60 Tasting Notes
I’m drinking this tea while I’m preparing to add our new “I Love Leafhoppers” sampler to our website. I love these magnets! I already have plans to litter all magnetic surfaces in my house with them. My mother-in-law who is completely insect phobic has already ordered a bunch from me because she thinks they are so cute. Here’s a pic if you haven’t caught it on our facebook: http://instagram.com/p/fS8nyqFfN4/#
This tea is absolutely delicious today. I’m getting a strong powdered sugar flavor with a light honey and some bakey notes. I’m also noticing a little tiny bit of floral. Perfect for my mood!
So now I’m pretty set on a Doctor Who tea. I’ve decided that Gallifrey will be our first tea. I’m thinking apple, brandy, white chocolate. The reason for this is because of the colors being red, white, and orange. This is why I want those colors: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz_1HQY32LA Also, I will have to seek out gorgeous orange flower for the tea.
Mmmmmm. This tea is my favorite. I know I’m not supposed to have favorites but this one is it. It is my go to tea. Whenever things are all wrong, this tea just makes me feel good. So chocolatey and caramely and smooth.
Today is a short day for me. At 4pm, I leave for Philadelphia. The hubby and I will be catching a Flyers (hockey) game and getting some good grub. But first I’m going to test out how the Irish Cream Cheesecake came out on both our Premium Taiwanese Assam and our Sourenee tea. This week is a packed week. I’m hoping to get up our custom blend kits, Vanilla Frosted Carrot Cake tea, Doke Silver Needle, Sourenee, and Doke Rolling Thunder Oolong on our website. The Rhubarb Vanilla Beer Tea will be up shortly but probably next week. I was hoping our Chocolate Hazelnut Honeybush would be up soon, but I’ve seem to run into some issues with that blend. So, I have to say that I am excited about our upcoming “I love Leafhoppers” sampler. I had an idea for a graphic and worked with my friend to come up with a really cute cartoon-ish pic and we had some magnets made for the sampler set and also to be sold individually. I really like the idea of doing some more graphic fun tea stuff.
Sweet! Have a great trip :) I can’t wait to see the leafhoppers graphic. I’ll be sending you my tea mandala as my art contest entry very soon :D
Stephanie-Thanks! I know we will have some fun!
Thank you! I think the magnets are super cute but it may be too tea dorky. We will see. I might post a preview soon. I can’t wait to see how the magnets came out. We did nice 20mil magnets with rounded corners and gloss coating.
I can’t wait to see how your mandala turned out! I’m sure it will be fantastic! :)
^I meant that the design is super cute (we haven’t received the magnets yet).
Those teas all sound so exciting, including that leafhoppers sampler! I’m jealous you’re headed to Philly—the food and drinks there are amazing.
ifjuly-Thanks! Very excited about Philly. The hubby and I only live 45 min from center Philly and it is very vegan friendly which is a huge plus for us. We will either be headed to the Memphis Taproom which has vegan and omni options and was featured on Diners, drive-ins, and dives show. They do an amazing smoked coconut club sandwhich or to Blackbird Pizza which is a vegan pizza place. They have an amazing mushrooms with truffle oil pizza. Yums, I can’t decide which place to go.
Oh, have fun! I’m intrigued by the Irish cream cheesecake, although have to admit I’m not exactly sure what Irish cream even tastes like. And I would love graphic tea things to show off my tea affair :).
Thanks keychange! Ever have Baileys or any other whiskey/cream liquor? It is a pretty obscure graphic. My friend did a leafhopper drawing for me. He is super cute. He has a cute cartoonish look but also a slightly punky attitude.
Haha, I read that as your friend is super cute, with a cute cartoonish look and a slightly punky attitude. Crying.
Anna-Hahahaha. :D …but actually that could describe her a bit.
hahaha I read it that way as well! and oh yes Stacy, Baileys and I go way back. Can’t wait to try the tea!
Ooooh that all sounds so good, especially that smoked coconut club! And “a cute cartoonish look but also a slightly punky attitude” sounds awesome and made me laugh out loud.
Your Leafhopper sampler sounds like its right up my alley!
Love it! Have fun!
ifjuly-I ended up having the smoked coconut club! It was sooooo good.
Donna-Good to hear that!
Heather-Thanks, we had a great time.
FYI, I tasted the Irish Cream Cheesecake with our Premium Taiwanese Assam base and also with our new Sourenee and oh man was it good. The Sourenee was the clear winner. Without sugar, the flavor was perfect and dead on but I’m not loving how it tasted with sugar so I think I may need to tinker with the flavoring combinations a little more.
Ahhhgg, so this Friday didn’t go so well. Everything that could have gone wrong did, including computer crashes and software lock outs and batches of tea ruined. One thing that happened was when I tried to log on to our company Facebook, I was locked out. It wouldn’t let me back in unless I converted to a business account. I knew this would not be good but did not think it would be as bad as it was. When I got back in, all comments and messages were erased. I tried to do a test post but the statistics showed that only one person read the post. Since they want us to pay everytime we post to reach people who were already our friends, this is just not really an option. I made another Facebook page for myself but will be posting only tea updates with maybe an occasional joke. Like before it will be mostly updates on new teas, contests, articles, and occasional reviews. I’m having a tough time finding some of our friends from before. Here is a link to the new page: https://www.facebook.com/stacy.lim.338. We will probably be doing a Facebook Contest soonish as well, to encourage some more sign ups. Luckily the rest of the weekend went fantastic! I went to see one of my favorite bands at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn then went to my first hipster wedding the next day. Fantastic location, it was on the rooftop right next to the Empire State Building.
This tea is fantastic! This rarely happens, but we went for the lower grade of tea from this estate. It is still a SFTGFOP, which is the top grade but it is very affordable and is even more flavorful than the more expensive tea. This year I didn’t get around to tasting 2nd flushes until much later than I should have. We tasted about 40 second flush teas all at once. This one really stood out and I would say that it is a Darjeeling for people who don’t like Darjeelings. It’s very malty, super buttery and has a delicious burned chocolate flavor and is nutty. There are light undertones of floral but they are hardly noticeable. This is a tea that I don’t mind drinking all day long. Yesterday I had 3 cups of it in a row and I’m drinking it now. My only issue with this tea is that it is very easy to oversteep but that can be remedied by adding more water. We will definitely be using this as a base tea for at least one flavored tea.
Wow, Facebook sucks huh?
Yeah, wasn’t so happy about that and its a real time suck to try and find people.
Ugh! Stupid facebook!
Hmm, so it costs money to have a business account/page? Personally, I don’t want to be “friends” with a company on facebook (as much as I love Butiki Teas and think you are awesome, Stacy), I would rather be able to ‘like’ a Butiki Teas page.. I’ll definitely subscribe to this one like I did the other one, but sadly it doesn’t let me comment on anything :(
Oh no, I can’t subscribe. You may have to enable that feature in your account settings :/
this tea seems lovely ! hope to see a pic of it soon
Andie-I think I fixed it. Let me know if you can’t subscribe. It doesn’t let you comment as a subscriber, that stinks. Another possible option, is to friend us but not allow us to see what you post or comment on your page. I think that may be an option, it used to be but I’m not sure if it still is.
It doesn’t technically cost money to have a business page but if you want your ‘likes’ to see your posts you have to pay for that otherwise only a few people will see the post. I will probably still post on the other page but you probably won’t be able to see anything I post.
Ysaurella-I might take a quick pic while we are inspecting the tea and storing.
great ! I love tea pics :)
Thanks- I was able to subscribe.
Andie-Great! :)
Ysaurella-I’m thinking tomorrow, we will probably link a picture. I can post it in this thread. It isn’t super impressive looking but its just a very tasty great value tea. It will be under $5 an ounce.
I just took a pic today since I was going to have another cup anyways, here it is: http://instagram.com/p/e5idHTlfIr/#
i must have!!! curse you BROKE GIRL gods!
What band did you see in Brooklyn? What part of Brooklyn were you in?
Heather, I went to see The Legendary Pink Dots. Here’s a song from them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Szd_rVhsbuQ. I was in Williamsburg at the Knitting Factory. Before the show we went to Wild Ginger which is an amazing vegan pan Asian restaurant. We also hit up this tea bar which was mostly a bar with some tea and tea infused drinks. We end up in Brooklyn quite a bit.
I’ve heard of The Legendary Pink Dots, actually, though I’m not terribly familiar with them. Hubby is since he used to do an 80’s (late 70’s-early 80’s punk/new wave. etc) radio show (slowly being digitized for podcasts). I looked up The Knitting Factory and it is quite far away from where I was in Brooklyn (with my brother, SILm, and niece). It’s a super big area, apparently. :P
Heather-How unusual. I think your the first person that has ever told me they heard of LPD when I bring them up. Sounds like a fun podcast show! Yep, Brooklyn is super big. :P
I worked with a guy at a vegetarian place that liked them, iirc. I mainly know of the name. But when I hear it, I think of Wire, Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, Killing Joke and some of the early 80s pre-industrial phase….I’m not terribly versed with them though. The podcast is fun! I’m on some of them (I met hubby through the show) but mostly just referred to rather than on air.
)If you are interested..you can also get it through iTunes)
As for Brooklyn, I was in the Bay Ridge area southwest-ish (south of DUMBO).
I love all sorts of music but I do love me some Industrial. I typically go for 80s and early 90s but some 70s Throbbing Gristle is pretty sweet. I was lucky enough to catch an amazing Throbbing Gristle show (not so possible anymore since Peter Christopherson died). I caught Killing Joke once which was good but nothing spectacular. My favorites are Skinny Puppy and Coil though. I will definitely have to check out that podcast. Thanks for the link! :)
Also, what an interesting way to meet your hubby!
I used to have a bit if industrial when I was younger. I had some skinny puppy…trying yo remember what it was. I know I had something with Dig It. I think that’s what it was. There was something else where the second half was really mellow and instrumental like. I had some nitzer ebb, front 242, thrill kill kult, die warzau, and meat beat manifesto. I kinda outgrew my industrial and goth phases, but there are still some tracks that bring me back when I hear them.
Ah Dig It, that’s from Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse. Skinny Puppy is touring in February of which I will be taking off of work to catch a few shows. Music is my obsession. It’s kind of weird but I don’t really grow out of music. I grew up on Pink Floyd and The Beatles and I still listen to them. I just seem to rotate between genres. I will listen to 70s-90s Industrial (new Industrial is horrid) for a while then move to classical then to 90s alternative then to experiential then to Reggae and dub then to metal, etc, etc until I come back to Industrial and then back around I go. Nice selection of music there Heather.
I’ve not really grown out of music either, I’ve just expanded and diversified maybe.. Though I’ve always loved most types of music. I’ve never seen Skinny Puppy, but I’ve seen Front Line Assembly many times. When I was in university one of the local bars had a strange but fun, goth, industrial, brit pop night that was pretty popular and was great to go to if all you wanted to do was just dance!
yyz-I’m the say way. I continue to enjoy more and more genres of music. I saw Front Line Assembly once. The show was really good but Bill Leeb was lip syncing. Not sure why but it was so obvious. Maybe he was sick or something? They played with Switch Blade Symphony which was pretty cool. Sounds like a fun club night. Skinny Puppy puts on very theatrical shows. It can be very mesmerizing to watch. Usually lots of props, some fake blood, background videos. They go all out.
I might of seen that same tour, they also played with Spahn Ranch. I’ve heard many amazing things about Skinny Puppy live, I would love to go.
Yes, they did play with Sphan Ranch. I couldn’t remember the third band. I really like Spahn Ranch live and have seen them a couple of times in the past. Well, February is your chance to catch them. It is so worth it. Here is link with the dates: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=743585525657201&set=o.2237915069&type=3&theater
Me to. Thanks for the link!
Your welcome! :)
I’ve been working on a Skinny Puppy inspired tea for some time. Originally it started out completely different but it is now an insane chocolate chilli chai (but still needs some work). I really wanted to call it Heaven’s Trash (since it is so colorful and just a little of everything) but the hubby vetoed that one. He said it didn’t sound appetizing. Boo. Then I was like what about Genocide Applied with Subtlety? I thought the chilli peppers would make that perfect. Nope, he vetoed that too. Still working on a name and the blend needs some more work too.
Sounds nice. Perhaps something simple like ‘bites’ after the album. It has several double entendres and fits with the heat of the blend.
Hmmm, that is a solid potential name.
Depending on how hot it gets Last Rights could also be used.
That might be fitting!
I had to check wiki, but I think the one I had was either Too Dark Park or Last Rights…I’m thinking it was the latter. I once had a cassette my friend made me of Christian Death (not nearly as bad as it sounds) but the cassette player in my car would consistently spit it out. It was kinda of funny, actually. My friend opened me up to a lot of music, but in terms of industrial, if did prefer the dance-y stuff more. I was also a pathetic goth, but oh well. I have a pretty wide range of music tastes, which of course is helped by my hubby and his search for good stuff, and my music friend who sends me cds with random stuff on them, which sometimes I hate, but sometimes I love. I range from loving Steeleye Span’s “Lovely on the Water” to Tears For Fears everything to Pet Shop Boys to The Damned to The Specials (and other 2nd wave ska) to The Decemberists to Die Roten Punkte to The Housemartins (and later The Beautiful South) to Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance…it covers a lot, but mostly in the alternative and less mainstream areas.
Nice, both of those are excellent! Hahaha, I was a pathetic goth too. I even had the whole black hair thing going for a few years. That’s quite a range on those mix cds. Mix cds are the best. I’ve participated in a few group music exchanges where you send your mix cd to everyone in the group and you receive one from everyone in the group. I’ve found some great music that way from people around the world. Confession time, I still really like Tears For Fears. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone.
It is a wide range, yeah. The music exchange sounds cool. There’s also a few Scandinavian groups I like. Right now though, I have a wide range of songs from A Very Potter Musical and Sequel in my head. :P Temporarily replaced with the music from hubby’s computer (Andy’s 80s) right now though…
Because of my plantar fasciitis, I can’t stand for more than a few minutes without searing pain so I haven’t really gone out much these last 2 weeks. Yesterday I ended up missing going out on a tour of local farms with my friend and her adorable son. This lead me to binge buy a bunch of stuff on Amazon to help with the pain and recovery.
This morning I was determined to get out at least a little bit and enjoy the sun. So, I decided to make my way to the local organic farmers market. It was just so beautiful out and I love those markets because everyone is so friendly and the veggies are amazing. I think I ended up with 7 different kinds of greens, so I will be making a ton of salads. Right now I’m enjoying a delicious baby kale, baby mustard greens, butter lettuce, and shaved apple salad with a little fancy olive oil, lemon, salt, and pepper. It is fantastic! While I was at the market I decided to make my way to the juice bar since I was too lazy to make my own juice this morning. The guy that made my juice was the same guy that used to take my orders at a local deli where I would buy lunch while I worked at an investment banking firm. That’s so weird that he remembered me from 15 years ago despite that I look drastically different now. The second he said he remembered me I knew who he was, which is really weird for me since I have horrible facial recognition. He now owns his own juice bar and we discussed possibly working together. I love running into people from my past. It definitely has me a little nostalgic.
I made this tea absolutely perfectly today. I practically never measure out my tea (except when doing an official tasting), so when I make a tea absolutely perfectly and its one of my favorite teas there is just a moment of ahhhhhh. I had that moment of ‘ah’ and this tea is just absolutely perfect for my mood right now. So caramel-y and chocolaty with some light maltiness. Its just absolutely perfect and I am feeling really great right now.
This is the same tea I started the morning with today. It’s always such a pleasure to drink!
Sorry to hear about the Plantar fasciitis. I know how aweful that is. I suffered with that for about 20 years. I’m grateful that my feet started healing about 9 months ago. After years of having to wear special inserts, etc, I’m going barefoot, can take a walk around the neighborhood, etc. Hang in there!
Terri-I agree. This is my favorite tea. I always come back to it.
Wow, 20 years. Yipes. I’m glad you are finally healing.
Today is such a busy day. We are attempting to add 4 new teas, 2 restocks, 4 teawares, our Autumn Comfort Sampler, and posting our 2nd Annual Custom Blend Contest & Plain Tea Contest.
I just added this tea online, so I thought I would relax with some. I love this tea. It came out even better than I could have ever imagined. The maltiness of the Glenburn Silver Needles really adds to the champagne flavor and there is definitely a bubbly sensation. The sweet and tangy champagne flavor seems to come and go but with each sip the rose and cream become even stronger. The silver needle also provides a nice heavy mouthfeel adding to the cream sensation as well as its natural buttery-ness. Every time I drink this tea it is gone before I know it. Initially this tea was planned as a black tea but once I tasted the Glenburn Silver Needle I knew it was meant to be.
(I am so adding this to my order!)
Oh man, gotta try this one :D
teawares, teawares..la la la
also…rose. icky. BOOOO HISSS! (i kid)
Anna & Stephanie-Glad this sounds interesting! :)
Sil-I think people that don’t love floral will also really enjoy this one. As for the teawares, both of the artists I had lined up to commission pieces completely flaked. I was super disappointed. So, we probably won’t be getting around to look for new local artists until winter-ish.
This sounds delicious! I love a good rose tea and really enjoy your cream flavor, so I must try this one!
Wow, this sounds amazing just in its name. I will have to put this on my list of must haves.
stacy….yeaaaah…you say that. you might be the only person who can convince me that it might be true..
also, bummer on the artists but the new things up are quite nice :)
Alysha-Excellent! :)
Rachel-That’s great!
Sil-We shall see. There are sill a few more teawares to go up but we will add those in the next few weeks. I was just really excited about this one artists. She had the most amazing use of colors and we had everything worked out then she just completely dropped off. Oh well, I guess it wasn’t meant to be.
Aaaand this goes in the cart. Rose AND creaminess, with a non-black tea base? Sold. Can you let us know when you’ve finished adding everything so I can place just one bigger order rather than several small ones?
Kaylee-Fantastic! Well, for the time being we are adding 3 more teas today. The next one will be Pumpkin Milkshake then Glenburn Silver Needle and Glenburn Estate Green. We do have other teas in the works but they probably won’t be posted for weeks.
added to shopping list….
I have a little money in my playpal account, so I’ll start thinking of an order, including a little of this rose tea, because unlike my bobsy twin Sil, I DO enjoy a rose tea from time to time.
Ali Bee & Terri-Good to hear this is interesting to you guys! :)
Terri – neener neener :P it’s not like i’m not working my way through all of stacy’s teas anyway! even the icky ones i don’t like because my tastebuds won’t let me
LOL :D
I have to order!
This sounds great so good.
So, I think I’m officially a newbie Whovian. After only a few short weeks of watching Doctor Who while I work, I’m already on Season 5 (a few episodes in). I just can’t seem to get enough and I’m starting to fear that I’m running closer to being out of episodes to watch. Ack. There will definitely be a Doctor Who tea of some kind. Now it’s just a matter of brainstorming.
I’ve decided to set aside Thursday for adding a few new teas. Our Coconut Cream Pie and Grandpa’s Anytime Tea are back and completely ready to be added to our site again. Also, the Pumpkin Milkshake will finally go up. In addition to those, we have 2 new Indian teas that need to be processed. One is this white tea and the other is a green tea. We have a few tea jars that we need to add as well. We might even have some time to work on our next 3 flavored teas that are very close to being done.
I am really loving Indian white teas and have picked up 2 this year. This one was harvested in June and has lovely malty and hay notes but it is also very sweet. There are some almond notes and juicy pear notes as well as some floral notes. I love how this tea lingers and the buttery notes last quite long. This tea is so tasty and I think a good introduction into white teas. I will definitely be using this tea as a base tea.
Sounds like a white tea right up my alley! Can’t wait for all the new teas!
you have yet to name my tea! coconut cream pie, but not a la herbal!! our households turns around dr. who seasons. november 23rd (?) is when the next one comes out. and we’re getting a new dr. soon!
Oh, this tea sounds lovely. And I’m jealous that you get to watch shows while you work!
Yay! Doctor Who tea!
My local shop carries some Glenburn’s and this is one that’s a favorite of everyone. Really good! Rich even I’d say in a way you don’t expect a silver needle to be.
WANT! he he
Are you adding this plain tea to the site, Stacy?
tigress_al-It’s absolutely delicious! While I love the tea base I chose for our Champagne with Rose Cream, I think I might have to try it with this tea because it almost has a bubbliness to it.
JustJames-I try not to talk too much about custom blends too much but I am just super happy with how your tea is coming along. Mmmmm. Since the Palitao tea didn’t work with the bases I tried, I was thinking about testing it with one of the bases you chose because the coconut just worked so well with it. Oh boy, I better set a calender reminder!
keychange-Thanks! Well, I figure since I work so many hours that its ok to watch some shows in the background though I must admit that Doctor Who can be a little distracting. I’m sure my productivity has gone down a tiny bit.
Fuzzy_Peachkin-I’m excited about it! Oh the possibilities. Currently, I’m thinking maybe a sonic screwdriver or psychic paper reference. We will see. I love the Weeping Angels but unfortunately, I have seen that tea has already been done.
Bonnie-Oh yeah, definitely very different from most silver needles. We will be carrying another Indian silver needle as well and that one has some amazing cherry notes. Both are fantastic! I hate to say it but I think I prefer Indian white teas to Chinese white teas.
Amy oh-Glad to hear that! Yes, we should have this one up on Thursday. :)
Doctor Who tea!!! (take all my money!)
^Hahaha, well I am open to suggestions.
Dude…..Dr. Who is the best show ever made. It’s addictive…and I am WAITING for the newest season to come on Netflix (because my tiny town doesn’t offer BBCA)…..PLEASE tell me you are going to make a Dr Who TEA!! I’ll buy tons!! Just to say I have a mouth full of the doctor….(ewe! but it was an easy one….had to take it….you know what I mean).
Maybe I should speak more civilized….
Ahem… As an avid Dr Who fan myself, I would be most interested in hearing more about your interpretation of the series in TEA and partaking of an ounce or 10…..
And also….going to buy coconut cream because you were sold out when I made my last purchase…I was sad…
Ali Bee-Hahahaha. I’m dying laughing. I’m watching Doctor Who right now. Hmmm, I’m starting to think I might like Matt Smith more than David Tennant. Didn’t think that was going to happen.
Sorry that the Coconut Cream was sold out when you last purchased. We have a fresh amazing smelling batch ready now! :)
nope, i disagree. matt smith annoys me. loved david tennant, also christopher eccleston, but he was only there for one season! so sad.
JustJames-I liked Christopher Eccleston but he was a little too intense for the show. David Tennant was awesome, I just think I’m liking Matt Smith perhaps a little more because he is a bit quirkier. Now that I’ve seen a full season with Matt Smith, maybe I need to go back and see another episode with David Tennant for comparison.
David Tennant will always be my Doctor Love….. I cried on his last episode. I keep hoping they will have some cameo …maybe where he goes to the other dimension and sees Rose and her Doctor Double….. that would be pretty cool
I never thought I’d like Matt Smith over David Tennant, but then I started to crush on him pretty hard too. :P But, after a season with MS, I liked his quirkiness more.
I can’t wait for the 50th Anniversary episode though. I’ve got that saved in my phone!
Ali Bee-I was fearing David Tennant’s departure and had no idea how they would replace him but I think because I have been making my way through these seasons so fast that I didn’t have time to really be saddened since I was already on to the next season. That would be a great idea. It would be fun to see the 2 doctors play off each other.
Cavocorax-He just has that fun quirkiness about him. When is the 50th Anniversary episode?
It’s November 23rd!
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_50th_Anniversary)
Awesome! So the season premiere is also the 50th anniversary? Or is that a separate thing? I’m so jealous that it will be shown in 3D in the UK.
This is the first time that I’m actually up-to-date on my episodes, but from the sounds of it we get the Anniversary special (which might be a great time to release a Doctor Who tea!), then the Christmas special, and then they START filming Series 8. :(
So we might have to wait until August or September for the new stuff!
Oh wow, that is further than I thought. Hmmm, maybe I could release a tea a couple weeks before the 50th. I was already thinking I might go with “Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey” as the name. I’m not 100% on that though.
Other potential tea names were:
It’s Bigger on the Inside
Bad Wolf
Sonic Screwdriver
Not so sure what I want to do with the Doctor Who tea but I know it has to be a black tea and it has to be fun. Guess I just need to watch more episodes. I’m nearing the end of the 6th season and am starting to panic a little bit about running out of Doctor Who episodes though I plan on going back and finding all of the older seasons.
ok make a series!! I love Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey and Bad Wolf….gotta name a black tea Bad Wolf….
Other thouhts:
The Master
The Tea Who Waited
Allonzy Alanzo
…..
I’ll be back with more…just gotta get the kids cleaned up and ready for dinner…right now I’m sneaking in a Steepster peek
sorr…Alonzo….
ugh!!! I broke a nail earlier today and now I can’t type…
THE SILENCE!! Ok I’m done for right now…really
Prisoner X
Spoilers…tho Spoilers and tea may sound like it’s a rancid tea….
I love a lot of those ideas! The Silence sounds amazing! Also, I think Gallifrey might be awesome. It would have to be the most perfect tea.
Oh yes…there would be a lot of pressure on a tea named Gallifrey…. but I would buy that tea!!!
This week is wreaking havoc on me. It’s my husband’s birthday week. We celebrate birthday weeks in my family. Essentially, every day we celebrate his birthday with different people. We go out to dinner with his parents and my parents and friends and then just us and have a party and all week long he gets treated extra special. Last night I cooked him a special vegan mac and cheese with bacon bits (not real bacon) and roasted tomato soup. I didn’t get the whole mac & cheese and bacon thing but it actually turned out pretty awesome. Tomorrow I will be prepping for his party on Saturday which includes baking a chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting and raspberry sauce, making hundreds of the best ever vegan stuffed shells and decorating for his party. Saturday he will be participating in his first jujitsu competition then we will be hosting a joint party at our house for him and another friend. I love birthday weeks but it has really been a time suck.
On top of that I have been running from doctor to doctor to figure out why both of my feet feel like they are burning on fire all day long and standing is horrifically uncomfortable. Turns out I have plantar fascitis, which is essentially inflamed ligaments in both my feet and is probably partially caused by working. Doh! I need to be better to my poor feet. Between birthday week and running to and from doctors’ offices I am really behind with work. Today is the one free day, so I will probably be working until 2am but at least I will be watching some Doctor Who while I work (I’m only on season 2).
On the positive side, early this week I found some amazing new teas. There is one 2nd Flush Darjeeling that I am extra excited about and it’s a very reasonable price and organic. It has the most amazing burned chocolate notes and some nutty notes and is super buttery and malty. Absolutely delicious and certainly can compare with our PTA. This is a Darjeeling for people who don’t like Darjeelings. No floral at all. I would also like to make a chai out of this because I can picture it being pretty awesome. Hmmm, maybe a chocolate chai. Also, very excited about the 2 Indian white teas we will be picking up and the delicious Nepalese teas we tried.
Right now I’m having the Taiwanese Wild Mountain Black. I’m using a 50ml gaiwan. This tea really tastes fantastic gongfu style. I can taste more nuances. I prefer the smaller gaiwan to conserve leaves, especially since I can get 6 or 7 steepings. Today it is extra sweet. The powdered sugar and honey notes are up front and linger long after the sip. I’m also getting nice stone fruit notes with only a tiny bit of maltiness and breadiness. I must have underleafed but it is absolutely perfect for my mood. Sometimes I prefer this stronger and maltier but not today. Today it tastes like candy. I’m also getting a tiny bit of a burned sugar note, similar to caramel. This is soooooo perfect for my mood.
I hope you can get some time to unwind eventually, especially because it sounds as though your feet could really use the break. I’m really looking forward to trying this tea, although unfortunately I’m only familiar with western brewing thus far. All in due time, though!
Thanks keychange! I will certainly have to make some time. Gongfu brewing is really easy. A tiny teapot will do or even a cup. The leaves just need room to expand. I generally fill the vessel 1/3 to 1/2 full of leaves and brew for 30 seconds or less. :)
Ouch! Burning feet sounds like no fun at ALL! Hope you feel better and get to rest soon. The new teas sound very intriguing :)
Thanks Stephanie! Not so fun, hopefully it will only take a couple months to heal. I’m super excited about the new teas. They will definitely round out our collection nicely.
I have fascitis as well!! it HURTS! only mine presents more on the top of the foot for some reason. I feel your pain :(
Indigobloom-ouch, sorry to hear that you have it too. :( It’s not so fun. Huh, that’s odd that its on top of your foot. Did you figure out what caused it?
oh dear! feel better!! happy birthday to the birthday boy.
from someone with a chronic neuropathic disease allow me to say: sometimes the body sends us warning shots across the bow. pay attention to what it says or else it may increase the volume. take it easy for a bit stacy, hmmm?
and of course… drink tea!
YAY FOR DOCTOR WHO! woot woot! Also, don’t wear yourself out too much madam:)
JustJames-Thanks! Our bodies definitely does give us warning signs. Before I got this, I had experienced prolonged periods of foot pain but totally ignored them. Now, I will be purchasing some ergonomic mats, some for the office and some for my kitchen (because I do a lot of cooking) and proper slippers for my hardwood floors. :)
Sil-I am loving Doctor Who. I am going to fly right through this series. I used to watch the 70s version I think when I was younger but I had always meant to watch this new series. I just found out about it too late and by then forgot about it. Thanks to Amazon Prime, I’m going to catch up on this and many other series too. I love being able to watch these while I work. Makes the day go so much faster. :)
once you’re caught up you will weep with the whacky UK seasons… random stops, months long waits. YOU’RE a WHOVIAN!!!! yippee! once you’re through a few seasons you’ll have to let us know which doctor is/was your favourite. (david tennant was mine).
1. Whoa! What a busy week!
2. This article on Runner’s World has some great stretches for plantar fascilitis, which is something I suffered from briefly when running in the wrong (aka too narrow) shoes. The stretches helped a ton! http://www.runnersworld.com/tag/plantar-fasciitis
3. Does this mean Doctor Who teas are coming? ;-)
JustJames-I’m loving it. Can’t wait to be an official Whovian!
Fuzzy_Peachkin-Yes, very busy! Thank you so much for the article, I was just googling stretches for Plantar Fascistic since my doctor only gave me one stretch to do. Hmmmm, Doctor Who teas, what an intriguing idea!
Hmmm, you have me envisioning “The Sonic Screwdriver” tea. Something bold, unique, something that has it all.
Sounds good already! :-)
stacy, have you tried the tardis blend? it’s quite impressive. in november i may buy some. (depends on how well behaved i am!!!)
Stacy, it sounds like you are an awesome cook, and wife!
I hope you heal quickly! You deserve some time for yourself!
Those new teas sound amazing, as does this one which I really need ony next order!
“Turns out I have plantar fascitis”
Whoa my sister just found out the same a few days ago, never heard of it before then. She works in a place where she is on her feet all day.
as i understand it plantar fasciitis is nothing to tangle with… i’ve had a couple of friends put on doctor ordered bed rest. theirs were pretty extreme cases, but just don’t fool with it? it can become chronic =0(
I was diagnosed with the same thing only just in one foot (due to an injury) about a year ago. I spent about 3 months in physical therapy 3 times a week, icing it every night, stretching every day and using electrical stimulation on it. Took about 8 months (starting from having a walking cast and progressing through sleeping with a splint on) and I’m generally better now. Every so often if I overexert myself I have to do the stretching again for a few days. I also have to wear proper arch support at all times now. But… there can be a light at the end of the tunnel. :) The teas sound amazing!
Feel better soon! A chocolate chai sounds awesome!
Fuzy_Peachkin-Thanks!
James-I have not tried the tardis blend yet. I plan on doing what I can to heal. Unfortunately, I am just on my feet pretty much all day. At work, I’m always standing and then at home its cooking, cleaning, and working out. It’s a lot harder than I thought to be off my feet.
tigress_al-Thanks, I like to think that I’m pretty good cook. I try extra hard when I’m feeding non-vegans since there is a perception that our food sucks but my friends know better by now. I’m also a hostess type person. Anyone that comes to my house gets fed and has some good tea. Thanks, I’m really excited by the new teas, both the flavored teas and the unflavored ones.
El Monstro-Sorry to hear that your sister has plantar fascitis. I hope your sister heals quickly.
Nicole-Oh no, sorry! Wow, that sounds rough. Good to hear that you are on the mend. :)
Tealizzy-Thanks. I’m thinking the chocolate chai might happen.
To mimic Sil- YAY for Doctor Who! I hope to make it to New York in November for Long Island Who. What better way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the show than to be with friends at a convention in New York, mere weeks before the actual 50th. I knew I like David Tennant from the moment he yelled “I DON”T KNOW!!" to the Sycorax leader, and ran over to push the red button that should never ever under any circumstance be pushed. That said, I do love Matt Smith.
As for your feet, follow the icing and stretching exercises, look for shoes that minimize the mobility if your feet/muscles. Good ones to look at are Clarks Waves (and their cheaper knock off of their own Wave line, In Motion). For fun, also check out Alegria. All of the above have a firm modified rocker sole, so it minimizes how much your feet are actually moving, and they are cushioned, yet supportive. You may benefit from acupuncture (my co-worker did) along with heel supports. Best of luck, Stacy.
Stacy- Thx, same for you!! that sucks :(
I carry ALOT of tension in my body for some reason. My muscles get wound up and tense all the time. Could be related to my Thyroid issues. It tends to get worse when I a) excercise alot and b) get stressed out over life haha. Yoga helps in most of my tension issues, but not so much with the feet.
I just realized that it is almost time for our second annual custom blend contest! Last year’s was so fun and is how our Ruby Pie tea came about! This year I would like to start in September since October is the start of our busy period (October-December). It was so great to read all of the amazing ideas everyone came up with. I know we will get some amazing ideas this year. Everyone gets to submit up to 3 ideas, a panel of judges will choose the top 10 teas and then we will have a poll to decide the winning tea. Here’s a link to last year’s contest rules which will be essentially the same: http://butikiteas.blogspot.com/2012/10/butiki-teas-super-awesome-free-tea.html
This morning I received a small quantity of this year’s harvest and a very lovely card from one of the estate owners. I love everything about this estate and can’t wait to place a large order next year. Mmmm, there are lovely soft, sweet green bean and corn notes with a gentle jasmine notes. I love steamed vegetable notes in green teas. There are also wonderful juicy peach notes. I believe the jasmine notes are new this year or maybe I didn’t notice them last year. I certainly don’t remember any floral notes. It’s a very smooth tea with a heavy mouth feel. This is one of those teas that you just start drinking and before you know it the cup is gone. We will be offering this back on our website tomorrow.
Want that tea so bad! And oooooooooh contest!
It’s pretty delicious. The teas from that estate are just fantastic! The contest is so much fun! We received so many awesome ideas, I’m really excited for this year.
So much fun for us to brainstorm, too :D
Going to be hard to pick just 3 ideas
Stephanie-Hmmmm, maybe I should allow up to 5 this year. Though that would make the judges decision tougher. I was so sad when a few blends got nixed last year but I can’t be a judge because its too hard to choose!
wait, i know, how about a coconut cream pie blend? you know, on with a discernible pie crust, and cream, and coconut…. maybe with an awesome puerh base! =0P
I think we should be forced to narrow it down to 3. I already have 3 I’m really excited about! But I doubt the one with the guayusa base will win…
JustJames-Hahaaha! :)
Stephanie-Interesting, very curious about your 3 blends. :)
Organic Spring Twist is now available on our website! :)
Ordered!
^Nice
If my alternator didn’t die Wednesday night, I would be all over this tea! But I can still be excited for the contest! I think I have my three already :)
Aaaaaah! Almost time to try and make it two years in a row lol maybe this year ill find more inspiration
moraiwe-sorry to hear about your alternator. Can’t wait to hear your ideas!
Sil-Ruby Pie was a great idea! Good luck for year #2.
I have some interesting ideas from some rather interesting inspiration.
YES! YES! and more YES!
^Yay! :)
How exciting!
BrewTEAlly Sweet-Thanks!!! :)
FYI, the sampler and the magnet are now available: http://www.butikiteas.com/Samplers.html
i don’t seeeeeee them
never mind. i lied… i do now
Oh good, glad you found them. We also added them to the teawares page as well.