Orders & delivery
When will my order be dispatched?
Every order is packed to order in our workshop in Fuzhou — we do not hold pre-packed stock. Parcels are handed to the carrier within 48 hours of your payment clearing, and tracking is emailed to you within 48 hours of dispatch.
Can I change my address after ordering?
Write to us immediately. If the parcel has not left the workshop we can still amend it. Once it is with the carrier the destination cannot be changed — if it comes back to us as undeliverable we will contact you to arrange redelivery, charged at our cost price.
Can I add a gift note?
Yes. Put it in the order notes field at checkout and we will write it by hand on a card. Prices are left off the packing slip, so you can ship straight to the recipient — use their address at checkout and we will not include an invoice.
Shipping, tax & duties
How much is shipping, and how long does it take?
Standard — 7–12 business days. Free on orders over $60.00, otherwise $12.00 (US) or $16.00 (EU).
Express — 3–5 business days. $18.00 (US) or $26.00 (EU).
Transit time starts the day after dispatch, and business days exclude weekends and public holidays in both China and the destination country.
Do you ship to my country?
At launch we ship to the United States (all 50 states and Washington, D.C.) and the 27 member states of the European Union. If you are outside those regions, write to us and we will arrange a one-off quotation.
Is the $60 free-shipping threshold before or after a discount code?
After. The threshold is measured on your subtotal after any discount code and before tax, and it applies to Standard shipping only.
Is tax included in the price?
It depends where you are. United States — sales tax is added at checkout as a separate line for destinations where we are registered to collect (currently California). European Union — VAT is collected at checkout under the Import One-Stop Shop scheme and is already included in the prices shown to EU customers where local law requires it.
Will I have to pay import duty on delivery?
Possibly. Import duty and any customs handling fee are levied by the destination country and charged to the recipient on delivery — they are not part of your order total. Tea is a low-value agricultural product and the large majority of our parcels arrive with no extra charge. If you refuse a parcel to avoid a charge, it is returned to us and we refund the order less the outbound shipping we have already paid.
The tea itself
How fresh is the tea?
Each product page states the harvest the lot came from. We pack to order straight from that lot rather than from a warehouse bin, and we do not blend across pickings — what you buy in March is the same leaf as what you buy in September.
How should I store it?
Airtight, out of the light, and away from anything with a strong smell — coffee, spices, a kitchen cupboard next to the stove. Green and lightly oxidised teas are best finished within 12 months of the harvest. Oolong, black and puer keep far longer, and puer is meant to be aged rather than protected from time.
What water should I use?
Filtered water, just off the boil for oolong and black, cooler for green and white. The longer version — including why your kettle matters more than your teapot — is in Why your water is ruining your oolong.
Do I need a gongfu set to drink this?
No. A mug and a strainer will get you most of the way. If you do want to brew the way the tea is usually tasted, four pieces is enough — a gaiwan, a fairness pitcher, a strainer and a cup. We wrote about exactly that in A beginner’s set: four pieces, no more.
Are your teas flavoured or blended?
Neither. Every tea is a single lot from a single garden, with nothing added. Where a tea is a blend of cultivars from the same mountain — as some of our oolongs are — the product page says so, because that is a fact about the tea rather than a shortcut.
Returns & wholesale
What is your returns policy?
30 days from delivery on unopened items, refunded in full including the original shipping. Return shipping is free in the US and the EU. If a tea is faulty, stale, or simply not what the product page described, open it, taste it, tell us — we refund in full and you do not need to send it back. The full terms are in Returns & Refunds.
Can I exchange an item instead?
We do not run a formal exchange process. Return the item for a refund and place a new order — it is faster, and you get exactly what you want rather than a swap we chose for you.
Do you sell wholesale?
Yes. We supply a small number of tea rooms, restaurants and retailers, and we would rather have a few good partners than a long list. Write to us with what you do and roughly how much tea you go through in a month, and we will send the wholesale sheet.