Shipping and handling info and best practices

100% carbon-neutral shipping

We make all our shipping – from our suppliers to us and from us to our customers – carbon-neutral through purchase carbon offsets through Carbonfund.org on an annual basis. Visit our Current Charity page learn more about this and our charitable commitments.

When we ship

We ship orders at least three days a week: Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If United States postal holidays fall on these days, we ship the following day that the post office is open. If we are on vacation or experiencing any other kind of delay, we post that information on the homepage and social media in advance whenever possible.

Tracking

We ship all packages with tracking numbers by default, for your convenience and peace of mind.

Get your address right

To ensure your package arrives and arrives on time, please check your shipping address every time you order and make sure your address is current with your debit or credit card issuer. We are not responsible for packages that are returned or otherwise undeliverable because you entered your own address wrong.

Protect your packages with signature delivery

If your delivery address is in a neighborhood or building with a history of package theft, or you have any worries about your package being stolen from your doorstep or mail room, please choose a delivery option requiring a signature.

International shipping

Canadian, EU, Swiss and UK customers: Use code INTERNATIONAL for $10 off orders $110+. You must have an account registered with us with a shipping address in Canada, the EU, Switzerland or the UK for the code to work. Email us if you have any issues using the code. Because of the way our system works, only one discount can be active at a time; to receive this discount when a sale is happening, please contact us after you have placed your order.

NOTE: Canada may bill you for sales/use tax on parcels valued at CA$40+ and import/customs fees/duties on parcels valued at CA$150+, and that is out of our control!

NOTE: European countries may bill you VAT on your parcel's declared value, and that is out of our control!

Other international customers: If you would like us to ship to your country, please email us with a request to make a test order.

Return Policy

All sales are final, no returns. As such, for purchases of tea, we highly encourage you to buy samples, or the smallest item quantity possible, before purchasing larger quantities. If samples of an item are sold out, feel free to contact us to see if we plan to relist samples or have any unlisted back stock.

My item(s) arrived broken. What should I do?

We do our best to ensure your items arrive in good condition. Unfortunately, we cannot control what happens to your package after it leaves our hands.

Should your package arrive with broken items:

• Please contact us as soon as possible with photos of all damaged items in the parcel. We will make a claim to the carrier on our behalf. 
• DO NOT throw away the box, packaging or broken/damaged items for 30 days. It is unlikely, but possible, that the carrier will want to inspect the damaged items and packaging. If we receive our payout before the 30 days are up, we will notify you so you can do as you please with the damaged or broken items.
• DO NOT reship the broken items, as this will automatically void our claim. You do not need to return broken items to us.
• If we have more in stock, we will reship you any broken items once we are satisfied with the photos of the damage.

My item arrived damaged. What should I do?

We do our best to ensure your items arrive in good condition. Unfortunately, we cannot control what happens to your package after it leaves our hands. The following information applies to items with cosmetic damage. If the teaware you receive is not usable, or the tea is spilled throughout the parcel, it is considered broken. For broken items, please see the information immediately above this section. 

Damaged teaware: If your teaware item arrives with cosmetic damage, but is otherwise still usable (i.e., damage is only cosmetic), please contact us with photos of the damage. At our discretion, we will refund you no more than 50% of what you paid for the damaged item(s), not including shipping.

Damaged tea wrappers, boxes, etc.: We do our best to package tea to retain the integrity of its packaging, but rough handling of parcels and even the natural motion of vehicles can cause unwanted damaged to the often fragile paper and cardboard packaging. We wrap our teas to protect its original packaging and prevent spillage should damage occur. We do our best to ensure you receive items without damage, but as we cannot control the conditions of the delivery, we can't issue any refunds for purely cosmetic damage to wrappers, boxes or other packaging.

I think my parcel is lost. What should I do?

If your parcel has not arrived on the date expected, please check the status using the carrier's website with the tracking number provided. Please note that, for parcels marked as delivered by the carrier, there's nothing we can do.

U.S. customers: If the parcel still hasn't arrived one week after sending, please contact us. We will look into it and provide you with an update. If we believe the parcel is truly lost, and you agree, we will replace your order with no additional charges using the order's original shipping method.

Returned parcels

As mentioned above, the best way to avoid a returned parcel is to ensure your shipping address is current and complete.

If you opted for a delivery requiring a signature, we are not responsible if your parcel is returned because no one accepted delivery. You have two options. One, we can again ship your parcel to your same address using your original shipping method, but you will need to pay for the additional shipping cost. Two, we can refund you the cost of your items plus shipping minus a 35% restocking fee.

If your item is returned and marked as undeliverable (for example, because of an incorrect address or unknown addressee), you have two options. One, we can again ship your parcel to your corrected address using your original shipping method, but you will need to pay for the cost of the second attempt at shipping. Two, we can refund you the cost of your items, not including shipping, minus a 35% restocking fee, if applicable.

I have an allergy or food sensitivity. What should I do?

We cannot guarantee that our teas don't contain common or uncommon allergens. If you have allergies or food sensitivities, our best advice is not to order teas from us. If you do order from us, know that you do so at your own risk and that you are agreeing to not hold liable Three Bears Tea, SPC or any of our directors/staff for any issues you may have with allergens or foreign matter in your tea. 

There's a weird thing in my tea. Should I be concerned?

Many, if not all, of our tea products, are made of materials grown and/or processed at small farms in rural areas. This can include drying outside in the sun or shade. This means you may occasionally some foreign objects in tea, and this is true for any vendor's teas you purchase. Typical items include seeds and seed capsules, like rice and rice chaff, and bits of bamboo. It's a good idea to inspect the portion of loose leaf tea you're going to brew before you brew it to find and remove any undesired foreign items that may be there.

For a laugh or to satisfy your curiosity, search online for "I found this in my tea" to see all the various things that make it into packaged tea.

We make no refunds if you find foreign matter in our teas. Please take it in stride!