SHIPPING POLICIES
> What types of shipping do you offer in the U.S., and what are your rates?
> What are your rates to Canada?
> How quickly will my order ship?
> Charges for Incorrect and Old Addresses
> Do you ship outside the U.S. and Canada?
> Do you ship to P.O Boxes?
> Do you ship to APOs and FPOs?
> Do you ship to the U.S. Territories?

RETURNS POLICIES and WARRANTY INFORMATION
> What is your Returns Policy?
> How do I return or exchange items from my order?
> What is your warranty on accessories?

ORDERING POLICIES
> What are your accepted payment methods?
> Is ordering on your site secure?
> Do you collect sales tax?
> Do you offer gift wrapping?
> Can I ship one order to multiple locations?
> Do you have gift certificates?

OTHER QUESTIONS
> What are your Customer Service hours of operation?
> How do I unsubscribe from your promotional emails?
> What are you doing to ensure the quality and safety of Tea Forté products?
> Can I purchase Tea Forté in a store?
> Can I customize my own flavor selection in a Ribbon Box or Event Box sampler?
> Is there an expiration date on tea?
> Is your tea certified Kosher?
> Is your tea Gluten Free?
> Is your tea certified organic, or Free Trade?

Shipping Policies

What types of shipping do you offer, and what are your rates?
Tea Forté offers SmartPost, Ground, 2nd Day Air and Next Day Air services, all provided by FedEx. Please allow 3-7 business days for overall delivery time when shipping FedEx Standard Ground and 5-12 business days when shipping FedEx SmartPost. Orders shipped to APO/FPO and PO Boxes only have the option of using FedEx Smart Post for delivery. FedEx Ground and SmartPost services include Residential Saturday delivery. FedEx SmartPost is delivered by USPS. Commercial addresses will ship Monday-Friday only.

Free FedEx SmarPost on orders of $50 and more only applies to the lower 48 contiguous states.

Rates for Continental US:

Order Subtotal	SmartPost	Ground	2-Day Air	Next Day
Under $24	$4.95	$5.95	$12.95	$19.95
$25 to $49.99	$6.95	$7.95	$15.95	$24.95
$50 to $149.99	FREE	FREE	$19.95	$34.95
$150 to $299.99	FREE	FREE	$24.95	$44.95
$300 to $499.99	FREE	FREE	$34.95	$59.95
$500 or more	FREE	FREE	10% of subtotal	15% of subtotal

Orders shipped to Alaska and Hawaii may ship FedEx SmartPost (delivered by USPS), offering you an economical shipping option (please allow 11-16 days delivery), 2nd Day Air or Next Day Air.

Rates for Alaska and Hawaii:

Order Subtotal	SmartPost	2-Day Air	Next Day
Under $74.99	$10.95	$29.95	$49.95
$75 to $149.99	$12.95	$39.95	$69.95
$150 to $299.99	$15.95	$49.95	$84.95
$300 to $499.99	$20.95	$59.95	$99.95
$500 or more	5% of subtotal	10% of subtotal	20% of subtotal

Do you ship to APOs and FPOs?
Tea Forté is proud to offer shipping to our Men and Women in Uniform via FedEx Smart Post. Transit times will vary 5-21 days depending on the destination.

Rates for APO/FPO/AE:

Order Subtotal	SmartPost
Under $25	$8.95
$25 to $74.99	$10.95
$75 to $149.99	FREE
$150 to $299.99	FREE
$300 to $499.99	FREE
$500 or more	FREE

Do you ship to P.O Boxes?
Yes! Tea Forté offers shipping to PO Poxes in the US - please refer to rate charts listed above. Orders ship using FedEx Smart Post.

Do you ship to the U.S. Territories?
Yes! Orders shipped to U.S. Territories (Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands) ship FedEx SmartPost delivered by USPS, please allow 7-21 days delivery.

Rates for Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands:

Order Subtotal	SmartPost
Under $74.99	$10.95
$75 to $149.99	$12.95
$150 to $299.99	$15.95
$300 to $499.99	$20.95
$500 or more	5% of subtotal

Do you ship to Canada?
Yes! However, there are some specific details you should be aware of: we ship consolidated ground shipments to Canada on Thursday. This allows us to process all orders through Canadian Customs and ensure that you do not have any unanticipated import costs. Your order must be placed by 6pm EST on Wednesday to ensure your order ships on Thursday.

Unfortunately, because we can only ship ground shipments, we cannot send orders to the Northwest Territory or Yukon Territory. Also, currently we can only process credit cards in U.S. Dollars. We are not responsible for any fees or exchange rate costs that your bank may charge for a foreign currency transaction. Below are our shipping and import charges for Canadian orders.

Rates for Canada:

Order Subtotal	Ground Shipping + Import/Export Costs
Under $74.99	$16.95
$75 to $149.99	$19.95
$150 to $299.99	$24.95
$300 to $499.99	$34.95
$500 or more	10% of subtotal

How quickly will my order ship?
Orders ship the next business day. During peak periods such as before Thanksgiving, Christmas or Mother's Day, please allow 2-3 business days for your order to ship. Next Day orders ship the same business day if placed by 1PM EST, otherwise they ship next business day. Our warehouse is located in Buena Park, California. For some parts of the country, you may not require as much lead time for ground delivery. You can consult the FedEx shipping map for standard transit times.
FedEx SmartPost and Ground orders ship to RESIDENTIAL addresses Monday-Saturday. Commercial addresses will ship Monday-Friday only. FedEx SmartPost orders are delivered by USPS.

Charges for Incorrect and Old Addresses
If you make a mistake in entering an address that requires a correction, we'll gladly contact FedEx on your behalf. However, FedEx charges an $11 service fee for intercepting a package already in transit, an amount we regretfully must pass on to you. To prevent this, please double check your order before submitting and please remove from your account any addresses which are no longer valid. This will prevent you from selecting them in error.

Do you ship outside the U.S. and Canada?
We cannot currently ship outside the U.S. and Canada, but we do have distributors in a number of countries. Contact us at info@teaforte.com and we can provide contact information to direct you to a retail location near you. Also, you may want to try shipping Tea Forté to local friends or relatives, and then have them forward the product on to your international destination. If you need to pay with an international credit card, please select PayPal as your payment type, and you may do so through them. Finally, if you are interested in becoming a international Tea Forté distribution partner, please contact international@teaforte.com.

What is your Returns Policy?
We want you to be 100% satisfied with your purchase. If for any reason you are not satisfied, Tea Forte will gladly refund your purchase of any unopened tea or accessories within 30 days of receipt. For orders placed between Thanksgiving Day and December 25th, we accept returns through January 31st.

How do I return items from my order?
If you have an item that you wish to return, please contact us at info@teaforte.com or 1 (800) 721-1149 to receive a returned merchandise authorization (RMA) number. You MUST contact us prior to returning your products. WE DO NOT ACCEPT RETURNS WITHOUT AN RMA NUMBER. We do not issue credit for items returned without an RMA number. We do not cover the costs of return shipping charges unless due to company error. In order to receive full credit, all returns must be unopened in their original packaging and in resalable condition. Any returns that are not in resaleable condition or not due to company error will be subject to a 20% restocking fee.

How do I exchange items from my order?
Tea Forte will gladly exchange any unopened product for product of comparable value within 30 days of receipt. You will be responsible for shipping costs to us unless due to company error. You must contact us at info@teaforte.com or 1 (800) 721-1149 for an RMA number. No exchange will be given for items returned without an RMA number.

What is your warranty on accessories?
All Tea Forté accessories carry a limited one year warranty on manufacturer defects. Glass products are not covered by warranty. Proof of purchase must be provided documenting purchase is within timeframe to receive replacement. Please retain purchase receipts for your records. For third party products not produced by Tea Forté, please see specific manufacturer warranty (usually located on the product box) for specific terms and conditions. Please retain purchase receipts for your records.

What are your accepted payment methods?
Tea Forté accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and PayPal. All transactions are in U.S. Dollars. You may also make payment by personal check, certified check, or money order in U.S. currency only. Just place items in your shopping cart, proceed to checkout and complete checkout up to the point where we ask for credit card information. Print out the order summary on that page and mail the information to us with your payment. Please note that orders mailed to us require a longer processing time than those placed on our website. Please remit payment along with your order form to:
Mail Orders
Tea Forté
23 Bradford St
Concord, MA 01742

Is ordering on your site secure?
Absolutely! We use the latest industry standard 256-bit SSL encryption to ensure that your information is securely transmitted to our servers. We also display the Comodo Secured Seal on our checkout page. Clicking on this seal can provide you additional comfort that we are who we say we are, and we are using the right technology to keep your information secure. Please view our Privacy Policy for more information about how we use and secure personal information.

Do you collect sales tax?
Tea Forté is required to collect sales tax in California,Florida, Massachusetts and Washington. Due to new regulations, Tea Forté must charge a Canadian HST rate of 12%. Sales tax only applies to our gift sets and tea accessories, tea is treated as food and not taxed.

Do you offer gift wrapping?
We do not currently offer gift wrapping, but we do offer a several gift boxed products. Our green gift boxes are as elegant as any gift solution on the market. Please explore our selection.

Can I ship one order to multiple locations?
If you are looking to send Tea Forté to five or more addresses, we recommend our Corporate Gift Program, and our easy spreadsheet order form. For fewer than five order, we're sorry, but that feature is not yet available. You will have to place a different order for each shipping location.

Do you have gift certificates?
YES. Our Gift Certificates are a perfect alternative to trying to guess someone's favorite blend. You may schedule email delivery as well.

What are your Customer Service hours of operation?
Our customer service staff is available for e-mail and phone assistance Monday - Friday, from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, EST, excluding holidays. Our customer service toll-free number is 1 (800) 721-1149.

How do I unsubscribe from your newsletter?
We may send occasional updates and promotional offers to your email address if you make a purchase or sign-up to our newsletter. If you wish to be permanently removed from that list please visit unsubscribe.

What are you doing to ensure the quality and safety of Tea Forté products?
The quality and safety of our products is our top priority as a business. As a tea company, we feel privileged to produce most of our products in the heart of beautiful and historic tea gardens in Hangzhou, China. Leveraging thousands of years of tea trade experience, producing our products in China helps us achieve the peak possible quality and safety.
To help maintain these standards, each of our products undergoes extensive third-party testing prior to launch. In addition, every one of our products undergoes random third-party testing at least once per year. All of our tea, hard goods and packaging materials are manufactured and tested in accordance with the strictest US and EU regulations, including California Proposition 65. Finally, all of our tea is packaged in a facility this is certified both Organic and Kosher. We look forward to continuing to provide you with top quality products from the country that invented tea.

Can I purchase Tea Forté in a store?
We sell Tea Forté products to many stores, spas and restaurants around the world. Please try our store locator for a list of stores in your area. If you are outside the United States or Canada, please contact international@teaforte.com for a store recommendation or check our Global Sites page to see if you have an International Distributor in your country.

Can I customize my own flavor selection in a Ribbon Box or Event Box sampler?
We're sorry, no. Our infusers are not packaged for individual resale. In order to bring you the freshest possible tea and to ensure the tea is labeled correctly for allergies and FDA requirements, we are unable to repackage infusers according to customer orders.

Is there an expiration date on tea?
Tea does not have an expiration date, but it can start to lose freshness over time. At Tea Forté we label all of our products with a "best by" date to ensure that you experience the best we have to offer.

We do recommend storing your tea in a dry, cool, dark space. Tea needs to be kept away from heat, light, air, and moisture to ensure its freshness. Do not store your teas in the freezer or refrigerator.

Is your tea certified Kosher?
Yes, many of our teas are certified Kosher by KOF-K. The certified teas have the kosher certification listed in their descriptions on the Kosher Certified tea pages. Our production facility is also certified Kosher by KOF-K. You may view and download a PDF of our official Kosher Certificate.

Is your tea Gluten Free?
Yes, all of our teas are Gluten Free.

Is your tea certified Organic or Fair Trade?
Our production facility is certified organic by IMO-Switzerland, a USDA accredited certification agent. This is an important step in our process of developing certified organic teas.

Tea Forte is proud to be Fair Trade Certified and support the Fair Trade movement dedicated to building equitable and sustainable trading partnerships that create opportunities to alleviate poverty. Our Fair Trade Certified tea provides a pro-active premium paid directly to the tea estate workers which affords and supports fair wages and added benefits such as better housing, healthcare, education, safe working conditions, a sustainable environment and no child labor. Every time you purchase one of our Fair Trade Certified teas you join in the Fair Trade movement and become an advocate for humane working conditions worldwide.