Taiwanese Wild Mountain Black

Gee, welcome back busy woman!!!

No tea since Sunday? How did you survive??

No tea since Sunday? But… but… it’s Wednesday today! Welcome back!!

Overtime means more money to buy tea!
(Or, I guess for your wedding…)

At least you made it through and it’s all behind you now. Curl up with a nice cuppa and forget your tealess days in a puff of aromatic steam.

Nice choice, especially since you’ve been hella busy! When you have the time, make sure to go through my cupboard and pick stuff out that you’d like to try so I could return the favour and send some back your way. :)

oooh i’ll try and take a look this weekend before i leave again. maybe this time my hotel room will have a damn kettle!

I LOVE the new tea ideas!

Thanks Stephanie! :)

all of those can be safely axed without any issue from me haha. Love the new teas…looking forward to trying to sample you sent me tonight :) this one is on deck for tomorrow! i can’t wait!

I’m drinking some of this tea now! :) So tasty! I’d love to see a pumpkin milkshake tea and maybe just a regular cheesecake one, too! I think they’d be amazing as a rooibos blends, but you always come up with the best blends!

*or maybe a caramel cheesecake!

Love the new ideas—especially the Irish Cream Cheesecake one!

Ooo… I have a recipe for an Irish Cream Cheesecake that I lurve. Could be a great tea flavor. :)

oooh! Champagne sounds lovely!

Sil-I know you won’t mind many of the oolongs being axed. Haha. Would love to know what you think of the sample. That is only round 1, so it is a bit of a work in progress.

QueenOfTarts-Glad you are enjoying the wild mountain tea! I’m excited about trying out a pumpkin milkshake. I’ve made a vegan one from a random recipe in the past and loved it plus I’m always trying to think of new ideas for flavors that don’t already exist. There will definitely be a new rooibos, since we really need to add more rooibos & honeybush options. Caramel cheesecake sounds awesome but I think for another caramel flavor I might go with one of the ones that terri or sil recommended (i forgot which one of you recommended it) a caramel coffee flavor.

keychange-Thanks, I hope they end up working out! :)

Nicole-I didn’t know they really existed, how awesome.

Fuzzy_Peachkin-Thanks :)

Well, when it gets cold out, I have been known to ship cheesecake…just in case you needed a point of comparison, you know. Strictly for research… :)

Nicole-That’s a really awesome offer. Unfortunately, with the whole me being vegan thing, that wouldn’t work out. Though, how odd is this, I did find a vegan irish cream cheesecake recipe. Very weird. I would be happy to send you a sample of the tea, strictly for authenticating purposes. :)

I really need to do this in my gaiwan. You are convincing me! :)

love love love the ideas! i cannot wait!

aaaand another addition to the upcoming order. stacy, we’re going to have review things before you send me an invoice. sheesh.

Nicole…I’ll take Stacy’s cheesecake!
Stacy – sent you an email with a few notes…not bad for a first start :) and I enjoyed raspberry truffle…just not one of my favourites from you :) as in, make room for new!

ifjuly-Yes yes yes! The gaiwan really does make a big difference with this tea. :)

BrewTEAlly Sweet-Awesome! :)

JustJames-Mwahahaha :D

Sil-Hahaha. Excellent, I will check it out. Exactly. There is only room for the best of the best and unique teas. I’m happy to listen to any suggestions for which teas to axe.

Not a fan of anything coffee-flavoured for dietary reasons, but those other two sound delish.

I know you’re creating something with rooibos but I I hope it’s not these! I want to be able to try the new tea’s too.

okay, i love the idea…. but the yuletide/christmas pudding is just so finicky. that would be my vote. i got frustrated and sent it to scribbles who couldn’t make it work either.

and i must agree with Jillian because i am allergic to coffee. (besides, tea is far superior!)

Irish Cream Cheesecake sounds divine!

Irish cheesecake and pumpkin milkshake sound amazing! And I would LOVE some new honeybush!!!! Yay! I really enjoy the strawberry oolong, but I am sure you will create something equally as magical!

Coffee is fine because of the stout…Beer..yum!

Buttery pecan pie, French vanilla apple pie with golden raisins (nice holiday flavors, I have recipes for the pies but wonder about tea recipes). Your cheesecake sounds good no honeybush I hope!

I GET MY ORDER TOMORROW! Yays for me! Plus I’m getting more samples in the swap. I’ll be all Butiki’d up, and can finally have the rest of the Cantaloupe and Cream I’ve been hoarding til I got more. :)

Jilian-Glad to hear the other 2 sound good.

Bonnie-There will definitely be a lot of new ones that aren’t rooibos or honeybush. The pumpkin milkshake I was thinking about trying with our Zhen Qu. I have a few cofee-ish teas in mind. Mmmmm french vanilla apple pie sounds fantastic. I’m undecided about which base to use for the Irish Cream Cheescake though puerh is a possibility.

Heather-Yay! I hope you enjoy your new teas! :)

Just James-It is a bit finicky, particularly with the water temperature. I was actually thinking about turning that one into just a creamy plum.

Tea Sipper-thanks! :)

tigress_al-I’m on the fence about the Strawberry Oolong. I love it but we have 2 other strawberry teas and they sell more and just strawberry is a little plain. I’m not sure about that one yet.

If I’m going to be honest, I have Strawberry Oolong and Raspberry Truffle and I don’t reach for them very often so if they were axed I wouldn’t throw my fist in the air and cry “WHY WHY??!”. I can’t wait to get my order that shipped today! Yay! And I am SOOOOO looking forward to those new teas they sound AMAZING! I think I would have to get them all! Because I need more Butiki Tea…hahaha!

I won’t miss any of those teas. I’m sure I’ll have to sample all the new ones, although flavored teas aren’t my forte, so keep carrying all the awesome unflavored ones that I love, that’s all I’m asking!!! :)

Although, I have to say, when it comes to flavored teas, blends, etc, you are the awesome-est, Ms Stacy! You’re the Queen!

these new teas are really appealing. I am wondering if one day I’ll see a Pain Perdu-Framboise tea, this should be wonderful (I need to begin thinking to a customer blend :) )

I’m all for a European theme for Ysaurella and other friends across the sea…maybe ‘The Grand Tour’ as the British used to say in the old days. Paris, Venice, Florence, Rome, Vienna and so on. You already have the Irish started, Espresso reminds me of Rome.
(I think I’m going off my rocker here!) Just laugh at me, I’m OK with it.

Ali Bee-Thanks for the feedback! Feedback is always appreciated. I hope the new ones come out good. crosses fingers

Terri HarpLady-No worries, there will be new plain teas as well and I certainly won’t be getting rid of any of the top sellers. We are also revamping most of the straight tea blends. The current Irish Breakfast was the first one done. The English Breakfast tea needs an update and I’m working on a Butiki Breakfast Blend and an Indian Breakfast. Thanks :)

Ysaurella-Thanks. So, I am not quite sure what Pain Perdu-Framboise is. I tried googling it but all of the recipes were in French. It does look amazingly delicious though.

Bonnie-That is not a bad idea at all! We are currently working on a tea that was inspired by Philippino flavors. Its about time really, since the name of our company is a Tagalog word. Also, part of company focus is teas from around the world so that really works with our vision. :)

i have a custom tea on the way… final stages. coconut cream pie— WITH a detectable crust. can’t wait. early september. (along with a mammoth order of other stuff thus me blowing through my other supply!

@Ysaurella… une the comme saveur de pain perdu at framboise? i’ll faudra que je met un feu rouge sur mon commande a butiki jusqu’a cette melange existe! (SVP pardonnez les erreurs grammaticales… ca fait longtemps!)

@stacy… ‘pain perdu a la framboise ’ translates to ‘lost bread with raspberry’ which is french toast! i always sortof liked the old french name more. a raspberry french toast would be awesome…

btw any idea when the flavouring is coming in yet?

OMG coconut cream pie tea by Stacy? That will be the BOMB JustJames!

lol, i agree… and the custom build part is fun… watching stacy’s process is rather enlightening. i think you buy 8 oz with a custom, i’ll have enough to share =0)

JustJames-Thanks for the translation! Sounds yummy, though the french name sounds sexier. No idea when the flavoring is coming in, I will call them tomorrow to check in. I know the summer is generally the worst time to order. You will be the first to know. I will be working on your tea along with the new teas (since I’m waiting on those flavorings too). I will be sure to send some samples of my work in progress with your custom blend sample.

Stephanie-I’m very excited to work on that custom blend, JustJames chose 2 amazing base teas to test it on. :)

agreed, ‘pain perdu’ is far more romantic than ‘french toast’…. bread sacrificed to the overwhelming taste sensations of milk vanilla and spice…. it is perdu…. and then you pile syrup on it and it’s even more perdu-ed, lol.

The best dessert I ever had was in Messina, Italy…a small pastry shop with handmade waffle cones filled with hazelnut gelato, dipped in THICK bittersweet chocolate. No dessert has ever been as well-made! It was pretty good sized, not dainty… prefect though. The whole shop was filled with marzapan cakes and handmade candies wrapped in beautiful papers. Extraordinary!

JustJames-Mmmmm, sounds awesome!

Bonnie-That sounds fantastic! Wow! Mmmmmm.

Let’s go! Research!

Holeeeee smokes this thread is long lol
So much going on… :)

Dear Spammer. You have been banned. Bye!!

Awesome review Bonnie. Question, what is an aroma set? Teach me o’ wise one as I have no Happy Luckys and no Bonnie in my neighborhood.

you’re a good friend to share Bonnie! that orange pu sounds tasty as well!

http://siam-tee.de/product_info.php?cPath=14_22&products_id=120 You ahould find the pictures here of aroma sets. You pour the tea in the tall cup and place the small shallow cup over it. Next, hold your thumb on the top of the tall cup, fingers under the small cup and upend it. Lift the tall cup letting the tea drain into the small cup. Bring the now empty cup up to your nose and smell the tea aroma, rolling the cup between the palms of both hands. Finally, drink the tea in 3 sips (slurps).

The proof that I’m not wise is that I can’t spell a simple word like should!!!

A simple pinky slip that I would never have noticed.

I now understand the concept of the aroma cup. Do you find it to make an obvious olfactory difference or is it more a part of the experience of connecting and enjoying the cup? Maybe both? I love to examine the leaf and smell it both dry and wet. I love watching the leaf dance. I can almost see myself enjoying this process except for the whole tiny cup thing.

I’m not wise, I can’t spell should!

Thanks for the review, Bonnie. I’ll have to give this one a try. I’ve also been curious about the tangerine stuffed puer for awhile, having seen it a few places now.

I am glad they are having success with the orange puerh, it is a great starting point on a tea journey.

I think you just did ;)

The aroma cup enhances the experience for sure and is useful when you really want to dive deeper into scent.

I feel like I’ve just read one great love story!! Best review ever!!!!

What a lovely, lovely review! You really made the tea and the moment come alive.

Thank you. What nice things to say! I know that I talk about my tea house all the time, but what some people don’t know is that going to church and the tea house are the ONLY places I go regularly to interact with people (other than the grocery store or gas station). I feel ‘safe’. These people understand my limitations and never make me feel uncomfortable when my brain gets stuck and I can’t remember a word (which happens often in public). I use a cane in public too. One time at church I didn’t have my cane and went to cross myself and fell over,.which was really funny! Migraines and fibromyalgia play tricks on the brain. My fondness for my tea house is in my heart and in the teacup.

Wow, that is quite a compliment to have one of our teas be in the top 3 favorite teas of another tea purveyor. I love how you describe the finish. So poetic! :)

very wonderful fellowship all around!

How do you handle measuring out teaspoons when the leaves are so big? Is there a special trick?

I just stuff my teaspoon until the leaves are level with the edges (length-wise), and it usually results in a heaping tsp, but that’s fine with me. There will always be some leaves hanging out over the sides, but it’s better than underleafing, as far as I’m concerned.

I really do not get how to measure by teaspoon. :) where does it come from? What other ways is there in other cultures?

Dag, you always weigh out your teas, right? What kind of scales do you use?

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4 minutes ago
Hey Anna, this scale is pretty awesome for measuring out single servings: http://www.oldwillknottscales.com/my-weigh-durascale-d2-300.html

Other than weight, I measure by how much of tea % wise is in the gaiwan. A lot of times I go for about 1/2 full with long leaves.

Stacy, that store is ridiculously amazing. ALL SCALES. I can’t even. Seriously. I will nerd out over this so hard. Thank you! I’m looking forward to the fall, by the way – I miss your pumpkin tea, and I want to sample some of your unflavoured teas now that I have graduated to those. =) (Sorry for the hijack, Terri!)

Anna-Look for a scale that goes 2 decimal places in grams. Those are more accurate. Have fun scale nerding out. The small scales are really affordable too.

Excellent, look forward to hearing from you in the fall. :)

Sorry Terri.

Hahahaha, I don’t mind my post being hijacked at all! I only glanced at the scale page briefly, because I can be very obsessive, & often have to work NOT to be.
Regarding measuring teas, for anything that has wild leaves, like this one, if the instructions say 2 tsp, I’ll try to fit them into a TB & just fill it loosely. This time I heaped it.
More often I’m starting to just weigh things, especially crazy teas, using 4 – 5 grams to make a cup of tea. I’m still figuring that out, but it’s MUCH easier, especially with the crazy (but fun & beautiful) teas.

My current scale:
http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-Glass-Digital-Capacity-3831/dp/B00B27H7RE/ref=sr_1_28?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1393528677&sr=1-28&keywords=taylor+kitchen+scale
It’s not fancy, & I got it at Target. On grams, there are no decimal points, & occasionally I have to re-weigh things because it will get a little off, but it suits my needs for now (unless I start perusing that scales page Stacy shared…but I’d rather spend my money on tea).

I use a pocket scale. Small and practical.
https://www.teknikmagasinet.se/db.pl?tf=product_link.html&link=&artnr=340145&title=Pocket%20Scale%20500g%2f01&

Im sure pocket scale is availible everywhere.

My utmost sads on your account concerning the Violet tea. <3

Oh, I know. I’m legitimately grieving that one.

I hoped you stocked up. Plus it might come back!

Ha ha ha… I had to re read the first sentence because at first I thought there was a strange tasting note I haven’t read yet.

Waffles! That’s a great description.

LOL! and anna, I hope and hope it’ll come back, but who knows. :(. And I’m definitely stocking up.

Oh is it out of Rostock again?

It’s in stock silly….

We still have plenty of the TWMB in stock. The Rose Violent Calendula is the one that is out of stock.

errr, Violet not violent.

Now I want some ‘Violent’ oolong \m/ ;)

I want violent tea also!!

I am laughing so hard at this…

I don’t know that I would want a tea with the word “violent” in it as in violently ill but I am now picturing some tea bushes robbing people at knife point.

Everything about this note and its ensuing comments amuses me.

Hahaha! Tea bushes robbing people. These comments are awesome. It works so well with this post I found http://funsubstance.com/fun/49946/violently-inserts-title/

I would be totally down with grappling with a tea bush, as long as it wasn’t too rough and if I could steel some buds to then turn into more rvc! mmm teabush!

lmao!!! Revenge of the tea bush.

These comments!! (Dying of laughter!)

love you guys..

Yum. I can’t wait to see everyone’s tea blend ideas :)

One of my favourite teas ever!

I really want to enter, but when I look into the void that is my mind, I see nothing.
Oh wait….what’s that out in the distance? Something is emerging from the void!!!
Stacy….oh Staaaaaaaaacy ….
(Looking to the right & left, to be sure nobody overhears her, then whispering)
Stacy, I have an idea…

Just received a new order of this. A favorite.

I feel the need not to enter this year since it’s not fair of me to win two years in a row snicker

I didn’t have any ideas, but something struck me yesterday. It’s one of those ideas that I like so much that I might have to order a custom blend of it if it doesn’t win!

Oh sil, that was you who won last year?

I have more ideas than I am allowed to enter :P It was sorta tough to narrow it down to 3!

Sil, what ever happened to that idea we were working on together? I think we both got sidetracked. Maybe we can enter that one?

Sil-what? You should definitely enter.

keychange-Yep, Sil won.

terri…ooh yes we could…
keychange – i think it was mostly due to the fact that it was the first year. :) i was kidding about the whole me winning again.

So jealous! I don’t have any and have to wait to try it…aren’t teas like that the best? Yay.

(And don’t worry, I’m not fishing for a swap. Just realized that may have come off as passive aggressive beggining, ha!)

*begging. Wow brain, wake up.

Haha, ifjuly… If I had more, I would trade (even thought you aren’t begging), but I got the last ounce Stacy had and have to make it last. ;)

I have this on my wish list too. Have you tried the Mi Xian Black from Stacy? t’s yummy!

Stop it already! I can’t read any more reviews of this tea knowing I can’t buy it until the summer!

LOL, Doug… The Mi Xian Black is amazing too. Very similar though a bit “drier”.

Yay, glad to hear you like the magnet! :)

I’d love to try this one, though I haven’t gotten to the mi xian black you gave me in the last swap yet, but I will try it soon.

I’m going to bring this one along when we meet up next, for you and Shayne! :)

I’m planning on getting a magnet (or two) in my next order.

Nice! Thanks!

TastyBrew-Absolutely, we will definitely be doing a warning when we are down to 10% stock left. We tried to purchase the correct amount for the year but it has only been a week and we have already sold 10% of the stock. I didn’t anticipate that people would be buying such large quantities. This may just be the initial rush, due to it being out of stock so long.

Steepsterites certainly hyped the tea enough to boost sales! :-)

careful tasty…i’m watching you….MINE!

Not a hype which implies deception. This tea sold out before and has just come in from the next available harvest. This is wild not farmed tea. Even the experienced tea people who have been in the tea business for years agree that this is a top of the line tea.

Yay 700! And this tea is magnificent.

This tea is indeed magnificent!

Congrats on 700!

Grats on 700….and this is still in Stock.. Also if you like this tea, I can send you some other Taiwanese teas you might enjoy, once you get around to wanting to swap teas heh

I know it’s in stock, I just can’t afford to get more at the moment. :(

I wish you a speedy dental recovery! huggins

Also HOT JAM THIS SOUNDS SO GOOD, OH MY SWEET GOSH.

Congrats on the 700th!!

Woo, 700! And I’m glad you’ve been able to get some of that dental work done. :)

Roswell I’m sending you this one I think it’s 1/2 oz all I have. We just expect another blizzard tonight/ tomorrow . If I could make it to PO tomorrow …