Goodbye Old Friend, Hello New Friends!

I am very sad to say that our Organic Blue Nettle is officially sold out.  Our Organic Blue Nettle was such an interesting and very loved tea so it is sad for me to see it go.  

On the positive side, we have added 2 new wonderful teas, Nilgiri Frost Oolong and Golden Stars.  For those who love our Organic Blue Nettle, I would highly recommend checking out the Golden Stars and also our Dragon Feelers.  Both of these teas have some similar notes and mouth feel to the Organic Blue Nettle.  

Our Golden Stars are handcrafted and tied into the shape of a star. This tea originates from China and is a smooth full-bodied tea that is juicy, buttery, and vegetal. Notes of sweet fresh spinach and artichokes can be detected as well as light lingering lemon notes. This delicate tea is delightful and refreshing. 

http://www.butikiteas.com/Green.html

Our Nilgiri Frost Oolong originates from Nilgiri, in Southern India and is graded TGFOP (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe). Since this tea is grown at a high elevation, the leaves are exposed to a light frost during some nights of the winter months. The long thin chocolate colored leaves are hand twisted and produce a weighty body. This smooth tea has notes of citrus, peach, pecan, and oak. There are many qualities similar to a Nilgiri black tea; however, the frost oolong is much gentler and sweeter. This tea is produced in very limited quantities due to the short harvest period and special conditions that must exist. 

http://www.butikiteas.com/Oolong.html

New Teas!!!!!

In the next two months or so we will be adding about 30 new teas to our website!  We are blending several new flavors as well as adding several high quality plain teas.  These two teas are the first of many to follow.

Zhen Qu

Our Zhen Qu originates from Yunnan, China and has downy black and gold curly leaves. This lightly malty tea has wonderful honey notes that linger and mingle with floral, chocolate, and pecan notes. Our recommended steep time produces a well-balanced tea and is less dry but we also recommend trying this tea at longer steep times for a more intense flavor. 

 

Dragon Feelers

Dragon Feelers is a handcrafted green tea that originates from China. The soft green leaves resemble the belly of a dragon. This full-bodied smooth tea is buttery and sweet with artichoke, pea and marine notes. Dragon Feelers is a delicate, yet refreshing tea.

For more information, check out: http://www.butikiteas.com/Teas.html

The Story of Tamarind Pop

We are now offering Tamarind Pop tea on our website.  This is quite an interesting tea and one that we did not come up with ourselves.  A couple months back I was reading through the thread on Steepster "What Odd/Unique Flavors Would You Like To See in a Tea Blend" and I had noticed that Alphakitty had mentioned that she was craving a Tamarind tea.  I thought that tea seemed interesting and doable so I sent her a message to see if she would be interested in doing a custom blend.  I was surprised to see that she was interested.  Custom blends are risky since we require an 8oz tea purchase for our custom blends and there is no guarantee how the flavor will turn out.  After going back and forth discussing what base tea she would like to use and trying to determine how she imagined the tea would taste we finally had come up with something.  This blend far exceeded my expectations.  In fact, this was the only custom blend that I have done that was so unique and tasty that we decided to make it available to all of our customers. 

Tamarind is flavor that I am quite familiar with.  Living in New Jersey there is an Indian restaurant on every block.  Well, not quite that much but you get the idea.  There is this super sweet tamarind chutney sauce that is great to use on very spicy Indian food because it helps cool the extreme spiciness of some dishes.  In Indian food, I primarily see the sweet tamarind chutney used with chaats (savory snacks).  It is also used in sambar, which is a delicious spicy vegetable soup.  We also have a lot of Mexican cuisine in our area and Tamarind Sodas are quite common and very tasty.  Tamarind flavor is a bit of sweet, sour, and fruity all at the same time.  It's hard to describe but the flavor is unmistakable.  The tamarind fruit grows in pods and comes from trees in tropical areas.        

The base of our Tamarind Pop is an organic black tea which originates from the Guranse Estate in Nepal. Tamarind Pop is sweet with notes of caramel, raw cacao, vanilla, and tamarind and finishes with a slight astringency. Add a little brown crystal sugar for a completely different tasting tea. With a little sugar this tea tastes just like a tamarind soda. The tamarind flavor is intense and melds with a rich caramel flavor.

Check it out:http://www.butikiteas.com/Black.html

Sales, Customer Appreciation Offer, Reduced Prices, New Teas, Lower Shipping Rates!!!!

Wow, a lot has been going on and we have some great offers for our customers.  Check out what we have been up to below.  Since we will be adding about 30 new teas in the upcoming months, we need to make some room for new inventory.  

SALES: http://www.butikiteas.com/On%20Sale.html

• Spicy Mint Oolong (19% off), now $4.25 ½ an ounce
• Organic Assam (30% off), now $4.00 an ounce
• Raspberry Truffle (30% off), now $3.50 an ounce
• Rwanda Rukeri (18% off), now $3.25 an ounce

Special Offers

Returning Customer Special Offer: http://www.butikiteas.com/On%20Sale.html
For customers that have purchased from us before we would like to show our appreciation by offering you 1 ounce of your choice of select teas and tisanes for $.01 with a purchase of $25 or more. If you would prefer the "new customer" option you may choose that instead. The following teas are available for this offer: Ceylon Black, Classic Earl Grey, Fine Ti Kuan Yin, Ginger Rooibos, Organic Idulgashinna Green, Organic Korakundah, Premium Chai, Pumpkin Creme Brulee, and Tangerine Creamsicle. To participate in this offer, you must be a returning customer. Simply add the tea you would like to your cart. This offer ends Monday, June 25th.

New Customer Special Offer: http://www.butikiteas.com/On%20Sale.html

For customers that are new to our company we would like to show our appreciation by offering you (5) 1 cup samples with a purchase of $25 or more for $.01. You can choose between flavored, black tea or green tea sample packs. Our flavored sample pack has: Cantaloupe & Cream, Good Morning Sunshine, Pumpkin Creme Brulee, Raspberry Truffle, and Strawberry Oolong. Our black tea sample pack has: English Breakfast, Organic Ceylon, Organic Guranse, Organic Kundaly, and Royal Golden Safari. Our green tea sample pack has: Organic Dragon Tip, Organic Idulgashinna Green, Organic Korakundah, Rwanda Rukeri, and South Korean Green. Simply add the sample pack you would like to your cart. This offer ends Monday, June 25th.

 

We now have a “Samplers” page  and have added a new guayusa sample set.   Check it out here: http://www.butikiteas.com/Samplers.html

Choose Your Own Adventure: Guayusa Edition

At Butiki Teas we love guayusas!   So, we are offering packages of 4, 5, or 6 guayusas and you get to choose which ones you would like.  Each guayusa is in this package is $3.75 for 1 ounce, which saves you $.25 to $.75 per guayusa (or $3.50 each if you chose the 6 guayusa package).   We have the following guayusas available: Apricot, Cider, Good Morning Sunshine (Lemon), Organic, Tangerine Creamsicle, and Winter Fire.

Lower Shipping Prices

We have new low shipping rates!!! 

1-3 Teas $3.50

4-6 Teas $5.00

7-10 Teas $6.50

11 and up $8.50

Spend $75 on our products and we will refund your shipping cost. 

We also now have Canadian rates posted:

1-2 Teas: $4.50
3-4 Teas: $5.75
5-8 Teas: $6.75
9-12 Teas $7.60
More Than 13 Teas: $9.00

Spend $75 on our products and we will refund your shipping cost. 

Smaller Serving Sizes:

Our display teas now have a single serving purchase option.  Please note single servings are sent in baggies.   

• Chrysanthemum Double Trouble (Green Tea) $1.75 per serving http://www.butikiteas.com/Green.html
• Jasmine Rosettes (Green Tea) $1.25 per serving http://www.butikiteas.com/Green.html
• Organic White Peach (White Tea) $.99 per serving http://www.butikiteas.com/White.html

Reduced Prices On:

• Chasen (tea whisk) price now 23% lower. http://www.butikiteas.com/Teawares.html
• Chashaku (tea scoop) price now 37% lower.  http://www.butikiteas.com/Teawares.html
• Yunnan Royal Golden price is now 32% lower. http://www.butikiteas.com/Black.html
• Gyokuro Superior price is now 35% lower.  http://www.butikiteas.com/Green.html

Recently Added:

• Organic Daba Mountain Jade
• Tangerine Creamsicle
• Good Morning Sunshine (Lemon guayusa)

Brand New Teas & Accessories:

Organic Spring Twist: Our Organic Spring Twist originates from an all organic estate located in Dexing City which is found in the northeast area of the Jiangxi Province in Southern China.  This green tea is processed by withering, firing, rolling and then baking the leaves.  Organic Spring Twist is a flavorful and mellow tea that is intoxicatingly sweet with a vegetal aroma.  This tea has notes of fresh peas and the juiciness of a summer peach with a full smooth body.  Please note that we have a very limited supply of this tea. http://www.butikiteas.com/Green.html

Organic Dragon Tip: Our Organic Dragon Tip is processed by withering, firing, carding, and then baking the tea leaves. This gorgeous emerald green tea originates from an all organic estate located in Dexing City which is found in the northeast area of the Jiangxi Province in Southern China.  Organic Dragon Tip has vegetal notes with a roasted flavor and has some light yeasty notes.  This silky tea is sweet with light astringency.  Please note that we have a very limited supply of this tea. http://www.butikiteas.com/Green.html 

 

Flowery Pineapple Oolong: This light delicate tea pairs our premium Wen Shan Bao Zhong with a light pineapple flavor.  The buttery and orchid notes of the oolong as well as its light body marry well with the pineapple flavor for a well-balanced soft tea.  Without sugar this oolong has a wonderful light natural flavor but add a little brown crystal sugar for a stronger yet still natural pineapple flavor. http://www.butikiteas.com/Oolong.html

                                                   

Finum Brewing Baskets: Our Finum Brewing Baskets are made from durable double-twilled stainless steel mesh.  Each basket comes with a lid that can also be used as a drip tray.  These large baskets allow the tea to expand in the water and will not impact the flavor of the tea.  Finum Brewing Baskets are dishwasher safe.  Please wash this filter before first use.  Our filter baskets come in your choice of green or blue. http://www.butikiteas.com/Teawares.html                                                                          

 

Cider Guayusa:  Our Cider Guayusa is refreshing and mellow with light apple and spice notes.  This guayusa is naturally sweet but we recommend adding a little bit of brown crystal sugar to intensify the cider and spice notes. http://www.butikiteas.com/Guayusa.html

Will Be Available Soon:

• Tamarind Pop: This was originally a custom blend for a customer but we will be offering this very soon.  This tea has an Organic Guranse base with Tamarind flavor.  
• Watermelon Dragon Well 
• Vanilla Guayusa: This one has been in the works for a while but vanilla is the most challenging flavor to work with.

Coming In: We have a lot of new high quality green, black, and oolong teas coming in the next few months in addition to some exciting new flavors.  We are currently working on a pecan banana rum tea and a grapefruit tea. 

   

Important Notice: We are very low on Organic Blue Nettle and once it is gone it is gone.

Office Closed for Long Weekend

IMPORTANT: Our office is closed Friday, June 8^th through Monday, June 11^th.  Any purchases made Friday through Monday will be shipped out on Tuesday.  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    

Rain, Rain, and more Rain… Oh and Some Tea Documentaries

Rain rain go away.  Well at least the plants in my garden have been very happy recently.  My very first strawberry decided to make an appearance this week and everything has been growing quite fast.  All this dreariness is making me just want to hide my head under the covers.  Today I decided to finally watch two tea documentaries,…All In This Tea and The Meaning Of Tea.  Both were quite different and enjoyable.  But before I could sit down and watch two films back to back I need make myself comfortable.  First and most importantly, I must choose the correct tea or teas.  I picked out a lovely ceremonial grade matcha and also our amazing Wild Purple Buds Puerh.   Next, I must find my favorite fuzzy blanket and make my way to my ugly reclining chair.  This is a chair so ugly that when my husband and I saw it in the showroom we mocked it from across the room.  As a joke we decided to sit in it but that is when we fell in love with what has to be the most comfortable chair in the world.  Now that I was ready it was time to watch the first documentary, The Meaning of Tea.

I have been looking forward to seeing this documentary for a while.  I just never got around to purchasing it.  There were so many beautiful and visually stunning images.  The intro alone had me in a relaxed state.  The Meaning of Tea presented a number of diverse cultures and I felt like I was transported to Morocco, India, Taiwan, France, China, and Japan.  There were also a variety of people interviewed, including:  tea tasters, estate managers, farm workers, processors, a tea master, a factory supervisor, shop owners, etc.  I would have liked to see a little more depth of certain interviews, particularly from some of the knowledgeable tea experts and I certainly could live without a few of the segments.  The South Dakota segment didn’t add anything new and the tea is sexy segment was just bad.  Even without those sections there were others that just weren’t necessary or were awkward.  Besides those complaints, I really enjoyed this documentary.  There was one quote from Fu-Chin Chang that stuck with me “once you’re surrounded by nature, you feel like you’ve been embraced.  There are lots of things that the city can’t provide.  It’s not something you can buy with money.  Many things in nature require time and observation for you to understand.”  That’s something that feel is very true.  Slowing down and enjoying nature is something that I have been more focused on in the last few years and it has certainly grounded me more.  This dvd comes with a lot of special features worth checking out.

After a short break, I was now ready for round 2.  I threw …All In This Tea in the dvd player and made my way back to my ugly chair and fuzzy blanket.  This documentary features David Lee Hoffman, an American tea importer, as he searches out for great tea in China.   This film was a bit dated but it reveals some of the politics behind the business of tea in China at the time.  We also get to take a look at tea being processed, farmers, and various business transactions all with some information on tea interspersed throughout.  Like The Meaning of Tea, there was a number of very visual moments in this dvd that really translated some of the tea culture to the viewer.  Some of the visuals were quite breathtaking.  I loved how James Norwood Pratt mentioned that tea was a living archeology.  That essentially we can be transported in time by drinking tea.  Some people throughout time could have drank a tea that was very similar to what we drink now.  I know that could be said about many things, but it’s just a very interesting thought.  In one clip David had mentioned that with puerh you either love it or you hate it.  I used to believe that as well, but the more people I talk to the more I feel that puerh is really something that you can learn to appreciate.  All it takes is the right puerh to intrigue someone to explore more puerhs.  

There was also an emphasis on promoting small farms, rewarding producers of high quality tea, and using organic and sustainable methods.  This documentary made me think about how sometimes as consumers, we just aren’t always responsible about what we choose to buy.  I don’t mean this just for tea but for everything.  Do we always take the time to make sure everything we buy won’t negatively impact our environment or that the workers are paid fairly or that we buy products from small businesses?  I really enjoyed this documentary and of the two this one was more informative but both have their merits.  There really wasn’t a lot of overlap between the two videos.  I’m glad I finally got to see both of those documentaries.  Anyone else see them?  

-Stacy

Periodic Semi-Brief Update

What’s New

Well, within the last week or so a lot has been going on and we have quite a bit of stuff coming up too.  Here are a few things we have been up to: 

• We lowered the quantity requirement for our purple teas to just 1/2 an ounce so more people can try them.  Check it out:  Purple Tea

• SALE!!! We just started a new sale on two of our very exquisite Kenyan teas.  Our White Whisper is 18% off and Blueberry Purple Tea is now 20% off until November 17^th.  Check them out here: SALE!!!  We would love to hear any sale suggestions from our customers.  Let us know if there is something you would like to see on sale.

•  Two new teas have been added to our collection: Wild Purple Buds Puerh & Pistachio Ice Cream!

Wild Purple Buds: Our Wild Purple Buds Puerh originates from Yunnan, China on the border of China and Burma. This tea was harvested from wild ancient trees at an altitude of 6,000 feet by the Wa tribal people in 2011. Our puerh falls in the Sheng (raw) category of puerh and is in loose leaf-form. The buds of this tea are purple, green, and yellow. Purple buds indicate a higher level of anthocyanin (a flavoniod). This flavonoid usually causes bitterness but does not in this case as this is a smooth puerh. Our puerh has light smoked oak notes with honey and floral notes and has a juicy mouthfeel. This rare tea is of limited supply. Puerh  

Pistachio Ice Cream has an Organic Mao Jian base with generous amounts of roasted pistachios and a dash of lotus stamens. The sweet roasted pistachio flavor is immediately noticed followed by prominent notes of heavy cream. Light notes of vanilla can also be distinguished. Add some sugar to turn this smooth full-bodied tea into a dessert treat that resembles pistachio ice cream. Pistachio Ice Cream

We have received quite a few reviews lately and there should be even more coming out soon.  Here are our latest reviews:

The Lazy Litera"Tea" reviewed and experimented with our Purple Tea of Kenya: http://lazyliteratus.teatra.de/2011/11/09/four-eyed-no-horned-flightless-purple-tea-drinker/  

My Steeped IdentiTEA’s review of our Pumpkin Crème Brulee: http://mysteepedidentitea.blogspot.com/2011/10/butikis-pumpkin-creme-brulee-review.html

The Tea Review has recently reviewed a number of our teas, here they are:

Strawberry Oolong: http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=18527

Raspberry Truffle: http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=18565

Organic Blue Nettle #1: http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=18529

Organic Blue Nettle #2: http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=18603

Grape Oolong: http://www.teareviewblog.com/?p=18627

Finally, “The Tea Show” is doing a raffle to win a nice supply of teas.  We have donated our Raspberry Truffle and Pumpkin Crème Brulee to the mix. 

 *For the record the name of our company is pronounced boo*ti*key.  Boo as in what a ghost would say, Ti as in tip and key as in key.  I often hear it pronounced boo*tiki which would be correct if it was an English word, however, it is a Tagalog word.   

Preview of What’s To Come

• Next week on our blog we will be reviewing two tea related documentaries, The Meaning of Tea and …All In This Tea. 

•  We will be adding a special holiday sampler to our website. 

• Two new teas will be available very soon: Mulled Cider Guayusa & Rwandan Green Tea!  Here is a look at the lovely Mulled Cider Guayusa: