Darjeeling Castleton 2nd Flush - FTGFOP - 1 oz loose tea sample
Darjeeling Mim 2nd Flush - TGFOP1 - 1 oz loose tea sample
Darjeeling Soom 1st Flush TGFOP - 1 oz loose tea sample
Darjeeling Soom Gunpowder - BPS - 1 oz loose tea sample
Margaret's Hope 2nd Flush FTGFOP - Darjeeling - 1 oz loose tea sample

http://store.yahoo.com/teastores/darsam.html ($40)
Muscatel Valley First Flush,
Goomtee Estate Second Flush,
Selimbong Estate Second Flush
(doesn't say how much quantity)

http://www.specialteas.com/product_d...tem_no=ASC1003 ($12.50)
Orange Valley FTGFOP-1 1st Flush (No. 102) - 1 oz
Puttabong FTGFOP-1 1st Flush, (No. 105) - 1 oz
Sungma SFTGFOP-1, 2nd Flush (No. 143) - 1 oz
Margaret's Hope SFTGFOP-1 Autumnal (No.173) - 1 oz
Poobong SFTGFOP1 Vintage (No. 148) - 1 oz

http://www.uptontea.com/ SD46 ($24)
Sungma Estate SFTGFOP1 (CH) First Flush (TD97),
Arya Estate Organic Ruby Second Flush EX-5 (TD03),
Puttabong Estate SFTGFOP1 Supreme First Flush (TD90),
and Margaret's Hope Estate FTGFOP1 Muscatel Second Flush (TD35).
(Doesn't say how much quantity)

Any suggestions on which one to go for?
Thanks.
--
Aloke
----
to reply by e-mail remove 123 and change invalid to com

Only time and experience will tell if the "direct seller" (exporter?) from
Darjeeling works out better than the importers. My logic was: Identify the
good gardens and buy their product from closer to the source, eliminating
the middlemen and their added costs. I don't want to quote prices here
(people can compare for themselves).

It may not turn out well .. who knows.

At this time, I think I'll get the Upton sampler.
--
Aloke
----
to reply by e-mail remove 123 and change invalid to com

"Warren C. Liebold" wrote in message
ink.net...
Doesn't all this come down to what you like and what you consider
"expensive?"

One thing to consider about Upton. They have the packaged samplers, as you
describe, but they also will provide you with a smaller sample of any tea
at a lower price (not per volume, but absolute). Upton's samplers come in
2 oz or so tins and if you like all the teas in the sampler, then Woo-Hoo!
If you don't then you've purchased a bit more than you needed to really
sample. But both the Upton (I love the Arya Ruby Organic as a
reasonably-priced organic Darjeeling) and the Specialteas packaged
samplers sound fine. I've tried almost all of those teas.

And Ripon is right, Makaibari teas are very nice and all organic.

Warren



"Aloke Prasad" wrote in message
...
Please.

Next year, I'm definitely buying from
http://www.darjeelingnews.net/darjee...ping/index.php
(They are way cheaper than other importers..).

Meanwhile, I need to buy some samplers to tide me over till spring, and
get an idea about the various estates' quality ..

So far, I have located samplers from the following:

http://www.culinaryteas.com/Black_Teas/SAMP-DAR.html ($12.00)
Darjeeling Castleton 2nd Flush - FTGFOP - 1 oz loose tea sample
Darjeeling Mim 2nd Flush - TGFOP1 - 1 oz loose tea sample
Darjeeling Soom 1st Flush TGFOP - 1 oz loose tea sample
Darjeeling Soom Gunpowder - BPS - 1 oz loose tea sample
Margaret's Hope 2nd Flush FTGFOP - Darjeeling - 1 oz loose tea sample

http://store.yahoo.com/teastores/darsam.html ($40)
Muscatel Valley First Flush,
Goomtee Estate Second Flush,
Selimbong Estate Second Flush
(doesn't say how much quantity)

http://www.specialteas.com/product_d...tem_no=ASC1003 ($12.50)
Orange Valley FTGFOP-1 1st Flush (No. 102) - 1 oz
Puttabong FTGFOP-1 1st Flush, (No. 105) - 1 oz
Sungma SFTGFOP-1, 2nd Flush (No. 143) - 1 oz
Margaret's Hope SFTGFOP-1 Autumnal (No.173) - 1 oz
Poobong SFTGFOP1 Vintage (No. 148) - 1 oz

http://www.uptontea.com/ SD46 ($24)
Sungma Estate SFTGFOP1 (CH) First Flush (TD97),
Arya Estate Organic Ruby Second Flush EX-5 (TD03),
Puttabong Estate SFTGFOP1 Supreme First Flush (TD90),
and Margaret's Hope Estate FTGFOP1 Muscatel Second Flush (TD35).
(Doesn't say how much quantity)

Any suggestions on which one to go for?
Thanks.
--
Aloke
----
to reply by e-mail remove 123 and change invalid to com

Save yourself some trouble. Just buy a tin of Harney and Sons' blend,
"Darjeeling Black Tea." It's as good as any estate Darjeeling I have ever
tried, and I have tried a lot. My search for a consistently delicious
Darjeeling is over, thanks to H&S, to whom I am related only as a pleased
customer.

Robert

"Ripon" wrote in message
oups.com...
[snip]
How come you are missing Makaibari? This year, 1st flush vintage
Makaibari was the best in the auction house. The best lot went to
Germany and Japan.

Ripon

I'm with Ripon - Makaibari is IMHO the finest and most consistent estate in
Darjeeling; I've never had a bad tea from them. Last year's DJ-86 second
flush (Upton) was probably the best Darjeeling I've ever had. Gopaldhara
also produces some delicious, idiosyncratic teas.

Regards,
Dean

"Aloke Prasad" wrote in message
...

http://www.uptontea.com/ SD46 ($24)
Sungma Estate SFTGFOP1 (CH) First Flush (TD97),
Arya Estate Organic Ruby Second Flush EX-5 (TD03),
Puttabong Estate SFTGFOP1 Supreme First Flush (TD90),
and Margaret's Hope Estate FTGFOP1 Muscatel Second Flush (TD35).
(Doesn't say how much quantity)

Their print catalog says on p. 35 that "The amount of tea per tin averages
about 35 grams, depending on leaf size, and will yield approximately 16 cups
of tea." On the website, you'd have to know to refer to AT05 Silver Sampler
Tin.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Bluesea" wrote in message
...

"Aloke Prasad" wrote in message
...

http://www.uptontea.com/ SD46 ($24)
Sungma Estate SFTGFOP1 (CH) First Flush (TD97),
Arya Estate Organic Ruby Second Flush EX-5 (TD03),
Puttabong Estate SFTGFOP1 Supreme First Flush (TD90),
and Margaret's Hope Estate FTGFOP1 Muscatel Second Flush (TD35).
(Doesn't say how much quantity)

Their print catalog says on p. 35 that "The amount of tea per tin averages
about 35 grams, depending on leaf size, and will yield approximately 16
cups
of tea." On the website, you'd have to know to refer to AT05 Silver
Sampler
Tin.

Thanks. That's a pretty good price for samplers totaling about 140 gms
--
Aloke
----
to reply by e-mail remove 123 and change invalid to com

"Ripon" wrote in message
oups.com...

How come you are missing Makaibari? This year, 1st flush vintage
Makaibari was the best in the auction house. The best lot went to
Germany and Japan.

I found the web site for Makaibari.

http://www.makaibari.com/ - nothing much here, just lot of hyperbole

http://www.silvertipstea.com/ - this is a mail order site run by the
sister-in-law of the owner of Makaibari estate !! Good prices.
--
Aloke
----
to reply by e-mail remove 123 and change invalid to com