60 Tasting Notes
Had to get up at 6:30 today, which is brutally early for me. That is why I made this tea “Tea Fairy” gaiwan style, meaning using a ton of leaf with 10 second brews. I think I’m starting to feel alive and I love this tea tastes very different and much fruitier than the way I normally make it which is more chocolatey. It tastes almost like a different tea. It is very strong this way but I sometimes enjoy a bit of astringency.
Tonight, me and my friends are having a surprise birthday party for my best friend. We are doing a potluck, decorations, and a painting/creative session. Normally, she hates birthday stuff but for some reason this year she wanted to do something special but both days (one with her boyfriend and one with her friends) she had stuff planned, it turned out to be a disaster so we are organizing tonight to make up for that. We are trying to do a lot of special little things for her today. A couple days ago, me and my really good friend decided to make special guayusas for her. She loves guyausa and strawberry and chocolate so both of us came up with special blends for her based on that. My friend made a Salted Chili Chocolate Strawberry Truffle and I did Espresso Cupcake with Strawberry Cream. We even put some really cute pics of us with her on the labels. Here are the pics if anyone is interested: http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i446/butikiteas/tea_zps574ae381.jpg. I’m crossing my fingers that tonight doesn’t turn out like her other 2 disaster days.
Whew, we are finally starting to dig ourselves out of all the backorders that have been piling up over the last month. We are down just to problem orders and should have everything out by Monday. I really just hate when we are behind, it adds this level of gnawing stress. I’m so relieved that it is almost over. Next week we are focusing on taxes and inventory but the following week I can’t wait for because that is when we start preparing and adding new teas to the website. We have about 20 new teas to be added over the next few months. The first one up will be Hello Sweetie since that has been getting a lot of requests to be put online. We have so many new flavor ideas. There are a number of new teas that are far along in the testing stage as well as some remakes of teas. Here is a sneak peak of a few flavors: Pecan Toffee, Mangoes & White Chocolate, Plum Brandy Cheesecake (to replace Plum Pudding), Exotic Chai, and Lemon French Macaron (custom blend contest winner). We have many other flavors too but those are top secret at the moment. We will be removing some other teas from the website as well. Recently, I’ve been thinking about removing Pumpkin Milkshake since that doesn’t seem to be receiving the best reviews.
It’s no secret that I am a big fan of Assams. We taste as many Assams as possible before deciding on a number of different Assams that have different flavor profiles. This is a second flush Assam and the reason that I fell in love with this one is the strong raw cacao notes. Mmmmmm. If you like dark, almost bitter chocolate, then this Assam is for you! It also has some oaky notes and the standard malty Assam notes. This tea is so chocolaty, that we must come up with a chocolate tea for it.
Flavors: Chocolate
Yes please!
Oooo, Plum Brandy Cheesecake!
Great news! And I freaking need this Assam something fierce.
Ahhh, right up my alley this new assam… I would really like to see your take on a Cheery-Chocolate tea. I can never seem to find the right one, I’m always disapointed in them. If someone can do it, it’s you!
Lol, I meant “cherry” of course…that could be the name though, Cheery Chocolate Cherry ;-)
Sil-Indeed! :)
teaqueen-I love the flavoring for this tea, just trying to find it the perfect base tea. This will probably be a black tea.
Fjellrev-Glad to hear that this is great news! It’s soooo good and great for satisfying chocolate cravings.
TheTeaFairy-Glad to hear that. I’m not sure how I feel about tackling a cherry flavor. I’m scared it will end up tasting like cough syrup, which I have a strong aversion to, though I have been searching around for dried cherries. So maybe it is time.
A vegan white chocolate tea?!?! That’s so exciting!!!
Tea Pet-Indeed, it is a vegan white chocolate. We already tasted a bunch of white chocolate and have our favorite chips picked out.
The only problem with the Pumpkin Milkshake is that Doke Rolling Thunder does not make for a good base tea. I keep meaning to put this in a tasting note and never getting around to it, so I may as well make the case here. I’ve got both Pumpkin Milkshake and Pumpkin Milkshake 2.0 in my cabinet and they taste totally different. The 2.0 tastes a whole lot more like the Rolling Thunder version of Carrot Cake than the original version of Pumpkin Milkshake. Rolling Thunder is a great tea, but it just don’t hold flavor as well as other teas do. All of which is to say, pretty please don’t permanently pull Pumpkin Milkshake! It’s a great blend, especially for fall. It just needs a different base. Or, ideally, to go back to the original base.
Pecan Toffe … Sounds yummy!
I had been wondering which submission won the contest! There were some good suggestions for sure!
i’m super excited for the pecan toffee…
Oh yeah +1 for the pecan toffee!
LOL…just when I’ve made my 1st order with Butiki!
Woooohooo new teas soon!!!
I was checking the site today wondering where Butiki was! I can’t wait to see what blends you’ve come up with!
Mmmmmmm….yummy!
Kaylee-Have you tried our Pumpkin Creme Brulee? If so, do you think the Pumpkin Milkshake is different enough that warrants its own blend? The Castleton was a fantastic base for the Pumpkin Milkshake. Maybe we will just sell out of the Doke RT version and take off the Pumpkin Milkshake until the next Castleton harvest.
Suziqzer-Thanks! :)
Dustin-Absolutely, there were some fantastic submissions. We are considering on working on a few of the submissions.
Sil-Awesome! That was a tea we had made for Amoda and was my favorite of the blends we submitted, but the Nutmeg Cream ended up winning out.
Kaylee-Glad to see pecan toffee receiving a lot of love!
Lynxiebrat-Well, all of the teas will be taking time to come out slowly. :)
Stephanie-I’m so excited about the new teas!
Tea Sipper-Thanks! :)
Amariel-I think these new teas will be a great addition to our collection! :)
I have tried the Pumpkin Creme Brulee (thanks Stephanie!). It’s quite tasty, but I’m biased against it because it is a black tea and I can’t generally drink black tea without ending up in pain. I looked back at my tasting notes for Pumpkin Creme Brulee and apparently I thought that a Milkshake/Creme Brulee hybrid would be awesome. So I gather that I found them distinct but complementary. I’d be interested to know what others think! If I had to pick only one I’d go for the Milkshake, but again I’m biased. The answer might just lie in comparing sales of each tea within the time frame that the original Milkshake blend was available. I definitely support the idea of waiting to make more until the next Castleton harvest though. Much as I love it, the Milkshake is definitely more of a fall tea anyway.
So what type of base will the Pecan Toffee have?
This week has been pretty busy for us. We just got back from vacation mid week which was really a work vacation and will start prepping for another office closure as we will probably be taking off for another 2 weeks in about two weeks but this time for a real vacation. Also, we received in a ton of tea, including many new teas. We are also changing up a few teas. Here is a sneak peek of just a few of the many changes:
Adding: Hattialli Golden Paw (very similar to our Hattialli Golden Lion)
Changing: Irish Cream Cheesecake. Based on the reviews, we are thinking the base is just wrong for the flavoring. We used our everyday Sourenee, which is very good but also very fickle. It can be pretty challenging to get that tea to its sweet spot and it can turn astringent if the water cools too much.
Changing: Sourenee. We are exchanging the current everyday Sourenee for a very high quality limited edition Sourenee.
Adding: Hello Sweetie. It’s coming soon but first we will be doing a promotion with it.
Changing: Da Yu Ling. We moved too slowly on the Da Yu Ling for the winter harvest but the Fu Shou Shan is a fantastic replacement!
Adding: A baked Ali Shan.
Mi Xian: Just a little warning. We are low on Mi Xian right now and will not be able to get more when we run out as it is scarce at the moment.
These are just a few additions and changes. There are many more to come and many more flavors in the works, including the Custom Blend Contest tea which is getting close to finishing the recipe. We will also be removing a few flavors and teas that just aren’t up to the standards of the rest of the teas. I would love to hear any suggestions from anyone who believes there is a tea that should be removed from our collection.
On to the tea! This harvest has a slightly deeper dark chocolate note. There really isn’t much difference from this harvest and the last harvest but the chocolate is stronger and the malt is slightly stronger. There are less stems, which is fantastic! The upgrade version on the other hand has some cherry notes that were not detectable in the previous version.
YES Hello Sweetie! And Hattialli Golden Paw. :)
Courtney-Glad to hear you are excited about those 2! :)
Very excited to be able to try Hello Sweetie!
Also the others haha, but especially those two.
Excited about Hello Sweetie too, but also a little sad that the Irish cream cheesecake is changing. It was one of my favorites from my last order! Hope you have a great vacation in a couple of weeks :)
Hello Sweetie!!!
I have a lot of Butiki teas from the BF sale, and from what I grabbed off other people, but I WILL be buying 2oz+ of that one… And to make the shipping worth it, I guess I’ll have to get some more Caramel Vanilla Assam etc.
Will you give us all warning on the blends which are being removed? Just in case some of them are near and dear to our hearts?
Oh my! Hello Sweetie and a baked Ali Shan. Be still my heart. :D
Wow, lots of changes, everything sounds really good!
As for the teas that should be removed, the one that comes to mind is apricot Guayusa, never did anything for me, but doesn’t mean it no good, just my own personal taste.
I had stock up on Taiwanese Assam, but now I’m running low…hmmm, for the upgrade, did you really mention cherry notes??? OMG!!! I might be in trouble…
P.S. I won’t wish you a good vacation in february cause I just know it will be awesome :-)
Hello sweetie!!! Been dying to try that and the hattialli golden paw and Ali Shan!!! I have soooooooooookko much tea from you from BF though!!! So much!!!
i need more caramel vanilla….. and i think i have to have a hoard stash of black lotus. i drink it and it makes me poetical— i think that’s a sign, don’t you? and btw, the fact that steepster’s auto correct is not freaking over the word ‘poetical’ is HYSTERICAL! it must be a fan of firefly…..
Roswell Strange-Excellent! Glad to hear that you guys are looking forward to that one. It turned out so good!
Stephanie-Well, I hope you like the new version! I’m glad you enjoyed the old version. Thanks for the vacation wishes! :)
Cavocorax-The Hello Sweetie won’t be coming out completely until March, so you have some time. :) We will be giving some warnings when we decide which blends are getting chopped. I’m not quite sure which ones will go. All of the popular, highly rated teas will definitely be staying.
Moraiwe-Glad to hear you are interested in those two :)
TheTeaFairy-And those are just some of the changes. I can think of at least 10 new additions that I didn’t mention, including maybe one of Stephanie’s tea entries. I think you might be right about the Apricot Guayusa. It really has only stayed around as long as it has because a friend of mine requests it. I always make her a pot of it with a cinnamon stick and rock sugar. Oh yeah, I am definitely tasting cherry notes. Well, my February vacation is changing a bit but not sure how yet. Unfortunately, I tore a tendon in my foot pretty badly from ignoring my plantar fascistis and continuing to stay on my feet despite doctor warnings. Not sure how the vacation will change but will definitely be traveling less. Thanks for the vacation wishes, I will definitely have a good time!
BrewTEAlly Sweet-Glad to hear you are interested in the Hello Sweetie! A big thanks to James on that one, for letting the tea go wherever it goes.
JustJames-Hahaha, poetical. Love that word. Glad you are a fan of The Black Lotus. I love that one so much! :)
Oh nooo! That’s pretty tragic about your foot, so sorry about that…Hmmm, I understand why it might change your plans a little, that would suck though. I’m sure you will figure figure out something no matter what :-)
It will be hard to resist ordering soon…( keep it quiet, but I’m suppose to be on a tea hiatus)
TheTeaFairy-Of course it had to happen now. Doh! I can’t complain though, I have certainly had my fill of fun vacations. I know this will be fun too, even if scaled back. No worries, your secret is safe with me…and the rest of the internet. :D
Tea fairy… The two assams are totally different teas imo. I prefer the non upgraded version, but the upgraded one is tasty, but just a different tea. If youth in k of it as an upgrade to PTA, it falls short….treat it like a new tea:)
Sil-This upgrade harvest is a little bit different though. :)
SO excited for Hello Sweetie! :D When I read the description for it, I positively whimpered that it was a custom blend, haha. Especially since PTA is the base!
So glad that PTA and Upgrade are back in stock. :D I haven’t tried out all the teas I got from my last order from you, but I’m already loading up a cart for another. I miss my two PTAs!
… Just promise me that Foxy Roxy Banana Walnut Treat isn’t going. D: If it were to be discontinued, I think I’d go crazy and buy ALL of it and make it last as long as possible. xD
Will Mi Xian be gone forever? Or just until the next harvest?
For obvious reasons, I also hope you’re not removing Foxy Roxy :-)
No worries guys, Foxy Roxy is here to stay!
Chizakura-Glad to hear that Hello Sweetie sounds interesting to you. PTA is my morning tea, I’m glad its back too! I was rationing my tea out for that one.
It’s one of my favorites. At the moment its scarce but hopefully not for too long.
I meant to say that Mi Xian is one of my favorites and is scarce, not the PTA. Just wanted to clarify in case that is confusing.
Aw, I seem to have a curse where my favorite Butikis relatively few others dig and they get changed or discontinued! I’m not complaining really, I totally understand, but it’s funny being the odd duck out. I mean this as a compliment, not a complaint, but I love the Irish Cream Cheesecake! I’ve been drinking it as a breakfast tea and loving it that way, where it’s brisk like a breakfast blend but with that treaty reward for getting out of bed, ha. Looking forward to seeing what’s new and excited about Hello Sweetie!
oooo… I hope Pistachio Ice Cream isn’t going anywhere. I love that tea.
lolainred-Pistachio Ice Cream is safe! That was one of the first teas we made!
Happy New Year, everyone!
This morning, I was in pretty rough shape. Doing a little better now. Woke up completely stuffed up (the heater has been working overtime lately since it is super cold out and that has been angering my allergies). I’m also half tired, a little hung over, and my brain just doesn’t want to function properly. I decided I wanted to start off with a gentle tea and opted for this one. The honey notes are so soothing. Normally, I would go with a strong breakfast tea but I wanted a lot of flavor and complexity and a gentle alertness. I’m slowly starting to recover. I had such a wonderful night last night. Normally, we do huge parties at our house but since both my husband and I had been super busy lately we didn’t want the added stress of hosting a big party. Instead, we ended up visiting my best friend in Philly and had a small gathering of just 6. We played games, drank, and then went to the roof of a nearby building to watch fireworks. It was really nice. Here is a pic of me & the hubby on the roof (2 hoodies and a snowboarding jacket and of course, I was still cold): https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1428774404024535&set=a.1402962459939063.1073741830.100006759666084&type=1&theater
I have to go in to work today but I’m currently debating whether or not to visit a friend. They are hosting a Winter Classic party. It would be really nice to catch up with some friends and see the Winter Classic but they do have 2 newborn babies which I’m not sure if I can handle right now. I’m pretty content just chilling here in my jammies, catching up on the internet, and playing my new crystal singing bowl. My husband had ordered a singing bowl for me on behalf of his parents for Christmas but it didn’t make it here until yesterday. I have a singing bowl collection and this is my first crystal bowl. I love this bowl! There is just something magical about singing bowls.
I love the singing bowls!!! Don’t have any yet, but I always play with my aunt’s when I go to her house.
Nicole-They are so awesome! I find them to be really good at releasing stress and even help with hangovers. If you ever decide to get one, Silver Sky Imports is really awesome. I stalk them on ebay for good deals and they often run 20% off specials on their website, though their ebay auctions are often cheaper than they discount. They have recordings of each bowl they sell, they appropriately package the bowls, and they are very good quality.
Oooo… off to Ebay I go! Thanks for the recommendation.
Here is a link for them: http://www.ebay.com/usr/silverskyimports. If you want a really good price, it can sometimes take weeks to find a really great deal. :)
That’s cool that you collect singing bowls!
I hope your allergies will get better soon. Mine have been going wonko too. So annoying.
Fjellrev-Thanks. Hopefully, the weather will decide to stay consistent so my allergies can settle down. Sorry to hear your allergies are wonky too.
We are finally down to the last 5 Black Friday orders! These are the last of the “problem orders” and special requests and they will be shipped out tomorrow. This Black Friday definitely went down quite differently than anticipated. I was thinking we might do 20% more in sales than last year’s Black Friday but instead we ended up doing 6 times that. In addition to the large number of orders, a lot of teas that usually aren’t ordered as much became the stars of the Black Friday sale, like our Oriental Beauty and Anji Bai Cha. This lead us to scramble to have teas shipped in from China and Taiwan and flavorings as well as other ingredients being special rushed to us. A lot of very late nights were put in by all, including my 70+ year old mother-in-law who was frequently staying until 2 or 3 am to work. She only normally puts in a few hours a day but she was really amazing during the rush. She also wants everyone to know that a lot of love went into the teas that she made. Working with her is a lot of fun. She’s a retired chemist, so she loves making the teas. I’m trying to convince her to come up with her own special blend. We all felt bad that a lot of orders were really delayed. I’m hoping that most orders make it to people in time for Christmas (or whatever holiday is celebrated, whether it be Christmas or Yule or Kwanzaa, at that point there was no way we were getting orders out in time for Hanukkah though).
During our Black Friday sale, we ended up running out of our current Irish Breakfast. I had seriously underestimated the amount of Hattialli we would need for the year, so unfortunately, that version won’t be coming back until the summer. For this new blend, we started with maybe 17 different combinations. We just tried the final 3 and I think we have a winner. Here is a pic of the final 3: http://instagram.com/p/iKQszalfDg/#. The Dinjoye Assam is the most prominently featured tea with the Khongea Assam just behind it and then our organic Ceylon from the Venture estate. This tea can be really strong, depending on how its brewed. I’m enjoying it slightly less strong by using 1 ½ teaspoons of tea for 3minutes in boiling water. At this level, I’m getting a heavy malty flavor that leaves a tingle on the tongue without being astringent. There are burned chocolate notes up front but a citrusy finish. Some bread notes are present. The citrus is somewhat like bergamot. This is very enjoyable, especially piping hot. It’s not overly complex but a great breakfast tea.
The following is a shameless plug. Sorry guys! I was lucky enough to be involved with 130 other artists (though I don’t consider myself an artist) in essentially a large complicated game of “telephone”. Basically, there are artists that work in different mediums (for instance, dance, painting, music, poetry, photography, film, etc). Each artist is given a piece of art and asked to interpret its soul in their art medium. So, I was given a painting and asked to make a tea based on the soul of that painting. Well, I did and that tea is “With Open Eyes”. That tea was then given to Wes Craven (how crazy is that) to create a character/plot. Here is a link for more info: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/consenses. We are used in the example, so its ok for me to mention it. You can see the painting that inspired it. Sally Taylor is the artists who ran with this amazing idea and she is just super sweet. They are looking for funding. Please check it out if you can, share it, and donate if possible. This is just such a super cool project and I really can’t wait to see the final result.
Congrats Stacy! Aside from the unfortunate stress it’s so amazing that your Black Friday business went so well :D
Thanks so much to all if you for working so hard to fill all our orders!
Yes, thank you for all your hard work (and it’s so cool your MIL was a chemist!). It must’ve been crazy stressful but on the other hand it makes me happy you’re so popular. (:
That is so funny to imagine Wes Craven getting With Open Eyes! Ha. The project sounds super neat.
Congratulations on such a great turn out for your sale! I recieved my teas and can’t wait for this cold bug I have to be over so I can try them! That is awesome that your mother in law helped out. Pass on a thank you to her from me!
Stacy – for all that you do an more, thank you!
Yay Stacy! We all love your teas, so it is no surprise that you sold So much! I’m looking forward to trying the new Irish brekkie.
As for the art project, woohoo! You are every bit an artist! That seems so fun & exciting!
Stephanie-Absolutely! I was very excited about how well the Black Friday sale did! :)
tigress_al-Thank you! :)
ifjuly-It is really awesome that she’s a chemist. She’s very interesting. She can be very quite about her life but the deeper you dig, she has a lot of very cool life experiences. I was super excited to see that my tea went to him. I’m a big horror fan and I really had no idea where the tea was going to end up.
Dustin-Thank you! I hope your cold is over soon, so you enjoy tea again. I will let her know.
Thanks, Sil! :)
Terri-Thanks, lady! I think you will enjoy the new Irish Brekkie. It is super exciting! I really can’t wait to see the whole project. I will definitely be taking some time off, to check out the exhibit.
This week is really chaotic. I’m taking a nice break now to enjoy this phenomenal tea. I love it so much! I’m not sure how well it will be received, maybe it’s just me that loves it but I really feel like both Kenya and India have just been producing some amazing white teas lately. I’m not really a white tea drinker. I usually only have white tea when friends are over and I can brew it in a nice glass vessel of some kind, often when we are playing poker. Our poker friends really love our White Whisper and it gives a nice little buzz when we are up all night playing cards. This tea is just different. While it’s still on the lighter side, it has really rich and sweet caramel notes. It also has some malt, sweet potato and the standard white hay notes. I prefer to brew this one with boiling water since it adds to the malt flavor. Overleafing can cover some of the rich caramel so I tend to measure this one out. This has now become my go to tea. I’m starting to reach for it a little more than the Premium Taiwanese Assam though I think they are fairly equally yummy but in different ways. This tea is a substitute for our Royal Golden Safari, even though that is a black tea. Unfortunately, our photo for this tea is too dark, it really is more golden in color but unfortunately our camera broke and we are waiting on some parts. So in order to get this up in time for the sale I had to use my cell phone. Terrible, I know.
Blarg, I’m noticing my writing skills have gone way down since I’ve only had 4 hours of sleep. Tonight will be nice since its date night. The hubby and I will be enjoying Thanksgiving leftovers and binge watching all the shows we put off since we have both been so busy with work. I think we have multiple Ultimate Fighters, Walking Dead, Marvel, and maybe 1 American Horror Story. Lately, I feel like watching Walking Dead is more of a chore. I think after season 1, I just never enjoy watching it but I keep watching it to see if it gets better. The hubby still loves it though. The whole farm season was pretty awful in my opinion.
Sounds like a lovely tea! My husband and I feel pretty much the same way about Walking Dead. Loving American Horror Story though.. even if I do get totally freaked out by it. :)
It is definitely a lovely tea! American Horror Story is great! Probably one of the best series on tv at the moment. I’m a little fearful that its going to go horribly wrong and completely out there but so far so good.
I think Walking Dead is getting better this season…Last night’s in particular was action packed! I am a fan of the comic so I keep watching to see how things will turn out different. American Horror is a good show too. I dig all the twists and turns even it is cheesey at times :)
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Stephanie-Interesting. Well, I will find out tonight! I have a lot of friends who love the comic. They are pretty irritated by the show. One of these days I will have to get started on the comic. American Horror is a little cheesy at times but still completely worth it (for now). I don’t know why but I just get this feeling that they are really going to mess this season up.
Irritated with the TV show? I can definitely relate! The Andrea character is one of my faves in the comic but she was totally annoying on the show, for example. Heh. There are 117 issues out so it would be a lot of reading to catch up! Comics go pretty quick though :)
My tea buddy Kate totally agrees with you about TWD. I haven’t kept up with it but she has and when we chat about our week she’s often like “We watched it last night. It’s becoming a ritual where right afterward all my husband and I talk about is everything frustrating or bad about what we just saw.” You are not alone apparently!
+1 for Walking Dead!
Stephanie-Yep, they are irritated with the show, love the comic though. Whoa, I didn’t realize they were up to that many issues.
ifjuly-Good to know I’m not alone.
I hope you try the comic sometime! I’ve got all of them, but have lost interest in the show. I might pick it up again to see how the prison stuff goes though.
I just found I felt closer to the comic characters – there are multiple times where I’ve thrown my book onto the ground out of shock or sadness or whatever, but I get annoyed by the same characters on the show.
Just taking a minute to relax before I plunge back into the craziness of Black Friday. This morning I had to go to get blood work done for my annual physical. I’m so glad I finally got that done because I dread it for months before I go. One time I went to have blood drawn and it was such a horrific experience which left me covered in bruises and a little mentally scarred. Because of that I now can pass out while having blood drawn, so I have to wait for a special recliner and an experienced lab person. Luckily, I did not pass out this time. Yay! No cold sweat either. Only had my heart rate elevated just a little and a bit of fast nervous talking. Go me.
This Black Friday sale is insane! At this level we may surpass last year’s sales in a few hours, and we still have more than 3 days left. We have already run out of Vanilla Carrot Cake and there are a few other teas that are in danger of running out. I love the insanity of these 4 days and at the same time, I’m a little terrified that we will have all sorts of issues of running out of teas and whatnot.
I love this tea! If I could drink only one tea for the rest of my life, this would be it. The caramel and cocoa notes are just perfect right now and since I brewed it a little extra strong, the maltiness is coming out nicely. Yum. Perfect tea for my mood right now. Next I think I’m going for the White Rhino. That is just a real caramel-y tea.
Ooof, I hate having blood drawn too. Apparently I have tiny veins and they always have to use the baby “butterfly” needle on me! I get way light headed but luckily I’ve never actually passed out! I bet you are glad to have that overwith and congrats on the excellent Black Friday business!!
Oh no, that doesn’t sound like fun. So glad to have it over with. It was really quick too since I was the only one there. I guess everyone was busy shopping. Thanks! :)
I’m quite similar to you about getting blood taken, I get so fuzzy headed and nervous, close to passion passing out but not quite. Happy it went better for you today! :)
I really wanted to get some of the Vanilla Carrot Cake…sorry I missed it!
MissLena-Thanks. :) Fuzzy head and nervous is no fun. I don’t know if you’ve tried it but I find lying down when getting blood drawn really helps.
Terri-Oh no sorry. :(
So, I’m sitting here working and watching Sherlock (ok so maybe I wasn’t working that hard) while drinking a lovely cup of The Black Lotus when all of the sudden they mention that a gang is called The Black Lotus. What a random coincidence. I definitely didn’t name this tea with the show in mind but that is kind of cool. The name of the tea is a nod to one of my husband’s hobbies, Magic: The Gathering. The most prized card in that game is the black lotus card, so I thought it would be fun to name this tea that. It is very much suiting my mood at the moment with the fantastic mushroomy earthiness and chocolate, caramel, and citrus notes. Yums!
We are shaking things up a bit over here. Moving out some old teas, preparing for some new ones. I love changing things up and constantly looking for higher quality and making more interesting flavors. There is no room for average teas. So, we just finished off our Classic Earl Grey, Organic Imperial Gunpowder, and Birthday Cake (we are reworking this one with a different base tea) and there are a few other teas that are set to be removed once the current batch is finished.
Btw, if you haven’t voted yet for your favorite custom blend in our contest, please do. It will help someone create their dream tea blend. Also, we super appreciative of any sharing of our contest on social media sites. Here is the link: www.butikiteas.com/Contest.html
Yay! I love (LOVE) Sherlock. I hadn’t caught that connection, but that’s even more reason to try this tea.
It was in season 1, episode 2. :)
I’m too excited for new teas….
Sil-Yay for new teas! :)
Which other teas are being moved out? Not Golden Lion Assam?!?
Tea Sipper-Unfortunately, we will run out of the Hattialli Golden Lion Assam. Not by choice though. I didn’t anticipate how much we would need for the year correctly. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to acquire more until the next harvest.
Sherlock is a lot of fun! I’m so sad to see BC go and never got a chance to try your EG (I was just thinking about it today because I was trying a bunch and realized I never think to grab your more traditional sounding blends just because you have so many things nobody else does I want to try first), but I appreciate how dynamic and truly innovative the company is, so I can understand. Looking forward to new things!
I’m a little sad about the BC too because I thought that one was a winner but maybe the white tea version will be even more awesome! Also, we will be working on another Earl Grey. I’m debating between going with a really good base tea and staying traditional or doing funky Earl Grey blend. Thanks for the kind words! :)
Taking a little break right now, enjoying a cup of this watching Gary Numan live! https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uzLe-ufp_Zw#t=112. I haven’t listened to Gary Numan in a while and I’ve been meaning to pick up his latest album. Maybe I will peruse Amazon and pick it up. Most bands seem to turn out less awesome music with age but he is just awesome. The tea goes well with the video.
I must say there is definitely a sweet spot with this tea. There is a point between floral (too diluted) and astringent (too strong) that is just absolutely perfect. At that point, wonderful notes of Brazil nuts, burned chocolate, wood, and earth are present. It makes an excellent substitute for my beloved PTA but it does take more work to get it to its ideal point. Out of all the Darjeelings I tasted this year, this was certainly the most unique. While, still a high graded tea this was one of the cheaper teas at the estate but I just felt like it had the most flavor and it is an excellent value. Right now it is on sale for $3.75 an ounce.
arghhhh so tempting! but I will need to wait til black friday :/
Indigobloom-black friday isn’t too far away! I bet this year is going to be insane! :)
can you let us know when the carrot cake tea is starting to get low stacy? i really really really wany some but i need to hold on ordering anything for a little bit…
Hi Sil-I’m going to make a Facebook post when we are down to the last batch. I can tag you in the comment. I suspect that this one could be around for a while though. Even though its limited, we still have a lot of it.
good to know… i need that one….and pumpkin milkshake…and a magnet, or two…and to restock my peppermint patty… uh… and i think that’s it (only if i’m trying to keep it to a minimum)
Sil-Hahaha :)
You better tag me on that stuff too… :)
Terri-Will do! :)
as if i wouldn’t tell you immediately terri lol
true dat!
Stacy, Gary Numan for real? Did you end up buying it? I did last week…I can’t believe how current he is after so many years! Mind you, he was very «avant-garde» from the get go…
TheTeaFairy-Yes, I did end up buying it! Splinter is soooo good! He is surprisingly very current. I also ended up buying tickets to his concert and he put on an amazing show. :)
Yes it’s so good! It’s as if Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails had evolved and merged into one new super band :-)
Lucky you, based on the link you provided, I understand how it must have been a great show!
The Espresso Cupcake blend sounds amazing! I hope she likes it and enjoys the party. :-)
It sounds like she has some pretty incredible friends :)
Aww, perfect. See, this is why Birthday Week is a good thing; you get a few chances to make it right!
sounds complicated but worth it!
sundaysipping-Thanks! I would make it part of our collection if we didn’t have so many teas with strawberry in them. Maybe if we change the fruit. It’s very tasty.
adagio breeze-Thanks :)
Anna-Indeed! I celebrate birthday week myself. I’m really low maintenance but when birthday week comes around everything is me me me. I get all of my high maintenance and selfish wants in one week.
donkeytiara-it was a lot of work but my friend is the type that really truly appreciates effort and she deserves it! She is a great friend.
Wow how special :D
Aww, thanks for sharing this with us, and what an amazing personalized present! Your friend must be really special :-)
(Lol, I see you are now an adept of my brewing method, an eye opener on those early mornings, that’s for sure, and sooo goood!!!)