xhado
User's reviews
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Elaine's Tea Shoppe
Elaine, as I believe her name is, spoke harshly of all other tea shops in the area, a rather uncheerful and off-putting attitude to have. she stores her teas for purchase in bags on the shelf, and not the nice zip-tight airtight bags. I purchased Lapsang Souchong, and found that it was stale upon the first cup. She has a wide variety of tea, but I wouldn't recommend anybody who is looking for a fresh cup to shop here. I was expecting a nice relaxing place to chat about tea, perhaps pick up some new information, and to find a local shop to get things we do not carry in the tea shop I work in. Oh, and you'd be lucky to find her open, even when her hours are posted. She seems to take many breaks...
Tearoom response:
Wow! I guess I should have been expecting this since a chain tea shop moved into the local mall. I'd like to clarify some of the comments.
Of course I will speak highly of my shop over the others in town. I only speak the truth. I know where my tea comes from and I know where theirs does. My tea stocks are by far the best and freshest in town, hands down. I order in small quantities and hand pack everything in small batches to protect freshness.
Our bags are zip locks for the orders through our web site. One short look through our site, with a link to our tea room will tell you exactly what we are about. http://www.wildorchidteas.com
Our tea bags used in the shop are triple lined bags that are made for long term tea storage, (unlike the ones the mall stores use which force you into buying overpriced tea tins) with flat bottoms so that they sit properly on the shelves. We bag small amounts ahead (when we can keep up with it!) so that customers don't have to wait. BTW, the Lapsang Souchong is one of our popular teas and turns over very regularly. Perhaps this 'customer' (competitor employee) doesn't know what really fresh tea tastes like, but I do and so do my regular customers.
I've also dealth with some health issues that have forced me to close the shop on rare occasion. This is a 'ma & pa' shop, not a large chain. How callous to be so unsympathetic to another's hardship. That's just not what we're about at Elaine's Tea Shoppe.
We pride ourselves in The BEST Tea in Town. And the friendliest, most knowledgable tea service. Period.