Not sure how common this is elsewhere, so this may be old news, but I’m also quite partial to Rooibosch\redbush tea from South Africa.
If you’re going to stock Twinings, do press your distributor for some of their Vintage Darjeeling. Many years ago it was available in the U.S., but hadn’t seen it for years. When my wife and I fulfilled a longtime dream of mine and went to England in 2005, one of my must-dos was a visit to the Twinings shop in central London. I bought two tins, and still dole out a potful for a special occasion. Magnificent stuff, easily distinct from regular darjeeling with an initial clean, bracing taste with plenty of complexity to follow.
I like Billy Tea. It is getting harder to get but it has a lovely taste.
Mariage Frere’s Ko Kant tea from Burma. Out of this world!!
Just thought of Twinings’ Russian Caravan. That’s aonther one that I like, but can’t find anymore. I also like their China Black - very intense.
Elendil’s Heir, I’m afraid I have to dissent from your views on Earl Gray - I’m with your BIL on that.
I was also coming in to mention the unfurling emperor pearl tea. It doesn’t taste that great (unless you take the jasmine variety) but it sure has novelty value.
I was an avid tea fan and tried everything. The brand I have stuck with for years now is something I discovered by accident! I bought a large pack of cheap tea at the Turkish ethnic store for some purpose, and then discovered it tasted superb. Soft, raisiny, strong but not bitter. It’s only large leaves (no tea dust) and I put my leaves loose in my glass or pot. And I can’t believe how cheap it is. Here it is. Turkish Defne Ceylon Black Tea.Hmm, I’m going to make me a pot now.
You guys are really going to keep me busy tracking down wholesalers for this stuff!
Thanks!
The koala tea mentioned in post #19 was served to me by these wonderful people.
I’ve recently discovered yerba mate, a nice, smooth, but flavorful, tea not unlike green tea. Right now, I’m drinking matevana, which has a naturally sweet, chocolate flavor with some hints of floral tones. I’m usually a tea purist, but German rock sugar makes the flavor of this tea pop.
I think Taylors of Harrogate will have just about everything you could ask for, look for black teas as this is what you will be most familiar with - herbal teas are ok as an experiment and novelty, but not such great movers off the shelf.
http://www.taylorsofharrogate.co.uk/home.asp?storyid={C7207920-21DF-47F6-B485-1C92078FAABA}
http://www.taylorsofharrogate.co.uk/subcattea.asp?catid=119
Just to chime in here with others, the irish tea is just right
Yerba mate is indeed something of a starting trend, although it is a bit of an aquired taste. It is the coffee and tea of the whole of Sout America. And apparently, it has huge health benefits. It comes with some fun and attractive drinking parafernalia, which are cheap enough to be sold together with a packet of Yerba mate tea and an insturction leaflet in a gift package.
Tea, like olive oil, is increasingly a gift thing, so make sure you offer tiny “try-out” gift packages.
A tea shop in my neighbourhood has, as an eyecatcher, a collection of outrageously ugly and extravagant novelty teapots for sale. Think monstrositieslike this one or this one. I don’t know if the shop sells many of those teapots, but it sure draws in a crowd who can’t seem to agree on which teapot is the ugliest. There are some lovely tea pots in there as well, though.
A bestseller in that same tea shop is the “local” tea. It is some popular flavoured tea that they have named after the town. “Dream of Maastricht” in my town. You could name one tea after your own town, or a popular sports team, or call it <your towns>winter tonic, etc.
A local cafe regularly features Republic of Tea red (rooibos) teas as their “tea of the day”, and they also seem to sell a fair amount of the packages of this tea (comes in canisters) as well. I really like the cinnamon orange variety. You might want to consider this or some other red tea. It’s become fairly popular in the US, both because it’s high in antioxidants and because of the association with the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency books. Since this tea will be sold in a bookstore you could make a little sign mentioning this connection.
If it were possible to keep fresh mint, spearmint, bergamot, and Stevia on hand, that would also keep me coming back. I’d pay up to 50cents per leaf for fresh bergamot in my tea. I really miss it.
Try www.adagio.com. Huge selection and sampler packages of different loose teas, plus accessories. If you PM me your email, I will send you a $5 gift certificate so you can try it out if you’d like.
Good thing they don’t strain it, or there’d be no punchline.
Not necessarily - Mrs Piper is a big fan of it, and gets it from the day spa she goes to occasionally.
I love Lapsang Souchong, and I always describe it as drinking a wet pine forest in autumn. It honestly brings back memories of camp.
As for “the best tea in the world”, you could always go really swanky and offer Mariage Freres. The Oriental Hotel here serves their teas and they are really great-- lots of interesting blends (their Earl Grey French Blue is very nice) as well as very swanky single-origin ones. It’ll depend on your market, though.
Pu’er is interesting-- it tastes like mushrooms and damp earth (to me, but it’s not a bad taste). I always feel a little feverish after drinking it, too, but it’s supposed to be good for digestion, so I guess that’s the effect kicking in. :dubious: I’ve never tried the hundred-year-old kind, but I’ve got a brick of it that I picked up in Singapore from one of those crazy old tea shops. The owner evidently said it was decent, but nothing special-- good enough for a white girl who only drinks it every once in a while. 
Any kind of Rooibos (“red tea”) or the related Honeybush- no caffeine.
Personally, I like a nice 1842, 29 août green tea, myself
How did the tea section of your bookstore end up? Who did you go with as a distributer? A lot of people made great suggestions on specific teas, but not a lot of people suggested wholesalers.
As I’m sure you’ve found, Republic of Tea is the BIG name in packaged boutique teas. I’m positive they are a big reason for the easy availability of teas like Stash, Tazo, and even the fancier Lipton pyramid-shaped teabags at places like Safeway and Wal-Mart.
If you want something similar but a little more special and high-end, my local health food store ordered pu-erh (at my request) from a company they found called The Tao of Tea. Their teas come in really attractive canisters that look great on a store shelf (and do an excellent job of preserving the tea inside). They also have an absolutely amazing selection, including the best selection of pu-erh cakes and bricks I’ve seen on the internet outside of sites specializing in pu-ehr (in case you find someone who really likes the stuff - I wouldn’t stock them as a regular item, though a decorative tea brick might make a nice display piece).
I don’t think I’ve actually ordered from them, but Adagio Teas also has an outstanding selection of teas, with multiple selections of specific varietals. Flavored teas aren’t my thing, but they seem to do well here (and that’s what most people buy, especially the type of people who buy tea in a bookshop). They also have a superb website with a really good forum and lots of reviews.
Another vote for Lapsang Souchong, also favour Tulsi Chai.
For a straight black tea I would opt for something from Dilmah.
For something with a subtle flavour Lichee Black
My preference for green tea is Oolong.
But my view of Earl Grey is best summarised by Enda Kenny