Buying tea by mail-order has a fairly long history, but it is only recently that good tea has been available for sale on the Internet. Now, online tea retailers are common, and tea is still, even in these straitened economic times, a fairly cheap commodity; thanks to the overhead saved by not having to maintain a store and the volume made possible by selling large quantities on the Web, some of these retailers can offer great teas for relatively inexpensive prices.
Arguably the best of these is Upton Tea Imports, an operation that has been around since 1989 (when it, too, was a mail-order business) but now has a strong online presence. According to their website, Upton Tea Imports carries "over 420 varieties of loose tea" including black, green, oolong, white, Pu Er, and a variety of herbal teas and tisanes, including dozens of varities of the popular rooibos.
The sheer depth of their selection is staggering--they separate their catalogue (which is available in print for free with any order) by country and type of tea, with each country offering dozens of distinct selections. All of their teas are very reasonably priced, and they carry a number of single-estate teas (particularly Darjeeling and Assam teas) which are from some of the best lots in the world. Some of these will cost $40-$50 for a 250g tin, but the difference between one of these high-quality single-estate teas and a run-of-the-mill example from the same style is worlds apart. One would be hard pressed to follow up your average Irish Breakfast (the main constituent of which is usually a hearty Assam, blended with other teas) with something like a Borpatra Estate Assam and ever want to go back. Their selection of Darjeeling teas is particularly broad and often includes some of the world's finest of these teas for very reasonable prices. Their first-flush Darjeelings are particularly recommended, although availability is limited depending on the season.
Upton Tea Imports also acquires special, limited quantities of rare lots of green and oolong teas (particularly Japanese greens). These selections vary each season and are often available for only a short time. They also have a commitment to buying organic when possible, and many of their teas are certified (these teas appear in their catalogue with an O next to the name). They also sell high-quality tea accessories such as teapots, strainers, infusers, and the like.
Their catalogue is informative and lists all of the teas they have for sale, as well as a quarterly article on some aspect of tea history that usually makes an interesting read.
Because of their immense, diverse selection, with fine teas from all of the major categories, and because of the uniformly high quality of the teas they offer (particularly the Darjeelings) as well as their fair prices, it is hard not to recommend Upton Tea Imports. For someone just beginning to build a knowledge of great tea and a desire to try many different types, there is no better place to start.
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