aroma

Tea Ave does packaging right.
(yet to try the tea, so stay tuned).

There are a lot of online tea shops that sell great tea, but I've yet to across many that does so beautifully (this is one that comes to mind). While being aesthetically pleasing isn't a requirement to great tea, it currently adds to the pleasure.

Here's some unboxing pics of a free sample that Tea Ave sent me.

Excited to try the Oriental Beauty!




Isn't it so cute that each tea has its own icon made from the shop's logo?

Interesting decision for them to include a tasting cup set instead of a brewing vessel (eg. ceramic gaiwan), which is more practical. They do mention in the included info card that Taiwanese oolongs should be enjoyed with an aroma cup to fully appreciate the smell and taste of the tea.

I'm very surprised by their generosity. In their initial post in /r/tea, they only mentioned sending samples of tea. What I actually received was what you see above, tea plus cup set, plus $15 giftcard (though only applicable to orders above $75)... times 2. They actually sent another additional set for gifting.

Hoping that the tea is as good as the packaging, I would very much like to support a new, Canadian (they're based in Vancouver) tea company that specializes in oolong.