Wholesale FAQ
Our Platform
Tealet is an online platform for direct trade tea from independent growers. Our mission is to make it simple for you to source the best teas from family farms and cooperatives around the world. We are dedicated to quality, ethics, and transparency.
We've fostered close long-term relationships with small family farms and cooperatives in 8 different countries. Now, we've partnered up with these growers to bring their best teas to you, eliminating the convoluted supply chains of typical tea wholesale, and delivering tea from farm to cup.
Our wholesale program allows you to source microlots of quality tea directly from small tea growers. All of our teas are single-origin, small harvests from family farms and cooperatives who are also dedicated to quality, ethics, and transparency.
We have traveled to the farms and documented the teas from field to cup, giving you access to all the information you need to bring new levels of quality and education to your business and your customers. Once you have sourced tea through us, all the related photos, videos, and detailed content are available for you to use to help you market your teas and educate your community.
You can see some of our sourcing diaries at the Amazing Tea Race diaries, or view Tea Profiles and Grower Profiles for more information.
Unlike traditional wholesalers, we eliminate the complicated supply chains and connect buyers directly to tea growers. In typical supply chains and corporate models, the tea farmer has little control over the process. Farmers receive less than 15% of the final tea price, as multiple brokers and distributors absorb most of the profit. The tea farmer rarely has the opportunity to connect with the end-consumer, and have no say in how their tea is represented or priced.
At Tealet, we are adopting the farmer's market model and work closely with our growers to deliver quality tea directly to the consumers. The tea farmer is actively involved in the market: they set their prices on the Tealet platform and provide the details on each tea and harvest, ensuring their teas are represented fairly. With each purchase of tea, the farmer receives 60% or 80% of the final tea price depending on their terms.
In turn, buyers get full transparency into the sourcing process, and can access all the information about the growers and their teas. We are fostering long-term relationships between buyers and growers from around the world, taking the international tea business to a different level of trust, understanding, and connection.
Ordering & Shipping
Thank you for your interest! If you are a tea retailer, educator, or shop owner interested in 1lb+ quantities of tea, you can be qualified as a wholesale buyer. Please email us at info@tealet.com to set up your account, purchase samples, and for access to our Wholesale Catalog and marketing materials.
We focus on quality rather than quantity. Our growers feature the best microlots from their farms, either of top-grade leaf or of new, experimental lots that are unusual and unique. Because we work with small tea growers, we cannot guarantee that teas will always be available or be consistent from season to season; specialty tea is an agricultural product, and is sensitive to changes in its environment or in processing.
As we expand, we will begin to include multiple growers and teas from the same region, so that you can have a variety of choices while ensuring the same levels of quality and ethical sourcing.
We operate with small minimums, as we emphasize quality rather than quantity. The minimum order is one unit, equal to 1lb -OR- 500g, depending on how the selected tea has been portioned by the tea farmer.
Due to the original packaging, the minimum order for pressed puerh cakes/bings is 1 cake. Weights may vary according to the producer.
Due to limited availability, the minimum order for US-grown teas is 1/4lb.
We are based in the United States, and ship from a temperature-controlled co-packing facility in Modesto, CA. We currently ship to consumers in 28 different countries.
Orders within the continental US should take 3-5 business days. International orders will typically take 10-14 business days, but may take up to 4 weeks to arrive due to customs or other unexpected delays.
While we are willing to attempt to ship to any destination, each country has a different policy on tea importation. Please review your country's policies before making an order, and send us an email at info@tealet.com for more information.
We are not liable for any customs costs or other unforeseen fees.
Tea Information
We ship our wholesale teas in industry standard, foil-lined ziplock bags. The thick, opaque material and airtight seal will help keep your teas fresh for at least a year. Keep your tea stored in these bags, or in another airtight container away from light, odors, humidity, or temperature changes. While glass containers might be attractive, UV light can pass through and degenerate the tea's flavors and aromas.
Tea keeps well at room temperature, so it is not necessary to refrigerate tea, especially if you are taking the tea in and out of cold storage continuously.
If stored correctly, green teas can remain fresh for up to 0-2 years, while other types of teas can last 3-5 years. Some teas, like puerh and certain oolongs, will improve over time. Puerh tea is best stored with some airflow and mild humidity, but keep puerh relatively dry and away from contaminants to prevent molding and off-tastes during storage.
For general brewing instructions, visit the teaâs profile on the wholesale page. Use these instructions as a starting point, and develop parameters to suit your shop's pace, teaware, and style. You can also view our Brewing at Tealet videos for simple ways to brew.
If you would like assistance with brewing, selecting or using teaware, or educating consumers on brewing styles, please email us at info@tealet.com.
Tealet Terminology
All-natural: tea that is grown without pesticides and chemicals. We prefer to use "all-natural" instead of "organic" because many of our growers are not Certified Organic (due to the high costs of certification) and cannot use the word "organic", even if they are completely pesticide and chemical free.
Some of our growers are Certified Organic: please email us at info@tealet.com for a list of certified growers.
Single-origin: tea that is harvested from one farm or estate. Small farms and estates tend to have smaller harvests, but they process these harvests with higher standards of quality and intent. Single- origin tea also promotes tea education and connoisseurship, as you can observe and compare differences in terroir and processing across different regions.
Direct trade: a type of sourcing in which tea is exchanged directly from the tea grower to the tea buyer. This style eliminates convoluted supply chains, allowing for better connection and collaboration between farmers and consumers. The term was created for coffee, but is now being adopted by other agricultural products as well.
