A Coffee and/or Tea Pass?

[TimmyBoston]

With all the homeroasters we have here, would something like a coffee and/or tea pass be beneficial?

[bman40]

I'd like to take part but shipping to and from Canada might be rough...and coffee stales so quickly...woudl it really work?

barry

[Hobbesoxon]

It sounds interesting! How does it work? You put in a pile o' tea/coffee at each stage, and sample a little of what's already in there before sending it on?

The tricky part would be ensuring that the quality stays high enough for people further down the chain to enjoy.

I'm willing to give it a crack! Always plenty of teas to add...


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[Tinzien]

The shipping would be a bitch because enough quantity would have to be in to ensure that there was enough stock for people further down the line.

I like the idea, but I have reservations about the logistics of such a beast.

[analog_kid]

I would very interested in something like this. Though shipping is not going to be cheap. But it might be worth it to see what Toodle-Earl drops in to share with us! :biggrin:

[Hobbesoxon]

Just thinking about the logistics, so there are no illusions (heh), I recently sent off a few boxes of samples to some US friends - the largest cost about $15 to send. I estimate that you'd want about twice the amount of tea that I sent out, in order to have enough for everyone. Is $20-30 postage going to sit OK with everyone? I'm more than happy to do so.

If you're on a tighter budget, you can send it to someone else in your country, which would drop the costs by about half (international postage being a real swine).

I can throw in some larger quantities of tea to get the ball rolling.

250g red tea ("black" tea) from Yunnan - "Dianhong"
A few cakes of Pu'er (2 x 375g)
Loose-leaf Anxi wulong (oolong) - "Tieguanyin"
A few large "birds nests" of Pu'er (2 x 250g)
A shupu brick (200g)
A "silver needles" Pu'er brick (200g)
About 250g of miscellaneous samples in smaller quantities (~20g baggies)

We're already up in the 1-2 Kg range there. I don't know much about coffee, so will defer that to the likes of experts like Scotto. :)

Let me know if this is a goer - maybe put my name near the top so I can get this stuff into the box for you good fellas.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[ouch]

Holy Iron Goddess of Mercy, Batman!

If it worked for colognes and tobacco, why not?

[rabidpotatochip]

Holy Iron Goddess of Mercy, Batman!

If it worked for colognes and tobacco, why not?

Well, that was certainly in interesting Ouchism.

Anyway, you'd have to come up with a good way to keep the teas/coffees separated enough that they don't all smell like each other and prevent any wetness from creeping into the pack.

Hey uh, what if us Canadians set up our own tea/coffee pass? Shipping would still suck, but at least customs wouldn't raise a fuss.

[Hobbesoxon]

Anyway, you'd have to come up with a good way to keep the teas/coffees separated enough that they don't all smell like each other and prevent any wetness from creeping into the pack.

Bags, my man - plenty of bags! Ziplocks'll do it.

Or close-fitting wooden tea-chests, take your pick... :chinese:


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[Scotto]

Tea is no problem, but the coffee would be stale by the time it made one or two trips, so I don't know if that part would work.

[ouch]

Tea is no problem, but the coffee would be stale by the time it made one or two trips, so I don't know if that part would work.

Good point. Put me down for the first stop. :lol:

Seriously, I think this would work better with tea- I can't picture a green bean passaround, at least not just yet. :tongue_sm

[Scotto]

The tea idea would certainly work. I have some various goodies I can throw in.

[Zeni]

The only way I could see coffee working:
Have a central co-ordinator
have everyone send their coffee to CO
CO mails little baggies out to everyone on list

[Pete]

If indeed this "Tea Pass" materializes, please add my name to the list. My journey into loose teas begins less than 12 hours, so this would be a great way for me to try several varieties. I'd just need a little time beforehand to try what I've just ordered, and place another order to include something I would be able to add to the box.

-Pete

[TimmyBoston]

Tea is no problem, but the coffee would be stale by the time it made one or two trips, so I don't know if that part would work.

This was my thought as well, but I still wanted to mention the idea.

[Edcculus]

I'm down for a tea pass. I have a somewhat limited selection since I just got into loose leaf teas, but I'd gladly throw in some of the green dragonwell I've been enjoying lately.

[Suzuki]

I think this is a very good idea - shipping might not be so bad - it would cost a bunch to ship from England, but if we can get everything into a USPS flat rate box, it shouldn't cost people too much to circulate it within the US. Same in Canada - we don't have flat rate boxes, but the ground shipping is reasonably priced within Canada, as well as pretty quick.

My biggest concern is about maintaining quality control - Hobbesoxon has offered to make a very generous initial contribution of some hard to find teas, but what will go in afterwards. I'd hate for the box to return to Hobbesoxon with a bunch of very average tea.

I for one would be interested, but I don't consider myself a tea "expert". I would seek out some high end tea from local specialty shops or possibly the Ten Ren store near me (assuming folks think the Ten Ren stuff is decent) specifically for the tea pass. I often find that a lot of the tea emporiums sell very expensive, very average tea and would be loathe to put stuff like this into the pass box.

Finally as for the Canada issue, the product would be shipped into canada as "gift" or "samples" with a nominal value of $15 to avoid duty and taxes. Once in Canada, it would circulate to all Canadian participants before being sent to the next country.

One way to prevent dampness might be to put a few silica packs into the box - I don't think this should impact the tea in any way.

I also think we might want to limit the pass to a smaller number of people to ensure that the pass happens in a reasonably efficient way, that everyone gets to sample some of the teas that Hobbesoxon is likely to contribute.

In addition, we could set some parameters - for example some guidelines for contributions, that brewing instructions for all teas be included, flavour descriptions should be provided if possible (even if its just the company's description), etc.

Does this make sense to people?

[JerimiahC]

I'm more of a coffee man, but wouldn't mind trying out new things. That being said, I wouldn't know where to start with tea. I'm with Suzuki, I wouldn't want to add tea that would be average or below. :confused:

I would be interested, if I could get some help with locating a good source in the TO area.

[JerimiahC]

The only way I could see coffee working:
Have a central co-ordinator
have everyone send their coffee to CO
CO mails little baggies out to everyone on list

I like this idea for the coffee....:thumbup1:

Again, not a pro. My idea of a good coffee is Starbucks(Kenya) so I'm not sure I'd qualify for this level.:blushing:

[Hobbesoxon]

I'm either sending or receiving tea most weeks from various folks, and the golden rule is "$10 USD value, gift, tea-samples" on the Customs declaration - we've never had one stopped to date. :)

My only plea would be, can we have a "no tisanes" rule? I.e., nothing flavoured or scented with fruits/flowers/puddings/beef-jerky/etc. We can stretch to jasmine tea!

I once made a joke about "blueberry pumpkin chocolate Roibos", and one of my friends decided to make some (http://palatabilitea.wordpress.com/2007/04/25/hobbess-tea-nightmare-a-movement-in-4-parts/)... :001_smile


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[JerimiahC]

So how do you difine a 'good' tea....? Remember I'm new to this.

[rabidpotatochip]

So how do you difine a 'good' tea....? Remember I'm new to this.

Has a good flavor that doesn't require the addition of sugar or other substances, smells nice, not bitter. That's my list of requirements. I had the pleasure of having real tea from a friend's step-father's plantation a while back and drank two pots by myself. This stuff steeped for an hour and never got bitter and was naturally sweet. Unfortunately, it's now the benchmark I compare all other teas against.

[Hobbesoxon]

"Good" tea is anything you like that you don't put sugar or milk in (as M. Cat Wrapper says), and also which isn't scented or flavoured with something wacky.

Just tea leaves, in other words! No-one's going to complain whatever you contribute, though, it's a friendly affair. :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[rabidpotatochip]

"Good" tea is anything you like that you don't put sugar or milk in (as M. Cat Wrapper says), and also which isn't scented or flavoured with something wacky.

Just tea leaves, in other words! No-one's going to complain whatever you contribute, though, it's a friendly affair. :)


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

It's quite a compliment when the Earl of Grey agrees with me. :biggrin:

[Suzuki]

Generally something you have to go to a specialty shop for - vs. something you find on the supermarket shelves. Not that there's anything wrong with supermarket teas - just that the teas for a pass should be stuff that people havent' tried and should be of higher-than-average quality.

I'm not trying to be a snob (while I enjoy good tea and am branching out, I certainly don't consider myself to be an expert), I just think that the purpose of a pass is to allow people to try new teas that they can't readily find (although it would be good if most of the teas are obtainable in some way - I'd hate to find something I liked that is unobtainable).

[Hobbesoxon]

Good point: "whole leaf" or "loose leaf" are good descriptions of what'd be nice to see in a tea pass. There are a bazillion good Internet sites (see posts passim) where you can quickly score some really good tea for small amounts of money.

That's a funny thing. Good tea (from a decent Internet vendor) can often cost exactly as much as hideous supermarket tea. Why is that?


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[letterk]

I'd be all over a tea pass, but sadly, I don't have much interesting to add. What about someone, or a few gents, putting together some samplers? I'd be happy to pay.

[JerimiahC]

Hmm...I think the 'Earl of Grey' should start that side business. :biggrin:

[Suzuki]

That's a funny thing. Good tea (from a decent Internet vendor) can often cost exactly as much as hideous supermarket tea. Why is that?


So true - for the price of Bigelow or Twinings, you can get some very good loose leaf tea.

If you live in a city with a large Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Sri Lanken or any other ethnic group that drinks tea, you can often find good tea in ethnic shops for very reasonable prices.

[TimmyBoston]

My thinking is that all teas we would pass would be loose leaf.

We will also probably have to have a price limit or within each box have a mulitple price settings for example if you put a tea in the $25 bag (or the $10 or the $5, etc) , you may take one out, etc.

It seems like we do have enough people to be interested in a tea pass. A question though, should we possibly have a few passes going: One for each country to save on shipping?

Also will anyone interested in participating in a tea pass please send me a PM so I can calculate interest and please include what country you reside in as well. Also if you are interested in being the one that actually stocks the box and begins the pass, please let me know.

Thanks

[Edcculus]

Im definately interested. I was also under the impression that it would be only loose leaf. I don't have a huge variety of stuff since I only drink green tea. I'll probably have a good bit more once the box makes it to mee though. I'm working my way up the dragonwell ladder. I thought it would be sort of useless to drop the money on expenseive stuff before I could really appreciate it.

On a side note, I always thought green tea tasted like dirt. Thats because all bagged green tea DOES taste like dirt! I used some of my roomates green bagged tea (Stash I think) before my resupply came in the mail. It tasted horrible. Even the worst prepared loose leaf tastes 10X better than anything you can get in a bag. My days of ignorance are over!

[TimmyBoston]

My goal is to have a Tea Pass for both the UK and for North America. We've already got a leader for the UK pass to supply the initial run. Now we just need a leader for the North American Pass, oh and members to participate in buy. :biggrin:

If interested in participated or leading off the buy, please send me a PM.

[Suzuki]

I was thinking about this last night and one of the issues that seems to come up is that several members are interested, but aren't sure about what they should put into a pass box.

So, what I was thinking is that it might be fun to have a "tea of the month club" or something similar.

Basically, we could do this a couple of ways - we pick a couple of teas each month, one of us orders the tea and ships to the other "club members". We would make sure that the cost of the tea is about the same as between months - the only time someone would have to pay is when it was their turn. We would have an initial sign up and then membership would be closed unless someone dropped out (this way we don't have a situation where the first guy ships tea to 10 guys and and the 10th guy is shipping tea to 50).

Alternately, we work with a couple of good vendors to develop monthly samplers where you'd get 25g or so of two or three teas for a monthly cost of around $10 to $15, including shipping. Most vendors offer samples, and this way, as many people could participate as possible (unless limited by the vendor). The value would be low enough so as to not attract duties/taxes and the quantities would be small enough to ship cheaply. I think vendors would be intersted in working with us in the hopes of getting future quantity orders.

Finally, what appeals to me about a club, rather than a pass is that we could start a sub forum (assuming the mods all agree) and then discuss the teas of the month. We'd all be drinking the same tea at the same time, could discuss proper preparation techniques for each of the teas (water temperature, washing, tea:water ratio, etc.) and then compare notes. I think this would be a better way for us to share information and learn about different teas in a way that wouldn't be possible with a pass.

Any interest in this sort of concept?

[TimmyBoston]

:thumbup1: I like it. I like it a lot.

[Scotto]

Interesting idea. :thumbup1:

Passes work as long as people have reasonably (low) expectations. For instance, way back when I started off a few shaving-related passes, I put in a bunch of Penhaligon's, T&H, etc. When it eventually made its way back to me it was filled with Nivea and other el-cheapo products. That is fine, but some people may have issues with the equity changing over time.

[Hobbesoxon]

Hey, you fellas are serious! This is great news. :ihih:

I like Suzuki's idea of a tea-of-the-month club. Let me summarise what I see are the issues:

1: A "Pass"
(I.e., a big box filled with tea that sails the high seas for several months.)

In its favour:

"Fire and forget" - it can get plentifully stocked at the start, and recipients can try a whole bunch of teas and perhaps put something small and incremental in when they receive it. Limited interaction, limited burden.

Convenience - it's one parcel, and you're done.

To its detriment:

Delay - you might not see it for months, by which time you'll forget it even existed, or your enthusiasm may have at least waned. People will be discussing teas on B&B and you won't have tried them yet.

Single expense - it might cost a pretty penny if your next recipient for the 3 Kg package is on another continent.

Quality - you want to get into tea, but you're not sure what to add. You don't want to let the side down by adding a duff tea to the pass - but what's a duff tea?!


2: A Tea Club
(I.e., monthly samples)

In its favour:

Variety and frequency - good new teas each month, and perhaps picked by sad fools who claim that they know what they're doing - or selected by a committee decision, or whatever works. Voting on a short-list (like the Book Club) could do it.

Distributed expense - there is the option of paying per month, rather than in one lump sum.

Community tasting - drink your tea alongside those with more experience, and check your observations against the notes of your B&B buddies. A gentle learning curve.

To its detriment:

Inconvenience - sending out samples to 10-20 people every month is, actually, quite a lot of work. I find that sending out 3-4 is quite hard, for example, given my schedule.

Commitment required - as Suzuki suggested it, everyone would have to be in at the start, and then the doors would be closed. This would mean that new folk couldn't get in on the act, and some the existing members would (statistically speaking) lose enthusiasm before it finished.


Proposed solution:

I like Suzuki's club idea, but I suggest that it becomes more open, and distributed. That is, simply have a list of folk who want to join the next month. Naturally, some people will want to join later (and we don't want to exclude them), and old members will want to retire.

The teas could be selected each month (perhaps by committee, poll, or another method), the total cost of materials divided by the members, and a (very generous) estimate for P&P added to each members bill. This means that we're all square at the end of every month, so you can opt out/in whenever you wish.

I suggest that the person who has the responsibility as Sender isn't fixed, and that responsibility for it rotates between people - buying and sending out tea is a major hassle (more than it looks, believe me!), and you'd soon tire of the burden if it became a regular obligation. The generous P&P allowance would ensure that the Sender is never out of pocket.

We can all pay by Paypal to the Sender for the coming month. Anyone that fails to pay simply isn't in - nice and easy.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

P.s. Speaking personally, I have neither the time (sadly!) nor inclination to try and make a profit out of tea, and would much rather retain my reputation as an unbiased, independent observer/critic. :)

[Hobbesoxon]

P.p.s. With monthly sending now a possibility, we could also add interesting coffees to the agenda.

[Suzuki]

Hobbesoxon - I agree with your comments about trying to run a club ourselves, which is why I suggested that we should find a couple good vendors to work with - that way it could be open (opt in or out as your mod/finances dictate on a monthly basis) AND, the vendor would take care of packaging and shipping.

I know there are several vendors who already offer samples, so shipping a bunch of samples out to multiple recipients shouldn't be a huge issue - as they're already doing it. If anything, doing this on a coordinated basis might allow us to get a discount if we have enough people involved (and it shouldn't take much more than 10 or so) - also, if a vendor doesn't have samples of what we want, we may be able to have them divide up a larger quantity (i.e., a pressed cake of pu er) of tea among us.

As I said, I think a vendor might be quite interested in getting involved in this type of thing, as it could easily drive sales. I know that I would be much more inclined to order from a vendor if I had sampled their wares and who had supported a tea club.

I spoke to someone at special teas and while I would have to speak to the "boss", she didn't think this would be a problem - especially since they already package samples and if we were to do this on an ordered basis (as opposed to a recurring automatic shipment). They also have no problem shipping to Canada and the UK or EC. Before we can take a proposal to them, we'd need some approximate numbers (but again, since they're already doing this, changes in numbers shouldn't be a problem).

So far, I'm encouraged that we could find enough vendors to work with so that all we'd have to do is (i) pick the teas for the month, (ii) order our teas, (iii) wait for the mail and (iv) drink end enjoy!

[Suzuki]

P.p.s. With monthly sending now a possibility, we could also add interesting coffees to the agenda.

Excellent thought!

Probably have to work with different vendors, but again, shouldn't be an issue so long as we're willing to order in whatever the smallest size they currently package in.

[Hobbesoxon]

As I said, I think a vendor might be quite interested in getting involved in this type of thing, as it could easily drive sales. I know that I would be much more inclined to order from a vendor if I had sampled their wares and who had supported a tea club.

That's a very good idea, getting the vendor to send out the samples. The world of good vendors is quite small, and they are (as you say) very amenable to such ideas, because it improves sales.

Several times in the past, I have run one-off tasting sessions at the Half-Dipper (http://half-dipper.blogspot.com), where vendors contacted me and agreed to provide all the tea for free, and to send it out to the participants (limited in number to around 10 people). However, for a rolling monthly tea club, we would of course need to pay - though it would be fairly easy to get a discount, and to get good shipping rates, I think.

I'd suggest that we don't pick just one vendor - variety is the spice of life, and it would be best to move around.

Also, I suggest that just one person makes the payment to the vendor - vendors are less likely to agree and give good terms if they have to individually receive 10-20 payments from B&B members. Rather, the B&B members should Paypal one representative, who then pays the vendor.

That's very nice and very simple, I like it.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[Suzuki]

I'd suggest that we don't pick just one vendor - variety is the spice of life, and it would be best to move around.

I agree completely - especially since folks like Royal Pu Er are highly specialized.


That's very nice and very simple, I like it.

Thats me, very nice and very simple - well, acutally, not so nice, but one out of two ain't bad!

[Edcculus]

I like the idea of the tea club. As long as the monthly cost is fairly low. Another advantage is that if someones funds are low, or they are too busy, they can skip a month pretty easily (provided that we have enough people join). The idea of sending all money to one person who then pays the vendor is a good idea too. Would we rotate who coordinates ordering each month, or assign a few people to different vendors?

Either way, Im in. This will be a great way for me to make the jump to other teas other than green and acutally know what I'm tasting.

[Suzuki]

Ok - can I get a show of hands as to who would be interested in a tea of the month type of thing?

I'd like to get some number before I contact vendors.

Also, some suggestions for both vendors and teas would be appreciated.

My goal it make the monthly buy-in around $15 with shipping.

I thought that for the first month, we would go with an "introduction to good tea" theme, with one sample each of a good green, black and oolong - but that's just a suggestion.

[letterk]

I'll check with my wife, but I think we'll be interested. Mark me down as a probable maybe.

What about a group buy for a good starter pot?

[Hobbesoxon]

Count me in!

Pick a vendor in the US to start with, so that the majority get their samples promptly.

Even Adagio do a six-tub sampler (http://tinyurl.com/3yjj5c) for $16, for example.

For a really decent introduction to tea, you could check to see if Guang at Houde Asian Art (http://www.houdeasianart.com) would set us up with something for the price you wanted. He has good yancha, Taiwanese wulong, and all manner of pu'er. That one might be worth saving for a later stage, once everyone's got their bearings with more entry-level tea, though.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[Scotto]

I'd be interested, though of course it would depend on the offerings.

[edenri]

I would be interested I think as well. I like the idea of buying in when you want. Although I will say it doesn't look like there would be a big following as of right now.

[Suzuki]

Here's my plan for the offerings - subject to input from those with more knowledge of teas.

1) Intro to good tea - one sample each of a middle of the road (as in typical of the genre) black, green and oolong

2) Green Teas - three samples of different green teas - possibly including a really good jasmine.

2) Oolong Teas - three samples of oolongs

4) Black Teas - three samples of different black teas

5) Intro to Pu Er teas - three samples of different pu er teas - green, cooked and whatever strikes our fancy.

We could then go from there and I'm sure people would be able to suggest teas or themes from there on - for example - Chinese black teas, Indian teas, Ceylon teas, etc...

Other than starting people off with the chance to just try a few very different types of teas, there's no magic, but I would like there to be some sort of "theme" for each month.

As for the tea pot buy, I'm no expert, but I think it would be ideal to get some suggestions for inexpensive tea pots/other teaware and then find a vendor for the first one or two months that could supply a pot/teaware at a good price as an add on to the tea.

Let me know if this makes sense - suggestions are encouraged and appreciated.

[Suzuki]

I would be interested I think as well. I like the idea of buying in when you want. Although I will say it doesn't look like there would be a big following as of right now.

5 expressions of interest in as many minutes...so I think getting at leat 10 people per month would likely be a snap.

[edenri]

Yeah I guess so, I should have looked at the times:blushing:

Since I was just posting on the tea vessels thread a group buy may be just what I'm looking for.

Being new to tea, a themed month sounds good to me. I think I would have more of a chance tasting differences that way.


5 expressions of interest in as many minutes...so I think getting at leat 10 people per month would likely be a snap.

[rabidpotatochip]

I'd be interested in tea of the month as well, but my participation is pending sufficient funds

[Edcculus]

count me in

[fakaff]

I'm definately in.

[JerimiahC]

I'm in!!:thumbup:

[Edcculus]

Any more word on this? Do we need more people to commit? Has anyone spoken to dealers etc? Unfortunately I don't have the time or expertise to head this up.

I made a short list of people that have committed or said maybe. I put question marks next to others who posted earlier in the thread but did not comment after the proposal of a tea of the month instead of a tea pass.

JerimiahC
Fakaff
Edcculus
ravidpotatochip (maybe)
Suzuki
edenri
Scotto
Hobbesoxon
letterk (maybe)
TimmyBoston (?)
bman40 (?)
analog_kid (?)
Ouch (?)

How many people would we have to have to make this worth while for vendors? Just trying to get the ball rolling, or find out if it is even going to roll.

[Randy]

I'd be interested in this as well.

- R

[DMac]

Dang, guys, I obviously don't read this forum enough. I'd love to get in on a "tea of the month" club, especially if we've got some educated fellows that will perhaps direct our purchasing (I'm looking at you Hobbes! and of course, Suzuki, Scotto, etc). I had held off of volunteering for the pass because I didn't think I'd have anything to offer, but this sounds right up my alley.

[edenri]

I too don't have the expertise to head this up, but would love to see it get going.

[mhdagley]

I would be interested in trying this out. I have not drank tea like this before but I am willing to try it for a month or so. As I have no idea what i am doing and suggestions would be hugely appreciated.

[edenri]

I would be interested I think as well. I like the idea of buying in when you want. Although I will say it doesn't look like there would be a big following as of right now.

Yeah, I totally take this back now, it does seem like enough people are interested. Any luck with anything yet?

[Suzuki]

Unfortunately, work got in the way of play.

Since it's clear that there are folks who are interested, I'll pursue this.

Subject to the thoughts of others, my inclination is to go with specialty teas as the initial vendor since they have a good selection and seem to generate positive comments.

Again, my initial thought is that the first month's selections would be good black, green and oolong teas that are good representations of each particular style (I know there's really no "style" to a tea, as there's so many variations in each of these categories). If this sounds good, let me know.

[edenri]

Unfortunately, work got in the way of play.

Since it's clear that there are folks who are interested, I'll pursue this.

Subject to the thoughts of others, my inclination is to go with specialty teas as the initial vendor since they have a good selection and seem to generate positive comments.

Again, my initial thought is that the first month's selections would be good black, green and oolong teas that are good representations of each particular style (I know there's really no "style" to a tea, as there's so many variations in each of these categories). If this sounds good, let me know.

:thumbup: Sounds great to me.

[rabidpotatochip]

I've discussed it with the missus and we've decided I'll never stop complaining if I pass up a tea of the month thing (man, I love her), so I'd like to change my maybe to a yes on that project.

[Edcculus]

Unfortunately, work got in the way of play.

Since it's clear that there are folks who are interested, I'll pursue this.

Subject to the thoughts of others, my inclination is to go with specialty teas as the initial vendor since they have a good selection and seem to generate positive comments.

Again, my initial thought is that the first month's selections would be good black, green and oolong teas that are good representations of each particular style (I know there's really no "style" to a tea, as there's so many variations in each of these categories). If this sounds good, let me know.

Sounds great!

[Hobbesoxon]

Fantastic - thanks, Suzuki.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

[mhdagley]

Bump to the front

[JerimiahC]

Count me in. Haven't been here in a bit so I wasn't sure where we were at with this. :001_smile

[Radiohead]

I roast coffee for a small microroaster for a living. Maybe this can be something I can help with? (also, first post, long time lurker!):biggrin:

[mhdagley]

Any progress on this?
Also BUMP