Online Tea Vendors dispatching from within the EU (European Union)

[wave_code]

Oops sorry- I think I got the last full basket then. Too bad since I was actually thinking of ordering another one to put down for the long term.

Yes I also think a fair amount of their hei cha and some of their oolong comes from Chawang, and they don't seem to mark it up all that much which is really nice. While the selection is more limited I like that I can try a few things in smaller sizes without having to pay shipping and wait weeks for delivery/customs.

I would be curious to know what you think of their hong cha. I'm running low on some big bags I had gotten earlier in the year so I'll have to try something new soon.

[.m.]

Oops sorry- I think I got the last full basket then. Too bad since I was actually thinking of ordering another one to put down for the long term.

Enjoy. I've ordered some of the 2012 small basket (250g) which i thought that it might be better quality than the other.

I would be curious to know what you think of their hong cha. I'm running low on some big bags I had gotten earlier in the year so I'll have to try something new soon.

I've got only a bag of a 2018 Fujian Ye Sheng, so i won't be able make much comments on their selection. But i'll let you know if i like it.
For bigger orders i think it is still a better value to buy directly from china, even if one has to deal with customs (which in Czechia ends up increasing the price anywhere between 25 to 100%).

[There is no self]

The Tea in Poland. Had very good yancha recently from this vendor.

Seconded. An interesting Alishan Tie Guan Yin as well.

[John_B]

Switzerland isn't part of the EU but per my understanding they take part in related trade agreements.

Anyway, I've tried some really nice teas from Tea Mania, located there:

https://www.teamania.ch/en/

A range of teas were nice (from trying samples), but the moderately priced sheng stood out as much better than teas typically are for that range, from any source. The Yiwu Lucky Bee is a good example.

[TeaZero]

https://www.teamania.ch/en/

The prices are decent. Never heard of them, but it's a pleasure to browse their nice selection.

[John_B]

The thing about random vendors like that is that you could never really judge how good the teas are by description. Even photos don't tell much of a story, and blog reviews wouldn't be easy to place, in general.

Somehow it would seem to make more sense for people within Switzerland to buy teas from there. Depending on how shipping rates and trade agreements work out maybe from the rest of the EU too.

[Nis]

I live in France, and have never had any issues with customs. Only once have they opened a box, and never have I had to pay taxes. I choose epacket whenever possible. It probably helps that YS and others typically don't put the full value on the shipping label

Courriers (UPS, DHL etc.) will always collect taxes + a "handling" fee, if the declared value is above the minimum. They usually don't bother examining the contents - it's essentially automatic.

Palais des Thés ranges from decent to well above average (excellent even), in terms of quality, but the prices are generally way too high. You'll get much better value from Mei Leaf, for example.

[Ethan Kurland]

I live in France, and have never had any issues with customs....

I have sent packages of tea and other things to France using the post office. First class mail from the East Coast of the USA averages about 8 days to the receiver's door and is not expensive. There is no tracking after the packages are in the air to France. It only takes 1or 2 days for packages to be in the air for France. So, I assume officials there take some time to scan or otherwise check what comes into France. Tea in vacuum-packs of no more than 100 grams fit into envelopes that regular mail carriers can deliver. Cheers

[Nis]

I live in France, and have never had any issues with customs....

I have sent packages of tea and other things to France using the post office. First class mail from the East Coast of the USA averages about 8 days to the receiver's door and is not expensive. There is no tracking after the packages are in the air to France. It only takes 1or 2 days for packages to be in the air for France. So, I assume officials there take some time to scan or otherwise check what comes into France. Tea in vacuum-packs of no more than 100 grams fit into envelopes that regular mail carriers can deliver. Cheers

I have had packages wait for as much as a week in customs, but, with just one exception, they have never even been opened. Some of them have been more than a kilo worth of tea.

When I say the process is automatic, I refer specifically to couriers.

[heinza1983]

Hello again,
I'm 'finally' running low on tea so I'm getting onto it right now, checking out all the websites that have been recommended.
The Swiss store looks nice but unfortunately Switzerland is treated just like any 'regular' extra-EU country, thus will have to go through custom clearance and be subject to import duties for a declared value over €22, so sadly they're not an option (just like so many websites out there, in fact the best ones, i.e. directly from the country of production )
At the moment, I'm looking to get (among others) some Japanese tea. The selection on these websites isn't that great for Japanese teas, some don't even sell any, and some don't list the date of harvest, so I'm not considering them, therefore my options seem to be fairly limited...
Do you happen to know any good EU-based online stores with a good range of Japanese teas? Thanks again

[aet]

u can mail the vendor and ask if they can mark the parcel for less than 22e.
In EU for JP teas there is some FR website ( have Eng. version there aswell ) . www.thes-du-japon.com

[gatmcm]

u can mail the vendor and ask if they can mark the parcel for less than 22e.

Most vendors do that by default except japanese ones, sadly thats not a solution a lot of the times, in my case customs requests further proof of the value, usually a receit, a bank statement of the payment and a print screen of the website.
I am aware that most EU countries's customs don't go this far but vendors declaring the real price is usually not the issue.

Not sure why japanese vendors refuse to mark down the orders, I suppose it has something to do with it being eligible for insurance or something like that.

[heinza1983]

Haha, having a major in Japanese I'll say it's a cultural thing.....

The €22 is only part of the problem though. They'll still charge you for inspection, that's what happened with me last time, not import duties.

[heinza1983]

u can mail the vendor and ask if they can mark the parcel for less than 22e.
In EU for JP teas there is some FR website ( have Eng. version there aswell ) . www.thes-du-japon.com

Thanks will have a look

[Elise]

Thes du Japon is based in Japan, so the package will go through customs too...