FAQ

How ChaBazaar scores teas, and what the icons on each card mean.

What are Quality markers?

Quality markers are not a lab grade of the leaf alone. They are a 0–10 ChaBazaar score built from signals we can gather about a listing — for example the dealer’s own product rating, region, cultivar, farm, or maker when those are known, plus our tea knowledge when it matches.

When those signals are thin or missing, the Quality markers icon shows as Unknown. That does not mean the tea is poor; it means we do not yet have enough basis to score markers for that listing.

Quality markers are separate from ChaBazaar rating, which is only the average of star ratings buyers leave on this site.

Icon legend

Hover a card icon for its value. The shapes below are the same glyphs used on tea cards.

  • Quality markers

    ChaBazaar’s 0–10 composite of listing signals (dealer rating, origin markers, knowledge). Not a cupping score of the leaf by itself.

  • Quality markers to price

    How the Quality markers score looks relative to the listed price (strong, fair, or unknown).

  • Good deal

    Shown only when ChaBazaar flags the listing as a deal; hover for the reason.

  • ChaBazaar rating

    Average of 1–5 star ratings from ChaBazaar user reviews on this tea. Unknown until someone reviews it here.

  • Source site rating

    The dealer’s own product rating from their site, when we can collect it.

  • Shipping

    Dealer-wide shipping rating and typical delivery estimate to the contiguous US (curated, not scraped every run).