Office Closed for Long Weekend

IMPORTANT: Our office is closed Friday, September 7^th through Monday, September 10^th.  Any purchases made Friday through Monday will be shipped out on Tuesday, September 11th.  We apologize for the inconvenience.  During this time we will be offering 3 free samples of your choice (Organic Daba Mountain Jade is the only tea not eligible for sample).  Please let us know which samples you would like to try when you check out by listing them in the “Instructions to Merchant” section or by sending us an email.  Thank you for your patience.  –Stacy Lim   

Behind The Name: Watermelon Xylophone Edition

Before Watermelon Xylophone (white tea) was even ready to be put on our website, we had been getting a lot of questions about the name of the tea.  So the dilemma remained do I tell customers about the origin of the name or let it remain a mystery to add to the mystique of this tea.  I’ve decided to discuss the origin of the name because it is still a kind of mystery to me anyways.   

After creating the initial blend, I was having great difficulty coming up with a name.  The tea tasted just like watermelon to me.  Watermelon Tea is really not that enticing of a name.  On a 2 hour car ride with my husband, Joel, to pretty much the middle of nowhere in Pennsylvania we spent about an hour doing a brainstorming session, throwing out what seemed like hundreds on names.  We went through names such as: Soothing Watermelon, Sensual Watermelon, Juicy Watermelon, Watermelon Candy, Enticing Watermelon, Summer Watermelon etc etc etc but nothing hit us as amazing.  Then out of nowhere I just blurted out Watermelon Xylophone.  My logic at that time was that something that has nothing to do with watermelon sounded better than the names we were coming up with.  But then we both actually started to like how that sounded.  Kind of catchy I thought and hey maybe it’s not so unrelated.   

Watermelon Xylophone is music for your mouth and its light and fun just like xylophone music.  So, you might be asking why was xylophone randomly in your brain?  Who thinks about xylophones enough to blurt it out randomly?  Well, I suppose I have been in a xylophone mood recently but why I got into a xylophone mood in the first place is beyond me.  Anyways, I had really been inspired by xylophone music at the time.  Above is one of my favorite xylophone related videos on youtube.  It kind of represents Watermelon Xylophone.  I mean who could not be in a good mood listening to Super Mario Brothers 2 theme song done in ragtime?  Watch that one all the way through, the end is awesome. 

I wish we had a better reason to call this charming tea Watermelon Xylophone, but unfortunately the truth isn't always so poetic.  A fellow Steepster poster, TheTeaFairy, had guessed "...the needles do remind me of the long keys of a xylophone.  And just like a xylophone, the taste escalates and explodes in a beautiful ascent!".  What a beautiful interpretation.  I love it!

For more information on our brand new tea, Watermelon Xylophone, check it out here:  Watermelon Xylophone

-Stacy

Behind The Name: The Killer's Vanilla Edition

Why did we name a mint, lavender, vanilla, guayusa blend The Killer’s Vanilla?  Well, that's a good question.  For months we were working on a vanilla guayusa with no success.  We made some good vanilla guayusas but nothing that hit us as unique or amazing.  

For some inspiration we turned to iTunes to help us out and looked for every song with the word vanilla in it.  It was The Killer’s Vanilla that truly inspired us.  After listening to that song for what must have been hours on end we knew we had to create something smooth, subtle, relaxed yet there needs to be something deceptive about the blend.  The song itself is very relaxed, loose, comforting, warm, spacey and dark with moments of fast, hard chaos.  A bit of a juxtaposition and that is what our guayusa needed to be.  Since we had already chosen the vanilla, which to us is relaxing we wanted to continue that theme with some relaxing lavender and subtle spearmint.  Now we have a relaxing blend but at the same time the high caffeine content of the guayusa creates a sense of alertness.  Sleepy, more like relaxed, yet wide awake.  We loved it.  Another interesting contrast is tasting this tea with and without sugar.  Without sugar it tastes like an earthy herbal blend but with sugar it tastes like a creamy dessert treat.    

Above is a video clip of The Killer’s Vanilla (don't worry its advertisement-free).  Thank you The Killer's Vanilla for providing great inspiration to us.  Here is a link to one of our favorite artists, Amon Tobin:    http://www.amontobin.com.

For more information about The Killer's Vanilla guayusa, check out our website:    Butiki Teas Guayusa Selection 

-Stacy

Our Cantaloupe & Cream Took 3rd @ North American Tea Championship

We are very excited to announce that our Cantaloupe & Cream won 3rd place in the Flavored White Tea category of the 2012 Spring Hot Tea Class of the North American Tea Championship!!!!  This was the only tea that we had entered into NATC.   

As someone that is very critical of my own work, I never expected that a tea I would create would win any awards.  Love and care is put into every single tea that we make (as well as quality ingredients) and we are very proud that we won 3rd place.  We would have never entered this tea had we not seen the reviews at Steepster.  While we get frequent purchases and praise of our Cantaloupe & Cream, it still hadn't hit us that this tea was extra special until we had read some of the reviews at Steepster.  Big thanks to everyone that has supported us, reviewed our teas, and of course our awesome customers!

You can find more info about Cantaloupe & Cream here:  http://www.butikiteas.com/White.html

-Stacy Lim

Office Closed For Long Weekend

IMPORTANT: Our office is closed Friday, August 3rd through Monday, August 6th.  Any purchases made Friday through Monday will be shipped out on Tuesday the 7th.  We apologize for the inconvenience.  During this time we will be offering 3 free samples of your choice (Organic Daba Mountain Jade is the only tea not eligible for sample).  Please let us know which samples you would like to try when you check out by listing them in the “Instructions to Merchant” section or by sending us an email.  Thank you for your patience.  –Stacy Lim   

Huge One Day Sale Bonanza!!!

Stacy Lim, the owner of Butiki Teas, is celebrating her birthday on July 25th.  What better way to celebrate than by offering an exciting one day sale.  For all of July 25th we will be offering $10 of free tea of your choice with a purchase of $30.00 of tea or $25 of free tea of your choice with a purchase of $60.00 of tea.  Please read all the rules carefully.

The rules:

• Teawares and accessories will not be counted as a 'tea purchase' or as 'free tea'. 
• Free shipping offers do not apply, even if a $75 order is made.
• Free samples will not be offered during this sale.
• The initial purchase cannot include items that are currently on sale and cannot include samplers; however, the free teas portion may include sales items at their sales prices.  Our current teas on sale include:  Mi Xian Black, Flowery Pineapple Oolong, Cider Guayusa and Organic Assam.
• Purchases that qualify for this sale must be made on July 25^th Eastern Standard Time.
• The “free tea” must fall within the dollar limit.  For example if you purchase $30 in teas, your free teas cannot exceed $10.00, not even by $.25.  No exceptions. 
• Please let us know what free teas you would like with your order either in the “instructions to seller” section during check out or in a separate email.
• Failure to follow rules may make your purchase ineligible for this offer.

Please note that the office is closed on July 25th and no email confirmations will be sent until the following day.  Please allow for 2-4 business days for teas to be shipped out of our office. 

 http://www.butikiteas.com/

SALES, New Teas, & Upcoming Teas.

SALE-Until August 10th

Mi Xian Black-19% off, now $9.50 an ounce

Flowery Pineapple Oolong-23% off, now $5.00 1/2 ounce

Cider Guayusa- 22% off, now $3.50 an ounce

Organic Assam-50% off, now $2.80 an ounce

Check out our sales here: Butiki Teas Sale Page

Also, be sure to check out our "Samplers" page for other great deals: http://www.butikiteas.com/Samplers.html

New Teas-Recently Added Teas

2003 Reserve Four Season Oolong-Our aged oolong is sourced from the Dong Ding tea growing region of Nantou County in Taiwan and was harvested in the spring of 2003. The varietal is Si Ji Chuan also known as Four Season. Our aged oolong was crafted by blend master Chen Pei Wen and is re-roasted every 2-3 years to minimize moisture content. 2003 Reserve Four Season Oolong is a rich full-bodied silky tea. The charcoal-colored leaves of this smooth oolong produce notes of honey suckle, bark, and grass and has a natural sweetness with no astringency present. This tea is also low in caffeine.

Gui Fei Oolong-Our Gui Fei Oolong was sourced from Lugu Township in Nantou County, Taiwan and is a particularly unique tea. Green leafhoppers are allowed to bite the tea leaves which causes the leaves to begin the healing process which creates the honey notes in this tea and also begins the oxidation process. This tea utilized traditional Dong Ding processing techniques. Gui Fei Oolong has a natural sweetness to it and produces no astringency. Notes of honey, lightly burned toast, raw almonds and apples can be detected.

Mi Xian Black-Our Mi Xian Black tea is sourced from Ali Shan region in Taiwan. This exquisite premium grade tea utilizes the Chin Xin varietal and is pesticide free. Mi Xian Black is a relatively new style of black tea and is very rare. Similar to our Gui Fei Oolong, leafhoppers are allowed to bite the leaves in order initiate the plant’s healing process which produces a honey-like aroma. Juicy peach and honey notes mingle and linger. Some lychee and mild citrus notes can also be detected. This smooth and mellow tea is sweet with a creamy mouth-feel.

Premium Taiwanese Assam-Our Premium Taiwanese Assam is sourced from Yuchih Township in Nantou County, Taiwan. Assam bushes were brought to Taiwan in the early twentieth century but have since been refined by the Taiwan Research and Extension Station. The long dark chocolate colored leaves produce a sweet fruity aroma. This malty tea has rich chocolate notes with notes of cinnamon, clove, and raisins.

Other Recent Additions

Tamarind Pop (Black Tea)

Golden Stars (Green Tea)

Nilgiri Frost Oolong

Zhen Qu (Black Tea)

Dragon Feelers (Green Tea)

Recent Arrivals & Recent Blends-Will be added to our website within a month or two.

Watermelon Xylophone

The Killer's Vanilla-Vanilla, Spearmint, Lavender

Premium Tie Guan Yin

Sparrows Tongue Oolong

Premium Keemun

Huang Shan Mao Feng

Drunk Bananas-Rum & Banana

Grapefruit

Maple Pecan

Just Almonds

Coconut Cream Pie-Upgraded version

Premium Bi Lo Chun

Root Beer Float-At the suggestion of some Steepsterites. This one will be a while.

*We are also working on a premium sampler. This will have one premium tea from white, black, oolong, green, and puerh tea categories.

Customer Feedback

We value all customer feedback. Right now we are really interested to find out if any of our customers have any recommendations for a special one day sale or promotion. We currently are unable to do a blanket percentages off (ex. 15% off all teas) due to the limitations of PayPal but there are plenty of other interesting promotion and sale ideas. What is the most appealing?