The hands that carry the leaf
Every order on tea.taxi is a 100 g portion of Chinese tea that leaves our packing table and reaches you within one to two hours — across Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and the surrounding belt. The speed is important, but the care matters more. A Bái Háo Yín Zhēn (白毫银针) with its silver tips, a 2018 sheng pu’er cake from Menghai, or a tightly rolled Yán Chá oolong — each demands a different kind of handling. That is why we work only with courier partners who agree to a set of standards that go far beyond generic parcel delivery.
This page explains who these partners are, what they are equipped to do, and what happens when a package travels from our shelf to your hands. It is not a marketing pitch — it is the operational backbone of the service, written so you know what to expect.
Our network is not a single provider but a mesh of urban logistics services selected by city, weather, parcel type, and even traffic patterns. The same courier who delivers your Lóng Jǐng (龙井) on a dry Tuesday may not be the right choice for a 357 g cake on a humid Saturday. Flexibility and trust matter more than an exclusive contract.
We also draw on the experience of our tea experts — Zhou Xiang, who knows how Hunan’s yellow teas shift inside a package, and Chen Hui Yi, who insists on a specific layering for white teas so the buds aren’t crushed. Their packing protocols, combined with careful courier training, mean that every delivery attempts to replicate the condition of the tea when it was first poured into the tin.
If you’re reading this before an order, you’ll likely find answers to the common worries: Is someone going to squeeze the bag? What if I’m not at home? Can the courier handle a cake without cracking the edge? If something is missing, the closing section points to where you can go next — including the wider THETEA constellation for deeper conversations.
Common questions
Which courier services do you use?
We partner with leading urban same-day services — Dostavista, Yandex Go Courier, and a network of local micro‑logistics fleets. Each city has a different mix. In Moscow we favour agile bike couriers for central zones; in Saint Petersburg we lean on temperature‑controlled car deliveries when the humidity spikes. The partner for your order is selected at dispatch based on distance, traffic, and tea fragility.
Are couriers trained to handle tea?
Yes. Before joining the pool, a courier receives a short guide — written by our tea experts — covering how to carry a pressed cake, why a Zhēn Shān oolong pouch should be kept upright, and what “food‑safe handling” means for dry tea. The training is compact but mandatory, updated seasonally, and reinforced through in‑app prompts when collecting a tea‑specific order.
What does “food‑safe handling” mean for tea?
For our couriers, it means clean hands, a sealed outer bag that never touches other cargo, and avoidance of strong perfumes or tobacco in the vehicle. Tea leaves are hygroscopic and olfactory sponges — a single scented ride can ruin a Gāo Shān oolong. All partners contractually guarantee a neutral‑air environment inside the delivery compartment.
How do you protect a tea cake during delivery?
Pressed cakes — sheng or shu pu‑erh, báibá — are wrapped in fine tissue, placed inside a rigid, custom‑fitted cardboard box, and cushioned with a food‑grade foam that absorbs lateral shocks. Fang Ting, our oolong and pu‑erh specialist, helped us design the innermost wrap to prevent edge crumbling. The outer box carries a ‘this side up’ stamp and a fragile label.
What if my tea arrives damaged?
Report it within 24 hours with a photo — a full refund or reship is issued. Broken cake rims, torn pouches, or visible water damage qualify. Our policy is simple: if the tea isn’t in the condition it left our hands, we take responsibility. The refund window starts from the courier’s handover timestamp in the app.
How much is the deposit, and when do I pay?
All orders are prepaid 100 % — there is no separate deposit. The full amount (tea + delivery) is charged when you confirm the order. Cancellation is free if you request it at least 2 hours before the scheduled courier pickup. This gives us enough time to reallocate the portion and release the slot without waste.
Can I cancel an order after the courier is dispatched?
If the courier has already picked up, cancellation is not possible — the tea would make an unnecessary round trip, compromising freshness. You can, however, refuse delivery at the door, but no refund will be issued in that case. We encourage you to cancel as early as the 2‑hour window allows.
Do I need to be home and sign for delivery?
A signature is not required by default, but you can request it in the order notes — recommended for high‑value sheng cakes. The courier will hand the package directly to you or a trusted person at the address. Contactless delivery is available: the parcel is left at your door, and the courier waits at a distance until you retrieve it.
What happens if no one answers the door?
The courier waits 10 minutes and attempts to reach you via the app and phone. If unreachable, the package is returned to our hub. A re‑delivery can be scheduled for the next same‑day window, but a small re‑dispatch fee applies. We recommend setting a safe place or providing a neighbour’s instructions when placing the order.
Can the courier enter my building?
Yes — to your apartment or office door, lift access permitting. Our partners are instructed to observe residential building rules and hygiene customs. If your building requires a pass or intercom code, please include it in the delivery notes. Couriers will not enter private spaces without explicit invitation.
Is the courier insured for high‑value tea?
Every order is covered under our own insurance. The courier’s standard liability is supplemented by a tea‑specific policy that compensates full market value — including limited editions like a 2007 Xiaguan tuo — in case of loss or irreparable damage. You do not need to pay extra for this; it’s embedded in the delivery fee.
How do couriers handle different tea formats — loose leaf, dragon balls, mini tuos?
Small, dense items like lóng zhū (dragon balls) and mini tuos travel in a rigid tin inside the outer pouch. Loose leaf rides in a mylar‑lined, resealable sack that stands upright on the courier’s tray. Zhou Xiang’s packing protocol for yellow tea, for example, includes an extra stage of soft‑cell baffling because the leaves are often broad and brittle.
Do you deliver in the rain or snow?
Yes — but with extra protection. During wet weather an additional waterproof outer layer is added at pickup: a sealed poly oversleeve that the courier peels off only at the doorstep. All our standard packaging is already vapour‑resistant, but the oversleeve provides a second barrier against Moscow’s sudden downpours or Saint Petersburg’s slush.
Are there delivery areas you don’t cover?
We deliver within the main urban ring of each listed city. Outskirts, satellite towns, and industrial zones outside the courier partner’s density map are excluded to ensure the 1‑2‑hour window holds. The app will show availability when you enter your address — if it’s outside range, we suggest our sister service tea.community for peer‑organised group buys.
What if the courier is late?
Lateness beyond the estimated window triggers an automatic partial refund — 15 % of the delivery fee if it’s more than 30 minutes overdue. The refund is applied without a claim. If the delay exceeds 90 minutes, the entire delivery fee is waived. You’ll see the updated status in the tracking map.
Can I tip the courier?
Yes — through the app after delivery. The courier receives 100 % of any tip you add; tea.taxi does not take a cut. Tipping is optional and has no impact on future delivery priority. Couriers are also rated after each job, and those ratings inform which partners we keep in the pool.
If something hasn’t been answered here
The questions above cover the most common situations, but logistics and tea can intersect in unpredictable ways. If your case is specific — a custom gift wrap that needs extra handling, a fragile lǎo báichá aged brick you’d like delivered in its own cedar box — reach out to our dispatch team directly. The in‑app chat is open from 09:00 to 22:00 Moscow time, and it’s staffed by people who know the difference between shu and sheng pu‑erh.
For broader discussions about delivery, packaging experiments, or why a particular courier felt off, the community at tea.community is the most honest mirror — users share real experiences there, and our logistics team occasionally joins the threads. If you’re curious about what happens to tea in transit over days rather than hours, puerh.app carries long‑form articles on transport humidity, warehouse rotation, and the optimal way to mail‑order aged cakes. And if you’ve found that your tea arrived in perfect shape and you’re now wondering how to brew it, the brewing guides over on thetea.app are a bridge from the doorstep to the cup.
We treat each delivery as a quiet handshake — between the tea master’s work, our partner’s care, and your trust. The FAQ is the written part of that handshake. The rest happens when you open the pouch.