Initially I began drinking tea as a replacement for soda and other sugary drinks, at a time when I had only tried the most mundane teas and didn’t really know what it was all about. My wife set me on the path to discovering quality teas, and since then we have visited tea shops all over California, in New York, and in Paris. I am more tea fanatic than expert, but I have tried many lesser known teas and want to spread enthusiasm and interest in tea drinking.
This is a very short list of tea vendors (in no particular order) that I highly recommend. I always keep tea from each of them stocked: