Madura Camomile 20 Enveloped Tea Bags, 1 x 30 g

Good camomile bags. The herb produces a clean tasteful chamomile tisane. I tend to use one bag for average mugs and two for my larger ones. Nicely packaged and designed all over, from the tea bags, the tea tags, to the container box. Not organic, which is disappointing. 

 

There is no way on the packaging that it says it is organic. For the rest this is an average chamomile, not better than the cheapest brands, which, by the way, are organic. 

SECOND VERSION 

Camomile teabags are always in my pantry as I swear by it for stomach upsets. I gave this brand a try just because it's a local brand. The packaging and design of the packet and teabags is excellent. However, the product itself, the chamomile, it is too weak for my taste. It is a nice clean chamomile to taste if I just want to have a healthy drink, but not enough if I have stomachache or tummy upset as it isn't strong enough for the purpose.  Also, I always want my chamomile to be organic, but this packet has no indication of that being the case, something that find really disappointing. 

I WON'T BUY EVER AGAIN :)

NB = The review has been deleted thrice from Amazon, despite being completely honest and having nothing that you would consider against Amazon guidelines. I tried the second version, to no avail. Like they have blocked me for saying that the chamomile is too week and packaging isn't clear about the ingredients in it, which is against Australian food regulations. I guess that the people declining publication are Madura company themselves, as it takes my reviews at least two days to be published but when I publish these, they come up as negative immediately afterwards. That's kinda dodgy and I won't buy from these people every again, mediocre products, bad labeling and manipulative ratings.

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Madura Green and Papaya 20 Enveloped Tea Bags, 30 g

This a good green tea tisane, made with a mix of green tea and papaya leaf. The packaging design is great overall (from the containing box to the sachets to the tea tags system) and the quality of the herb is good. However, I was expecting something that does taste a bit of papaya not just of green tea, and this is what this tea tastes of to me, green tea. The package doesn't list the percentage of papaya leaf in it, but I think it's very small because of what I've said. This tea is still very nice, but not what I expected. As any green tea, the tisane has a small amount of caffeine in it, but nothing that keeps me awake. There is no way on the packaging that it says it is organic.

SECOND VERSION

In a few words, not my cup of tea. It is a nice very-light green tea with some papaya leaf added but the taste of latter is not noticeable to taste. The packet doesn't list the percentage of papaya leaf in it, something that is a red flag to me. Besides, I like my green tea to be organic but there is nothing on the package to indicate that this is the case.  It has a tiny amount of caffeine but nothing that prevents me from falling asleep if I take it at night.

 

NB = The review has been deleted thrice from Amazon, despite being completely honest and having nothing that you would consider against Amazon guidelines. I tried the second version, to no avail. Like they have blocked me for saying that the chamomile is too weak and packaging isn't clear about the ingredients in it, which is against Australian food regulations. I guess that the people declining publication are Madura company themselves, so I won't buy from these people every again. 

I WON'T BUY EVER AGAIN :)

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World PAR-TEA (Online Shop, Australia)

Old Website

New Website

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Shop 22, 35 Merrigal Rd
Port Macquarie, New South Wales 2444
Phone    (02) 6581 4833
Hours:
    Mon - Sat: 10:00 - 04:30

World Par-Tea is an Australian owned and operated business settled in Port Macquairy Qld, that started as a humble tea market stand in NSW in 2004 and has been selling online, retail and wholesale, since 2007. Many shops in Australia distribute their products, but the only two shops doing so in WA are in Geraldton and Mandurah, so I ordered a few things from their online shop. 

WPT has an amazing variety of teas and tisanes: Black, Green, Oolong, Yellow, Blossom, White, and Rooibos teas; Organic Herbal and Aryuvedic Tisanes; Natural Fruit Infusions, Australian and Fair Trade Teas, both plain and blends. They have more than 180 tea varieties! They also have a huge range of beautiful tea ware (canisters, cups, pots, tea sets, infusion tools, and what's not) for sale.

Their website is very pleasing to the eye, simply organised, easy to browse and shop from, and has a great section devoted to brewing tips. You can check out as a registered customer or as a guest, and select standard or express shipping, the later a bit more expensive but traceable. They accept major credit cards and PayPal as payment. Shipping costs are weight-based, but up to a maximum of 15 bucks; this is great, especially if buying tea crockery, which tends to be heavy, and you might end paying a lot if the  shipping costs weren't capped. 

After placing your order, you will receive a receipt email and a confirmation order. They shipped immediately, and my parcel took a natural week, exactly, to get from QLD to Perth. Everything was safely packed and in perfect order.

WPT is, in a way, very similar to T2 regarding what they offer for sale, but its approach to business is completely different. WPT is more family-business style, more Zen and organically driven, less corporate and also less trendy regarding branding and image. To me, they are way better than T2 in several fronts:
- Organic herbal tisanes and Aryuvedic blends. They have a great variety of plain or blend herbal tisanes, some of them difficult to find elsewhere. I especially recommend the Australian Lemon Myrtle tea, which is fantastic in scent, flavour and on your stomach. However, their list of herbal teas is huge and you will certainly find those herbs that you like. 
- Variety of prices. 

• They have different packaging sizes, from the 10 grs sampler (not all varieties, though) to the 250 grs (not all). If you are a fan of any of their products, you can save by ordering a big package. If you want to try something new, just pay for a sample. 
• The sell their teas in bags or tins, the latter being more expensive for the same quantity of product. I buy the packets, which are made of foil and plastic, resealable, and they are great. 
• Their tea ware is way less expensive than T2's, and in many cases way better in quality and prettier, at least for the average items.   
• They have a small selection of tea and high-tea related books.

On the contrary, they have less variety of Oolong teas than T2 has, and a wider range of brewing tools.

Customer service is diligent, and they reply to any query you might have.

The main downsides of the online shop are:
1/ The FAQ area is useless, as it all about tea - the product. They could put that info elsewhere, and introduce here practical information for online shoppers, like:

• Ways of shipping.
• Price of shipping
• International shipping?
• Average delivery period.
• Return policies.

2/ They do not send an email informing of shipping if you check out using standard or express check-out. Even if there is no tracking link to give, customers always want to know when exactly the order was shipped. The Order Status in Your Account area is worthless as shows as "processing" those orders that you have already received.
3/ Some of the photos do not zoom in, that is, you get the same small image you have pre-zooming. 
4/ The wish list is great, but it doesn't show the price of the item, so you have to click on the item and go to its specific page. The web designers could correct this easily. 

***

WPT is a terrific shop for tea lovers, organic herbs nerds, and explorers of the world of infusions, no matter you are just are buying for your own use and household, or a business owner looking for a specific unique blend for your business. They have a huge variety of tea-related products, good prices, a diligent customer service, and fast and safe shipping procedures. A great online shop with great products I am in love with! Still, they need to fix some of the flaws of their online tracking system. 

UPDATE
They do not sell pottery teaware, just those made of iron. What a pity. 

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T2 Tea (Perth WA)

Shop 4/ 726 Hay St
Perth Western Australia 6000
(08) 9226 2429
http://t2tea.com/
Hours:
    Mon-Thu 9:00 - 18:00
    Fri 9:00 - 21:00
    Sat 9:00 - 17:00
    Sun 11:00 - 17:00
 In the Kingdom of Coffee, T2 is a serious contender to the throne. T2 Tea sells anything and everything related to tea in the East and the West. T2 is an Australian brand that succeeds at what it does because there is passion behind the project. Not only that, they have gorgeous shops with clever marketing policies implemented in how things are presented and offered to you. The most important thing is that they sell more than 100 varieties of tea, mostly loose, but also in convenient tea bags. They have certified organic tea, and a great variety of white, green, yellow, Oolong and black teas, plus tisanes, fruit, herbal and floral blend teas, rooibos and honeybush teas, and even vintage tea. Not enough, they have bottled  unsweetened iced tea. Wow! 

I have tried many T2 teas and tisanas, and some of them smell good but taste OK, or at least do not taste as the name of the tea or the smell of the team made you think. Those that deliver, to me, are among the tea bag teas: Gorgeous Geisha (green tea) and the Red Fancy Fruit (rooibos based). Among the flavoursome tisanes I would recommended the Spi Chai  (spicy but delicate), Apple Chunky (mostly dried apple), an the Toasty Nugat (chunky apple, syrup, vanilla and almonds), which are great both cold and hot; the same can be said of Vanilla Slice and Strawberry & Cream (red fruit based). Among the green teas, Sencha Peach and Sencha Sensations are both fabulous in taste and aroma. I find most of the black teas at T2 a bit disappointing or not worth the money, really. Still the Monk Pear has a distinctive aroma and flavour, and it is quite nice for a medium-strength breakfast tea; it might not be your cup of tea. The Oolong teas are quite nice, but nothing wow -at least to me- to pay their high price.  

They sell gorgeous tea sets, cups, saucers, mugs, and jugs from the very simple to the romantic and ethnic, to the vintage; the latter are expensive, but cheaper than in other places. All of this, plus a huge selection of tea storing, brewing, and serving tools.

THE STORE - The Hay St store is quite large but very sleek and cheerful, most of furniture and celled walls in black with a few coloured areas. A perfect place to showcase the beautiful colourful crockery they have. They are very clever at mixing the very well organised and illuminated cells in the wall, with the more street-market-like piles of stuff in the stand-alone tables and shelves, which appeals to different sort of customers. The piles always make you enter and wander around, as it gives the shop a casual shop air, while the rest is what the shop is meant to be - a posh tea shop. Every time I enter here, I tell myself that whomever is designing the shops, is doing an awesome job at marketing what is for sale. 

I love the fact that they have three or four pots of brewed tea prepared for customers to taste. A great gesture, and a very clever marketing policy.  

THE NITTY-GRITTY - * The place is pricey for everything, but especially for tea infusers, canisters and for simple organic tisanes (chamomile, peppermint and even simple rooibos), which can be found at your local IGA, Woolies Coles or Chinese store for a fraction of the price. You can find beautiful simple tea sets at bargain prices at Asian Shops, so come to T2 just for the posh ones.
* Many of their teas are weak, so if you are into strong tea, many of them will be too "girly" for you. 
* Many of their teas smell divine, like an otherworldly experience, but then they taste bland. Still, they are a good way of eating with your senses, just using your olfactory senses. Try the  strawberry cream tea, and then you will understand what I am talking about.  
* Service is uneven. Sometimes I am greeted with a big smile on arrival and offered a cup of their brewed teas, while others I am treated matter of fact with a nosey attitude, and others I am left to browse around without being disturbed. The staff can get uptight if you make certain sort of questions. Like, does T2 have sales? Like, Do you recycle the tasting paper cups? There is no need to look at me as I was landing from Pluto, I am just asking. 
 * Although this affects the whole brand, I find shocking that they do no use recyclable tasting cups, as the ones they have cannot be recycled after use. Are we in the 21st century yet?
* They rarely have sales. So uncool. If something is too expense and/or I can find it cheaper elsewhere I will go elsewhere, unless you are selling ambrosia. 

***

If you are not a tea drinker, I invite you to visit T2 shop in Hay St, taste some of their varieties of tea, and then tell me that you cannot find anything that suits your taste. If you already like tea, this is heaven!  

TIP
 The golden leafed decorated cups and saucers are not microwaveable.

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