Yes, the tea itself can vary. Different companies buy from different
growers, and each tea plantation can have products that, while conforming
to a standard of type, might be very different in quality. Even within the
same plantation there can be differences. For insnatce, there can be
different grades of jasmine tea, depending on when the tes was picked and
which leaves were used. A Darjeeling first flush has a similar taste to a
Darjeeling second flush, but many people feel that the first flush has a
better taste.
The same is true of all organic drinks and foods. Coffee can differ from
vendor to vendor, and so can chocolate. What may be a tasty 60% chocolate
from one company might be dreck from another one.
"Cathy Weeks" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hi all,
> Just curious, will a "Monkey-picked Ti Kuan Yin" be the same from
> various vendors (Upton's, Tea Time Le Societe' du Tea, etc). I know
> the price varies, of course, but the tea itself?
>
> And I don't mean just the Ti Kuan Yin, but ANY given tea. If the tea
> itself is called the same, how likely is it to taste the same?
> Cathy Weeks
>