If you’re new to tea drinking, you may wonder the best places to buy tea. Your local supermarket likely has just a small variety of tea, most of it in tea bag form. But, the real connoisseur, or connoisseur in the making, will want loose tea, and this can be harder to find than tea in other forms.

Because white tea is rarer than black tea, it can be even more difficult to find than loose black or green tea. White tea comes from the same plant as other teas, but it is harvested much earlier than other teas, before the leaves are fully open.

The tea is harvested while the buds are still closed and covered by fine white hair.

This white hair is where white tea gets its name. In addition, white tea is processed differently than green or white teas. It undergoes very little processing and remains in a very natural state. This early harvest and minimal processing gives white tea a very light and delicate flavor that is slightly sweet.

Compared to the amount of black and green tea grown in the world, there is very little white tea.

This makes the tea more expensive and much harder to find. White tea connoisseurs may find that they have very few local stores that carry really good white tea in loose form.

The Internet Has Opened a Whole New World

The Internet has changed the way the world shops. In fact, experts say that 84% of Americans have shopped online at least once. And, approximately 60% of Americans say that they shop online regularly. Online shopping is popular for several reasons:

•It’s convenient – you never need to leave the house and it’s faster than calling a catalog number.

•It’s fast – Shopping online takes far less time than shopping in person

•It’s easy to find bargains – Comparison shopping is easier

•Your purchases are tax free in most states – saving up to 7% of the value of each purchase.

•You have access to more retailers. Shoppers are not limited to retailers in their local areas.

This final reason is very important when it comes to purchasing tea online, particularly white tea. Anytime you’re looking for a product that’s rare, being able to widen your shopping horizons is very wise.

I personally live in one of the largest cities in the US, and I know of only one really good tea purveyor whose shop is convenient for me. Therefore, I buy most of my tea online because it gives me access to the best teas from anywhere in the world.

Shopping for white tea online allows the opportunity to try more varieties of tea for sampling. Once you’ve chosen your favorite, you know that through online ordering, you’ll always be able to find the white tea you love.

Shopping for tea online can pose one problem, however. This is, of course, the fact that you can’t see the tea before you buy it. High quality white tea will be fluffy in appearance. White tea that is too compact has probably been improperly stored and thus, damaged. Good white tea will either have a delicate slightly sweet fragrance or no fragrance at all. Tea that smells stale probably is.

But, when you order online, you can’t scope out the smell and appearance of the tea before you buy. So, for this reason, the most important thing you can do to ensure that you get high quality tea online is to choose a reputable tea purveyor.
Ordering from a company with a reputation for selling only the best teas and for having excellent customer service can help ensure that you get quality tea.

It also helps ensure that in the event that you ever do get a bad batch of tea, you’ll be taken care of. The best tea purveyors stand behind their products and take care of their customers in order to gain repeat business.

White tea is very expensive, and it’s no less expensive when you purchase online. In fact, if you find a price on white tea that seems too good to be true, it probably is, unless you find it offered by a tea purveyor that you’ve used before and trust.

The best tea purveyors will have relationships with the best white tea gardens in the world, or at least in one of the areas of the world where white tea is grown.

This relationship will help them to procure the best crop of tea each year.

It also pays for a customer to have a relationship with a tea purveyor, particularly where white tea is concerned. Since good white tea is only harvested once a year, you’ll want to know when your favorite online tea store gets its new batch.

Many good tea purveyors will send out emails or other notifications to their customers advising them of new arrivals. They’ll also be happy to ask your questions about when your favorite tea will be in stock.

Shopping online is a very good way to get good teas. You’ll have access to some of the finest teas in the world without leaving the comfort of your home. Just be certain that you’re doing business with a reputable online tea company.