Buy Tea - Best Time to Order?

by Julie
(Tampa, Florida, US)

If I order now will I receive old tea from last year's harvest? Is it still good? Should I wait until March?

Answer:

Julie, if you are thinking of buying the green tea and white teas, I would suggest the best option is to wait until the 2009 spring harvest is upon us.

This doesn't mean the 2008 spring teas are no good. No, they are still good, we have maintained them well, and customers have feedback how surprisingly fresh they are. So if you want something for the next 2 months, you are welcome to place an order.

For oolong teas, such as Shen's fantastic Iron Goddess or Tieguanyin tea, they have only been harvested in October and so is good to order. This autumn harvest is very good and comes highly recommended.

The thing to remember about HQ's Dragon Well green tea (i.e. the one that supplies the Chinese White House) is that even though the tea will be ready for shipping one week after the harvesting takes place (yes, you can have it first before everyone else!), only the finest grade will be available first.

So if the harvest starts in mid March, King grade will be available day one, follows by Jipin grade (day 2 and 3), AAA grade 10 days later, A grade 2 weeks later etc.

So if you are waiting for A grade, it could well drag on until April, and potentially mid April if the harvest is delayed due to high rainfall etc.

I hope this helps. So the bottom line is that yes, March/April is the best time, but the tea we have now is in pristine quality to take you through the next 2-3 months if you need them.

Also the jasmine tea is currently in Pre-Launch offer that I believe despite their moderate price they offer genuine quality.

Jasmine Green Tea

I hope this helps.

Julian