The Essence of Tea

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pantry
Posts: 389
Joined: Tue Mar 12, 2019 10:34 am
Location: US East Coast

Mon Aug 31, 2020 3:46 am

@Chadrinkincat I don't mind the young sheng -- the more the merrier! :lol:
However, I have to say I'm not always a fan of their tea club sheng, which is okay. ( July was fun, but the tea was meh.) The draw of the tea club for me is the surprises.
TeaTotaling wrote:
Sat Aug 29, 2020 8:22 pm
The EoT offerings have been decent, but nothing has really captivated me thus far.
This has been my experience with their teas in general, tea club and otherwise. I have not been sourly disappointed by any of their teas, but also not intrigued enough to get more.
AgedS
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Location: Ohio, USA

Mon Aug 31, 2020 7:01 am

TeaTotaling wrote:
Sun Aug 30, 2020 3:56 pm

Have you tried the Yellow Leaves Yancha yet??
I have tried it. It was very strong mineral, without a whole lot else. I had it as soon as it came, so I expect it change a bit after I let it rest (and it was just fired after all). I'll revisit it when it has a little more time under its belt.

As for the quality of the club I, feel that they offer high-end teas for the most part, but don't dip into the ultra premium. For example, the 50g of Nannushan a few months back was very enjoyable. They also have the educational aspect, especially RE comparisons. The teacups in the last package with the Yancha, and the single tree comparisons are fascinating. The actual tea from the single tree isnt my favorite, but the ability for comparison makes it worth it, IMHO.

For a vendor to ship out $1/g+ tea in a club is a gutsy move in my mind. Even in a club like EoT where most people know what's up, there is a large number of novices who wouldn't necessarily appreciate the higher end tea, or the effect on their pocketbook. For me as well, those higher end teas are something I prefer fo sample first, and then be able to cake or tong if I enjoy it.

Rambling here now 😂
Paul
polezaivsani
Posts: 191
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Location: Kaliningrad, RU

Tue Sep 01, 2020 12:06 pm

If anybody from the office hangs around - it's rather problematic to get in touch with you for those who don't use popular social media platforms. Maybe it's even more than just one person :P. Neither 'contact us' from the header, nor 'ask about this product' seem to work. At least i haven't heard back on a bunch of occasions.
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Balthazar
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Location: Oslo, Norway

Tue Sep 01, 2020 12:53 pm

Try @TheEssenceofTea :)

They have an e-mail to, I'd try that. Let me know if you don't have it and I'll send you a PM
faj
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Location: Quebec

Tue Sep 01, 2020 2:31 pm

polezaivsani wrote:
Tue Sep 01, 2020 12:06 pm
If anybody from the office hangs around - it's rather problematic to get in touch with you for those who don't use popular social media platforms.
I recently used the form on their website to initiate an email conversation, and received a very quick response.
polezaivsani
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Tue Sep 01, 2020 3:18 pm

faj wrote:
Tue Sep 01, 2020 2:31 pm
I recently used the form on their website to initiate an email conversation, and received a very quick response.
Might be my quirky setup then. Thanks for clearing it up.
faj
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Tue Sep 01, 2020 4:35 pm

polezaivsani wrote:
Tue Sep 01, 2020 3:18 pm
Might be my quirky setup then. Thanks for clearing it up.
It could be your anti-spam filter blocking their response too. PM me if you would like me to provide you with the email address they used to contact me in order to configure your system to avoid it being blocked.
TheEssenceofTea
Vendor
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Wed Sep 02, 2020 11:14 am

Thanks everyone for your input. We're taking all your suggestions on board and looking into some higher end offerings for the tea club. Some feedback we've also been receiving other than on the forum is that people have too much tea, so I think we definitely need to put some months of higher end teas in smaller quantities into the mix. It's difficult to please everyone, and sometimes difficult to find interesting things each month, but it's a fun challenge and while we understand that not everyone will love every tea hopefully most people find surprises they do love.


@polezaivsani I'm not aware of any messages from you through our website, can you try again or shoot us an email, I'll get back to you straight away
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pedant
Admin
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Wed Sep 02, 2020 11:30 am

though i have not yet tried tea subscriptions (from anyone), i agree with what's been said here.

a subscription that would interest me would include fewer teas in smaller quantity and of overall higher quality, and ideally there would be an option to purchase more if it's something i really like. if it's a tea with limited quantity available, then maybe priority would be given to subscribers first. perhaps the vendor would wait a month or so for subscribers to try it before making it available for sale to non-subscribers on their shop.
faj
Posts: 710
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Location: Quebec

Wed Sep 02, 2020 12:05 pm

pedant wrote:
Wed Sep 02, 2020 11:30 am
ideally there would be an option to purchase more if it's something i really like. if it's a tea with limited quantity available, then maybe priority would be given to subscribers first.
I agree priority access would be an interesting perk.

I really do not know the business of tea sourcing and maybe it would not work for one reason or another, but here is an additional idea in the same vein. A couple of months after receiving their subscription, subscribers could indicate their interest in joining a group buy for teas that are not part of the vendor's normal offering. Those group buys could be shipped along with normal subscription shipments to save on shipping costs. Maybe that would allow the vendor to create sufficient demand to provide access to special teas in a manageable and cost-effective manner. In a sense, it would reduce the buyer's risk (avoiding ordering a big amount of tea before tasting) and the vendor's risk (stocking up on tea that may not be sold quickly). If insufficient interest is pledged, no group buy happens.
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TeaTotaling
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Wed Sep 02, 2020 3:01 pm

TheEssenceofTea wrote:
Wed Sep 02, 2020 11:14 am
Thanks everyone for your input. We're taking all your suggestions on board and looking into some higher end offerings for the tea club. Some feedback we've also been receiving other than on the forum is that people have too much tea, so I think we definitely need to put some months of higher end teas in smaller quantities into the mix. It's difficult to please everyone, and sometimes difficult to find interesting things each month, but it's a fun challenge and while we understand that not everyone will love every tea hopefully most people find surprises they do love.
Thank you for listening, and considering our thoughts. I have always, greatly appreciated, your customer centered approach. Not all vendors share this same focus.

It’s understandable that this might take some time to develop, and might be difficult overall. Maybe the majority of subscribers would not prefer it, maybe we are the minority.

A separate, higher quality, subscription might be the answer. Maybe it’s not monthly, but every couple months or so. Understanding the cost would be higher, maybe it doesn’t draw a stable base to be workable. I know running a business can be tricky at times, and you can’t please everybody. You have expressed you are willing to try, and that means a lot.

While I have not been a subscriber for long, I have not been disappointed with any of the offerings. I am just desiring top shelf teas. Of course, I could seek out my own selection, which I have, but a top shelf subscription is something to look forward to every couple months. There is a unique pleasure in awaiting some beautiful tea, accompanied with a note from the vendor. Maybe it’s my lack of a social tea community where I live. However, I believe this wouldn’t change my position.

Thank you @TheEssenceofTea, and TF members for listening. Normally, I’m not so long winded.
Chadrinkincat
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Tue Sep 29, 2020 6:10 pm

Glad to see this month included a tuocha from 2007!
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klepto
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Wed Sep 30, 2020 7:39 pm

TeaTotaling wrote:
Wed Sep 02, 2020 3:01 pm
[ There is a unique pleasure in awaiting some beautiful tea, accompanied with a note from the vendor. Maybe it’s my lack of a social tea community where I live. However, I believe this wouldn’t change my position.

Thank you TheEssenceofTea, and TF members for listening. Normally, I’m not so long winded.
I'm in the same boat TeaTotaling, there isn't a tea community here but I'm trying to fix that :D. I enjoy EoT's club because I haven't tried many types of teas so everything for me is new if it isn't sheng puerh or oolong :D.
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TeaTotaling
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Location: Ohio

Tue Nov 10, 2020 3:11 pm

Greetings tea friends! I hope everyone is doing well :)

Has anyone tried this 2000 Chang Da Hao Yiwu JiPin?? A celebration is in order, and this caught my attention.
https://essenceoftea.com/collections/pu ... yiwu-jipin

Let the good times roll 🏴
impromptuandy
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Nov 16, 2018 5:23 pm
Location: Memphis, TN

Tue Nov 10, 2020 9:48 pm

TeaTotaling wrote:
Tue Nov 10, 2020 3:11 pm
Greetings tea friends! I hope everyone is doing well :)

Has anyone tried this 2000 Chang Da Hao Yiwu JiPin?? A celebration is in order, and this caught my attention.
https://essenceoftea.com/collections/pu ... yiwu-jipin

Let the good times roll 🏴
I've got a cake of this (bought one after purchasing a sample), but have only brewed it a few times so it isn't that stable in my memory. It's an excellent tea. I'll dig it out tomorrow and see if I can give you a better description if that's what you're looking for.

I definitely remember it having a nice Yiwu profile, also no intense storage flavors -- reading the description on the site right now and a little surprised it spent its first five years in HK. Eh, maybe not surprised. In any case it's tasty and well-aged.

Tea to commemorate celebratory circumstances sounds like a great practice. :D

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Oh and unrelated -- I'm really digging October's tea club. Tie Luo Han from 1980. So delicious and smooth :)
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