We are now a week into packing and shipping directly from China, and Weiwei is doing an incredible job! We wanted to give you a behind-the-scenes look at the inner-workings of how we are shipping your tea out fresh every day here in Jimo, China.
Every week, Weiwei, David, and Wang Huimin check in to see how everything is going. We hop on a conference call with each of our partner farmers to check in on their latest harvests and work with them to get enough tea for the coming week packed at the farm in small bags and express-shipped to Jimo.
By re-evaluating every week and making our farmer friends direct partners in the process, we can give them a chance to curate their own collection and recommend the freshest and best harvest available that moment.
This means that instead of sitting on older harvests, we can always ship you the absolute best available no matter what.
To offer you the best possible variety of tea ware, we work with Chen Longbin in Xiamen and all his partners in Jingdezhen and Yixing. He sends us updates every week on what we can make available, and we keep our site up to date with everything he can supply.
Every day, we send Mr. Chen a list of tea wares that you have ordered and he gets them sent to us direct from Jingdezhen and Yixing. Special order tea wares take a couple of days to arrive in Jimo for us to pack, but by special-ordering, we can offer you a much bigger and more unique selection at the best prices possible.
Setting Up Shop
collaborating with Qing Qing He at our shared tea shop
Once the tea and teawares are packed and everything arrives in Jimo, Weiwei checks every order from our tea shop. The tea shop is a shared project between Verdant Tea and the He family in Laoshan Village, giving them the chance to sample their teas to a wider local audience and build a name for themselves.
He Qingqing represents her family, sampling teas at the shop, and often lends a hand to Weiwei, who packs and ships each order.
When your order comes in, Lauren and David look it over personally and generate all the customs forms, shipping labels and receipts that Weiwei will need.
We send each day’s orders to Weiwei at about 5PM CST, rain or shine, weekend or weekday.
If we hear from you after you place your order about adding items or updating an address, we will make those changes right away before sending the orders off to Weiwei to pack up and ship out.
Weiwei wakes up each morning and gets on the phone with David to make sure that everything looks good. She prints every order receipt, and picks out your tea from what we have set aside from each farmer for the week.
All green teas and green Tieguanyin are kept at an ideal cold temperature to preserve their flavor while they are waiting to be packed.
Weiwei picks out a free sample that she thinks you will enjoy and includes it with your order, and then makes sure all of your tea is packed safely in thick cardboard boxes rated for international shipping.
At the end of the day, our shipping partners in Qingdao, China triple check each order, submit everything they need to customs and generate your shipping label. Their set of eyes is another final check to make sure your tea is delivered quickly and accurately.
Weiwei seals your box and attaches the labels, and the shippers pick up your package in Jimo.
Weiwei updates your order with tracking info, which sends you an email automatically. Your email gives you everything you need to stay up to date on when your tea and teawares arrive.
Your packages are picked up in Jimo, and enter the mailstream from Qingdao, China. From Qingdao, they travel to Hong Kong and board a flight to your destination. US orders arrive at JFK airport in New York, and are met by USPS trucks to deliver them to your city. For other international destinations, your package is handled by the local postal service.
Your package arrives at your address, and you open the box that has been hand-packed, just for you.
Inside, you’ll find your tea and tea ware, carefully packed for its long journey, along with an extra free sample of tea and a heartfelt thank you note from all of us for your kind support.
We all hope you enjoy your tea as much as we enjoy it. As always, call us or email with any questions, browse our blog for brewing tips, and feel free to learn everything you can about the farmers who made your tea.
That’s it!
Our first week of packing and shipping from China has been great. Now that we are based in China, we are able to send out the freshest tea we ever have, direct to you.
So what does that mean for the future?
Already, we are working with the He Family on sharing a brand new kind of tea they have never made before. We are also working to photograph and share more yixing tea pots, Jingdezhen gaiwans, cups and accessories.
We are looking forward to continually expanding our collection, and even introducing some of the new friends we have been making in China, from Yunnan and Sichuan to Guangdong.
We could not do it without you.
Thank you so much for all of your support so far. We are excited to keep supplying you with the freshest tea we can, from the most dedicated family farms in the world.
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Thanks for a peek behind the scenes. I look forward to getting to know the people behind the tea.
What a gorgeous site, and so wonderful to follow your journey! Love being a new customer!
I ordered tea for the first time from Verdant during your first week of shipping out teas and the service is excellent! I love this blog, and I have read so much about your tea and your farmers that I have already ordered more tea.
I received an email from Verdant before I ever received my first shipment saying that Wei Wei had not included the free sample, and as an apology, Verdant e-mailed me before I ever received my tea and offered me tea dollars to use to get additional tea. I wasn't even expecting a free sample, so this was an unexpected and generous offer.
I am super excited about being able to enjoy more tea, and I am hoping to order one of the beautiful Yixing pots soon!
So happy we found your tea sight, we are very happy:) Learning so much from all of you, thank you so much:)
Thank you so much, Ron and Denise!! I am so happy to have tea on its way to you. I think your first packages will be arriving soon!
Please enjoy, with all of my thanks,
Lily Duckler