The Fancy Accent Tea Company - Grayland, Washington - fancyaccentteas.com

The Fancy Accent Tea Company was one of the few companies that left me wanting more. They sent over a sampler of a number of their flavors. I was worried when I picked out my first blend. The bag felt light and only had a small amount of tea in it. I dipped it into some hot water. The resulting tea tasted great, but it was dreadfully weak. The same thing happened with all subsequent tastings. I had to resort to combining several flavors into the same cup to get tea that was anywhere close to how strong I like it.

Apparently, The Fancy Tea Company has a loose leaf option, which would have been better for this review. Rather than taking a hard stance and saying negative about this company, I am going to render this review inconclusive. This means that I made a good faith effort to test this product and my results were underwhelming due to the lack of materials I had available. I hope to revisit this company if they’re willing to send more materials for a subsequent review. I understand if they refused to do so. It took me a long time to come to this conclusion because I felt that this company deserved that respect.

I apologize to The Fancy Tea Company for being unable to make any declaration regarding their product. They are ran by some of the nicest people I have ever come across. I blame myself for not being specific enough about what I needed to complete my tests. I like to leave the decision making process up to the companies I’m contacting. Perhaps that was a mistake. In the future, I will specify which products I want and the quantity I need of each of them. I don’t like doing this because it makes me feel like I’m being bossy.

This post is not the last you will hear from me about The Fancy Tea Company. I never reach out to the company with the idea of doing anything other than completing a review I’m happy with. This doesn’t mean that I’m incapable of delivering a bad review of a company. On the contrary, I am nothing but 100% honest with every word I put on the page.

I will denounce a company if they’re worthy of being denounced. The problem is that everyone in this industry knows what they’re doing. This puts me in a position where I am tasked to describe various shades of excellence. I feel like The Fancy Tea Company is just as excellent as many of its competitors.  

Lake Missoula Tea Company - Missoula, Montana - lakemissoulateacompany.com

I was eager to get in touch with Lake Missoula Tea Company when I found out they were located in one of my favorite cities. I travel to Montana every year and the fact there’s such a great tea company up there and I haven’t been to it is astonishing to me. I fully plan to remedy this problem the next time I’m in the neighborhood. In the meantime, I would like to tell you how much I enjoyed trying their teas. When I pick a tea that’s just right, I want it to have several layers to it and smell so good that I’m excited to drink it.

Each bag of tea from Lake Missoula Tea Company was better than the last. After opening several bags, I thought I reached the end of their selection. I was surprised when I looked on their website and found they have dozens of other fantastic varieties.  I talked with someone from Lake Missoula Tea Company about something called purple tea. I didn’t even know that purple tea was a thing. I want companies like that in my rolodex, not the companies who take the weakness of my taste and encourage and enforce it.

I recently had a cold and I tried their Beat the Snot Out of You allergy blend. As I drank it, I was reminded of the tea my mother used to make me when I was younger and feeling under the weather. I looked forward to this tea every time I got sick because I knew that it would boost my mood at least for a little while. I feel the same way about this tea now. I’m currently hoarding the small amount of this tea I have left. I dread the idea of running out.

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not enlightened when it comes to tea. I started this project as someone who was all on board with coffee and unreasonably opposed to tea. I couldn’t pinpoint the reason why I stayed as far away from tea as I could. Usually, if I have negative feelings, it’s based in some sort of undesirable experience. I had the hardest time figuring out why I avoided tea. Anytime this has happened I’ve determined that these irrational feelings are more the result of a lack of understanding than sound reason and logic.

I appreciate companies like Lake Missoula Tea Company for enhancing my appreciation of tea while also broadening my knowledge of the various types that are out there. This review encompasses a small section of the teas they offer. I like to tell the whole story of a company instead of taking some of their products and using them as a means of interpreting what the entire organization does. I get that it probably seems redundant to review one type of tea after another. I prefer to approach things differently than all the other coffee and tea reviewing blogs. I want to invest my time and talents and treat these companies as well as I feel like they need to be treated.

There doesn’t seem to be a magic bullet when it comes to covering a company the right way. My goal here is to have reviews that propel companies into the stratosphere because each one of them deserves that status. I do not have that power yet, but I would like to have it one day. I have received many messages that question the way I review coffees and teas and that’s fine. I am neither a specialty taster, nor someone who has all the information about everything that’s brought to my intention. The arrogance that comes with both of those ways of thinking is appalling. That’s why I love Lake Missoula Tea Company.

Missoula is a city that’s not large or small. It’s more in the middle. You won’t have a hard time finding something happening in this city. Occasionally you will run across some crowds, but they’re not as intimidating as the ones you find in bigger cities. I’m well aware of the fact that not everyone will have the opportunity to get to this part of Montana. If you want to know what Missoula is like, order a few packages of tea from Lake Missoula Tea Company. Their tea will transport you onto the humble streets of Missoula and sit you in a cozy little shop on Main Street. 

Here's a link to Lake Missoula Tea Company's website for your consideration

The Virginia Tea Company - Manassas, Virginia - virginiateacompany.com

I have written many times about what presentation does to one’s interpretation of a product. Virginia Tea Company is an organization that prides itself on how their products look just as good as they taste. I will be the first to tell you that they taste great. The best of the best in any industry can be measured by the loyalty their customers show them. To get their business of the ground, Virginia Tea Company started a Kickstarter campaign. In a 30-day period, their campaign was fully funded, giving them a multitude of resources to truly start selling their products to the masses.

They sent a canister that included their chai tea, some tea bags, and a tea infuser. On the side, there were also samplers of their caffeinated and herbal varieties. I found myself drawn to their chai tea because of its multifaceted flavors. It tastes sweet without actually being sweet. For some reason, it reminded me of some sort of baked good, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

I also enjoyed the samplers. I am always conflicted when I try out an assortment of anything. While I get excited at the idea of trying a range of products, I feel sad when the products in question are as great as those from Virginia Tea Company. I end up wanting more and regret the fact I consumed the only amount I had of the product. This conflicted feeling is the reason why I request full size samples whenever possible instead of focusing on the samplers.

I am not disrespecting Virginia Tea Company in saying this. I am saying that their product is so great that you would be better off ordering the full sized versions than the samplers. If you want to get a sense of what this company is about, you should buy the samplers right away. I guarantee you that they’re great and you should go for the full sized versions of their products.

Companies like Virginia Tea Company are the reason why I look to establish long-term relationships with the companies I review. There’s a distinct difference between companies with potential and great companies that also have potential. A company that’s both great and brimming with potential will just get better with time. I don’t want to be on the outside looking in as I see Virginia Tea Company reach the plateaus I know they have before them.

Here's a link to Virginia Tea Company's website for your consideration

White Lion Traditional Tea Company - Scottsdale, Arizona - whiteliontea.com

White Lion Traditional Tea Company is a company that does its job so well that it has turned me, a coffee lifer, into someone who’s now highly intrigued by tea. My previous experience with tea consisted of ordinary Lipton tea from the grocery store. This tea was so unremarkable that I didn’t want to touch tea with a 10 foot pole until the package from White Lion Tea arrived on my doorstep. Since my experiences with tea were so limited, I didn’t know what to think as I opened the box. I cracked it open and what greeted me was something I could best describe as a new beginning.

The package they sent me had several different types of tea in little tins with a tin filled with honey crystals sitting in the middle. I had no idea something like honey crystals even existed before I tried their product. I worked through all the different kinds before I came to a singular, definitive realization. I want to have White Lion Tea in my life going forward. If White Lion Tea were a person, I would want to invite them over for tea and have an enjoyable morning.

For me, coffee and tea is great when it’s presented in the most desirable fashion. Packaging can only go so far in determining the value of a product. The product itself has to be of the highest level of quality. A product that’s lackluster is still going to be lackluster even though the package is eye catching. White Lion Tea produces an exceptional product from start to finish. The packaging invites you to consume what’s within and the product itself does not disappoint. We should all demand this level of quality from all the tea purveyors we come across.

This post is the start of a section of this blog that focuses on tea. I will continue to find companies that sell tea independently. I also would like to learn as much about tea as I know about coffee. I don’t know why I waited so long to start to cover tea. It’s something that’s brewed very similarly to coffee. I feel like if I had known what White Lion Tea was all about before I contacted them I would’ve picked them for the first post of my tea coverage. We will see what happens with my relationship with White Lion Tea going forward. I’m hoping for the best.

Here's a link to White Lion Traditional Tea Company for your consideration