Authoritea FAQ

I decided after a year and a half with this blog that now would be a good time to start an FAQ section. A few people have brought it up and I've been working on it forever....I figured I'd finally publish it. Here goes:

What kind of teas do you review? I review all kinds of tea, including black, green, oolong, white. I also review rooibos and honeybush blends, as well as herbal "tisanes," as they are called.

Do you review all teas you receive? I do the best I can to review 100% of the teas I receive. If your tea was not reviewed, it's because (a) I never got it, (b) it was poorly labeled or (c) it is in the queue. In the queue, it could go up tomorrow, or next week, or next month. If it is in there I can give you a date on which it will be posted.

How long does it take after I submit my tea for you to review it? It can take anywhere from a week to a month, to longer in some cases. Some tea companies send me 10+ teas at a time. I get a lot of teas to review and only post one per day. Some companies have requested that I post before their teas' releases, and that is not a problem. If being reviewed is a priority to you, you can certainly e-mail me and request that the review be expedited. I can't promise to be able to honor all requests, but I will do my best.

Does anyone else write for Authoritea? Nope, just me. I am currently looking for a news blogger. I am not interested in other peoples' reviews, but if you'd like to be involved in posting news items (or even sending them to me for me to post) please contact me, as that is something I am certainly looking into.

Why don't you post more news/information/community stuff already? Um, because I have a life. Ha. No, just kidding. Well, kind of. I really just don't have time for everything. My life is a three-ring circus and I'm lucky to be able to find time to write reviews. If you want news/info/article links, add me on Twitter. I post links up there -- not so much in the blog.

What kind of tea do you like the most? It really depends. I don't think I like any tea "the most," though I think if I had to choose only one kind of tea to drink forever, it'd be oolong. I love almost all oolongs, lapsang souchong, silver needles, many rooibos blends, and anything with ginger. I love a lot of different kinds of tea. I tend to have high standards for oolong because I drink so much of it. So if you have some low-end oolong, I would suggest you pass it onto someone else. My oolong reviews are generally longer, more tedious and more informative than many of my other reviews because I am more familiar and have spent more time (and money) on oolong.

Do you get all of your tea for free? I wish! Though I am happy to say that I spend quite a bit of money on tea and am glad to support the tea industry. Receiving free samples is wonderful, but if I like something I generally buy it almost immediately. I spend hundreds of dollars on tea a year -- in quality and quantity.

Is there a kind of tea you try to avoid/not include? There are two things I really don't like: malty teas, and jasmine. I still review Assams and other malty teas as fairly as I can, but I have yet to develop a taste for maltiness, and I have never been into jasmine. I am also NOT a pu-erh fan. If you send me pu-erh, I send it to my friend over at Tea Escapade. I have done two or three pu-erh reviews and the tea causes me to ramble forever and ever, never actually conveying any useful information. Pu-erh hurts my brain.

Do you review teaware? Yes, I just began reviewing teaware recently.

Do you review food? No, I do not currently review food, though I have reviewed a number of honey products and other things that pair with tea. I've also posted a few times about cooking with tea, but to review food it'd really have to be directly related to tea.

Why did you start Authoritea? My first post was 12/15/07.

What makes you an expert? I am most certainly not an expert. I would say that the great majority of tea bloggers out there are not experts: we've become bloggers because we drink so much tea and have a wide range of comparison and knowledge. I certainly know much more now than I did when I began, and I hope the trend continues and I am better educated in a year from now.

Do you offer advertising? I sometimes offer advertising. My rates are relatively high compared to my hit count, and I will not accept all advertisers. I have accepted one or two in the past and will bend for the right company but I never really planned to make money off Authoritea, and I don't believe in advertising things I don't personally endorse. Andrews & Dunham, for example, is currently (as of 3/12/09) an advertiser. Before they requested space, I had declined another company that wanted to place an ad. It's not worth it to me to advertise with companies I can't vouch for.

Don't you think reviewing your advertisers' products is a conflict of interest? I think normally, yes. I work in marketing (in real life) and understand that this is a potential conflict. I have built my tea review empire on complete honesty, bordering on snobbery, and will not hesitate to tell you if tea tastes like crap. Unlike many other companies, small blogs like mine really don't gain much revenue from advertising. I don't need the money -- and even if I did, advertisers pay up front. There is 0 expectation of perfect reviews. If I had someone back out of advertising because of a poor review, it'd be for the best: companies who can't take criticism are ones I don't really want to be associated with.

Your reviews are kind of bitchy sometimes. WTF? - well, it helps to understand where I've come from. Before I started this blog, I ran a hardcore & metal music webzine. And let me tell you, NO ONE in the music industry is nice. I'm also quite simply not a nice person. And I think that the tea industry is filled to the brim with nice people...sadly I do not qualify for this distinction. I will always tell you what is good and what sucks. And what tastes like vomit. Believe it or not, I've received quite a few e-mails from people thanking me for the honesty. I don't like sugar coating things. I'm a PR person in real life, and my day job is enough for me. Honesty is refreshing, and sometimes even amusing.

How can I add my blog to your links? Sure. Shoot me an e-mail. Trading links and networking is something I am definitely into.

Is Authoritea on social networking sites? Yep. We have a Twitter profile at twitter.com/authoritea and we also have a Facebook page.

Can I use your review for my web page/blog/etc.? Sure. All I ask is that you credit me. If you could possibly give me a heads up, I would appreciate it, but it is not necessary.

I will add more to this page as the questions come in....so check back soon!