Felicitea's been STeaPed

Check out this informative post over at STeaP. 

Brandice asked me some questions about Felicitea and how I work. Very exciting. 

She's also announcing a little something I'm doing with STeaP... 

check it out!

Tea cup gift sets!

Tea gift sets are now available! (I'll have some at lululemon and Tailgate market tomorrow.)

Gift sets include one haiku tea cup, custom designed by Summer, two sample tins of hand-blended tea and a tea-inspired soap. 

They'll be up on Etsy by Wednesday evening. 

Veteran's Day Showcase at Lululemon

This Tuesday 12-5, I'll be participating in a showcase at Lululemon on East Blvd. 

Please join lululemon athletica on November 11th for a Veteran's Day Open House to support local artists and businesses! Come and browse handmade jewelry, meditation CDs, massage packages, paintings and handcrafted teas... all in time for the holiday season!

lululemon athletica Charlotte showroom

1419 East Blvd., Unit J (Above Dikadee's Deli!)

Open House: November 11th from 12:00pm-5:00pm

I'll have tea, holiday gift sets, and be offering chair massage until about 3:30. Stop by and pick up a perfect gift for a loved one - or yourself!

Now you can review Felicitea

If you've received goods or services from Felicitea, now you have the opportunity to give a review.

Simple go to our review page and fill out the quick and simple form! We'll then post your reviews with their appropriate product or service. 

We thank you for sharing your thoughts on Felicitea and the products and services we offer.   

Free 30 minutes of massage for using new online booking

Book a November apptointment online this week and receive free 30 minutes of massage!

A free (absolutely-no-catch-really-free) 30 minutes of massage just for scheduling online. Or get a whole hour of massage for the normal half hour price of $45. 

What's not to love? 

Tell your friends, your mother, your father, the parent at school pick up - free massage for everyone - just by booking online this week.

Offer valid for massages booked between Novemeber 3 and 8, 2008. 

Save $15 off massage!

Did you know Felicitea offers massage and SpecialTea spa treatments as well as delicious tea? To help you discover another taste of happiness we've got a special offer for you! Schedule an appointment by: November 1, 2008 to save $15 off December 1, 2008 to save $10 off   Call 704.497.6514 or email summer@felicitea.com  to schedule your appointment today! One discount per person. Please mention this promotion when scheduling appointment. Offer valid from October 29, 2008 until November 30, 2008. Not valid with any other coupon or discount.

Dr. Weil says drink loose leaf green tea!

Bottled drinks - I've seen some creative ways to work around it. 

I've got some fizzy Green Tea Goji Berry tabs in my kitchen that a friend gave me to try. They flavor the water, make it slightly fizzy - they look like color cold tabs - and taste pretty yummy. They're a very cool way to perk up a cup of water.

But they're no substitute for a freshly steeped cup of green tea. Just ask Dr. Weil:

Q: Is Bottled, Flavored Green Tea Bad?

I like a widely available bottled green tea that has citrus flavoring, and several other things, I'm sure. Do the sugars and other additives counterbalance the healthy effects of the green tea? 

A: You bet they do!

For his complete answer, click here.

Check out our teas (15% off through this weekend!) for the green blends Felicitea offers! 

Harvest Sale - 15% of all in-stock teas!

It's the time of year when the farmer's markets are wrapping up with fantastic fall produce and at Felicitea we're getting a new harvest of herbs from our local growers.

To help celebrate and make room for the new herbs and teas on our shelves we're having a sale!

15% of all teas in stock. 

There are limited supplies of certain teas while we await the next harvest, so pick yours up quick!

(Discount applies to online sales only!)

$15 off massage for week of 10/11-10/18

For the week of October 11-18, 2008 Felicitea is offering a special deal for massage clients:

Book an appointment during this week and get $15 off!

At Felicitea we understand that things are stressful here in Charlotte. Gas is hard to find (premium nearly impossible). There's tension in the air as we await the latest news on Wells-Fargo vs. Citibank. That's all on top of the tv, radio and your neighbor's lawn is telling you who to vote for, concerns about the economy across the country and in our own backyard. 

Massage helps your relax, allows your parasympathetic nervous system (the part of the nervous system that controls stress hormones, digestion and rest) to be triggered and strengthened, lowers your blood pressure (and with the constant lines for gas, who can't use that?) as well as gives you an hour to rest, reflect and just let someone else take care of you for a while - leaving you refreshed and refocused so you can take care of everything else. 

To help you be able to take an hour (or hour and a half) and relax we're offering you $15 off your appointment if you mention this post when you call to book. Take $15 of the price of a regular massage or use it for delightful additions or specialitea massages like:

•  a SpecialTea Spa treatment with hot tea towels that moisturize skin and remove toxins 
• Aromatherapy to help your mind and body slip more quickly into relaxation
  
• Head, shoulders, fingers and toes - this massage uses hot towels, aromatherapy and focused massage and reflexology on the parts of our bodies we use the most - our neck, hands and feet (normally $75 for 60 minutes). This is a great intro to massage!

All Felicitea massages are for the full time stated - an hour has 60 minutes, not 50 - so you'll get a full hour of relaxation, relaxing hot towels and water or tea after your appointment. 

Appointments are available Monday & Wednesday 8a-8p, Tuesday 6:30p-8:30p, Thursday 4p-8p, and Saturday 1p-5p at the corner of East Blvd & Euclid, only a few blocks from the East/West Light Rail Station. 

What are you waiting for? Check your calendar and call 704.497.6514 to book your appointment today!

And we're back

September snuck by quickly here at Felicitea.

We had a number of events, a number of issues with tropical storms (North Carolina is wonderful the rest of the year), the Charlotte gas crisis and then my little sister for married. The calendar's calmer, the storm season is passing, gas is coming back to the city and the wedding was beautiful.

We're back in business.

There's a number of exciting things going on, but first I want to let you know that orders will be all caught up this week. I apologize again for the delay. We've had some issues getting supplies due to shipping and gas issues across the country. 

Of utmost importance is the news that the Tailgate Farmer's Market is still open through fall - Tuesday nights we are there from 3-6pm. Stop by and pick up some tea for those cold days, and enjoy a hot cup of the daily tea for just $1 (no coffee shop in town can beat that!).

Massage hours have also been expanded! Felicitea now offers appointments on Fridays and Sunday afternoons. 

An update with pictures from the Tea & Chocolate Pairing is coming soon.

Saving Our Kids Healing Our Planet Expo

Come join us at the Saving Our Kids Healing Our Planet Expo at the Charlotte Convention Center.

 
Saving Our Kids, Healing Our Planet is the brainchild of a pediatric nurse with 30 years experience working with children's health issues using nutritional methods (Maureen McDonnell, RN) and a mom (Jill Urwick) who has recovered two of her children, one from ADHD and one from autism, using natural interventions. Given their knowledge, passion and experience, these two women are forging a new approach to preventing and reversing many childhood illnesses and disorders that plague the recent generations of children.

By creating a Green Expo focused on children's health, the co-founders of SOKHOP will highlight a multitude of safe, effective and naturally oriented products and services that positively impact various physical, behavioral and developmental problems. At the core of this effort is the belief that many of the physical and mental health issues affecting our children and in turn causing so much heartache, suffering, and emotional and financial drain on families today are preventable and recoverable using natural treatments.

Too many industries have polluted the air, earth and water.  Numerous intra-body toxins are found in almost every child and adult tested. These toxins, combined with suboptimal nutrition are causing, if not exacerbating many of the conditions that are now so common in our children: Allergies, Autism, ADHD, Asthma, Bipolar Disorder, Diabetes and Childhood Cancers.  The World Health Organization states over 80 percent of major diseases are significantly affected by environmental exposures. This means many diseases could be prevented.

The bottom line is our children and the children of future generations have become victims of a culture that is choosing to use over 87,000 chemicals in our food, water, air and vaccines.  Because of this decision to abandon common sense and choose profit over people, we now have a lost generation of children.

To help parents, pediatricians, teachers, therapists etc learn safe and effective ways to prevent and reverse various health problems, SOKHOP will provide a forum for solutions.

So take the time to stop by and check it out. I'll have a full selection of teas as well as some hot tea to sip as you walk around!

Hope to see you there!

Jasmine Reviews and a giveaway!

Mary at now entering momville reviewed the Floral Jasmine and is currently giving away a $30 gift sampler! Go here to enter.

And Jessica gave a lovely review of the Sweet Jasmine. 

Chocolate + Tea = Happiness

As you may imagine, at Felicitea we encourage all forms of delectableness. Especially when it directly involves tea.

Enter The Secret Chocolatier. Then comes Brandice. After time, talk and forceful encouragement we come to this delicious place we end up seeing a sign that says:




Which is super exciting! Few things are as wondrous as tea or truffles. Put them together and you have heaven for the mouth.

These truffles are hand made by Bill in his top secret Chocolate Lab. Really. He makes each by hand, which is apparently a very delicate operation.

Everything is processed in a cream steeping method to bring out the peak flavors for your enjoyment. These babies are nothing like your everyday chocolates. Though if you have the wallet for it, they could be. These come in at $3 a piece.

But they are worth every penny. Just ask these people:



(click to see videos of people on-the-spot reactions)


Available at Tailgate Market and Gateway Market.

New Yummy Things

I enjoy the quiet moments between the storms of tea orders (blend, pack, label. Rinse. Repeat. Reorder.) because they give me a chance to work on new things. New, yummy things. There are number of new, and delicious, coming out the kitchen.

First up, in an attempt to make happy Brandice, of SteapTV, I have been blending up something special. Brandice likes Earl Grey, as any good Trekkie ought, and has searched far and wide to find one that was perfect for curling up on the couch and getting down to work. She is currently taste testing the five sample blends I made up for her, and soon we'll be able to announce when it will be available on the site as she has very kindly agreed to share! Assuming you can get some before she orders it all! Her exact words:

I think that Felicitea has made me fall in love with Earl Grey again.

You can't ask for anymore then that. That's what Felicitea does people, helps you fall in love again. Can you get any happier?

As a follow up to this delightful new tea blend, we're sharing it with The Secret Chocolatier. He's going to make Earl Grey Truffles. Yes. Truffles. For those of you in Charlotte, I will pass on the date when they will be released at the Tailgate Market. For those of you not lucky enough to live the Queen City, I've asked if he's able to ship. He's not able to with summer's heat, but later this year, if you get lucky, shipment options will be in place.

Also, in response to the wonderful response the Rooibus Sweet Tea has been getting, I'm working on some more Rooibus blends. As soon as they're ready, we'll share details with you right here.

Soon there will be even more ways to find your very own moment of happiness!

Saturday Morning at Market

A Day in My Tea Life

I've been asked a number of times to show a little bit of how I do what I do. Apparently it's novel to spend your day playing with tea leaves. So for those of you who've been asking, "what exactly do you do?" here's a little peek behind the curtain.

Many days aren't full of cuppings and taste testing new blends with four different kinds of sweetner. (I believe in rigorous taste testing.) Mornings start off with a cup of tea and a quick read of what's going on in the tea world - keeping up on the employment issues in India, who's tasting what (there are so many tea blogs out there), and a peek at new stuff coming out.

I handle everything on the tea side from start to finish - which means I unpack every box, stick on every label and fill every tin. As you can imagine, this can be a long process when there's a couple hundred tins to prep. (I crank up the sing-a-long tunes and rock out while labeling your teas. Happiness indeed!)

Once all the tea tins are labeled, they're ready for their tea. Each tin gets filled with tea and then packed up either for market or to head off to a lucky customer.

On days when tea needs blended, things become a whirlwind of activity - teas and herbs in their containers waiting to be blended, the top secret recipe list comes out and the bins await their precious cargo. Teas and herbs are measured out and mixed one batch at a time, literally, by my two hands.

Market days are the busiest. Tea must be made for iced tea samples, stock has to be checked and filled if we're out of something from last week. Mugs must be carefully wrapped and soap has to be prepped for the sometimes dangerous journey to market (this have this tendency of slipping around in the car). Market days are wonderful fun because it's a chance to talk to and focus on the customer, catch up with returning tea drinkers, and find out what's going on in the local food scene. It's always bustling, and I'm always exhausted after it's over.

I love the mornings I get to taste test new blends, try out new teas, and work on custom blends for customers. There's something very exciting about creating something new and special just for you.

And all of this mixed in with massage clients, writing haikus on tea cups and all the work of keeping a small business running.

I hope that helps to answer the "what do you do?" question. "A little bit of everything" is the answer. You can be sure you're get the best quality teas and tea inspired products from start to finish - I'm there making sure it happens. My goal each day is to help bring you a taste of happiness.

That's my biggest reward - the happy smiles on faces when someone tastes their tea. The mmmm's and wow's are what make this the best job in the world for me.

Introducing Tea Haiku Tea Cups

Exciting news, happy tea people!

Exclusively from Felicitea you can get your very own tea cup haiku.

Each mug is hand-lettered, make each unique and special. These tea haiku's are custom written for Felicitea - and coming soon - custom mugs incorporating a friend or loved one's name, favorite tea, or a special message. (Want to say happy birthday? Celebrate a wedding? Even propose? We can make a mug for that.)

With little details related to the haiku, each one has a little bit of happiness built right in. A leaf, heart, or even a little wisp of steam may be hiding at the bottom of your cup!

Want one of your own? Currently, they're available over at Etsy and at the Tailgate Market, here in Charlotte, NC.

Soon we'll be come out with more, truly one-of-a-kind pieces that have custom, personalized haiku's for you or your favorite tea drinker. Keep your eyes (or RSS reader) peeled for the new cool items to come!

Pictures from The Tailgate

Today was the second Saturday at The Tailgate. Lots of tea was sampled and sold, new tea friends made, and something new was shared with the world. (Details coming up here soon on what that is.)


The Tailgate is a wonderful experience in community and staying local. I even brought home a (safe) tomato, beans, beets and an amazing basil olive oil today. Felicitea is proud to be a part of and a partner with the local food community.

If you're in Charlotte and get a chance to stop by, please do. We'll all be there Saturday mornings 9-1 and Tuesday evenings 4-7!

CTC Phase 1 Deadline Extended

Apparently June is the month of celebrations - graduations, parties and weddings galore. For a number of people, this mean they're super busy and time to make a snazzy video is limited.

So, in honor of all the graduates and June brides, we're extending the deadline for video submission to the end of June. This means you've got a full 24 days left to come up with the coolest videos about why you love tea!

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

See You at the Farmer's Market

Starting this week, Felicitea will be regularly showing up at Tailgate Farmer's Market here in Charlotte.

The Tailgate is open Saturday mornings 9-1 and Tuesday evenings 4-7 at the corner of Camden & Park.

We're very excited to be joining Tailgate for several reasons:

• The Tailgate sells only local food and products. Everything has some local component. Felicitea uses local grown herbs when possible.
  
• It'll give us the chance to interact with customers.
  
• Customers will get see, smell and even taste our teas.

In a couple weeks, we'll also have a selection of our eye, neck and body pillows as well as soaps.

If you're in the Charlotte area stop on by and say hi!

Coffee to Tea Convert Contest

Do you love tea? Are you a coffee convert? Do you know a friend or family who has a coffee habit?

Here at Felicitea we know the benefits of tea over coffee. We've all had probably had someone who we wanted to introduce to the wonderful world of tea. We know too that there are people out there who want to kick the coffee habit, but just don't know where to start. To help all those tea lovers and coffee junkies on both sides of the line we have a little something for you:

Coffee to Tea Convert Contest

Phase One of CTC contest:

Tea drinkers this is your turn to explain to the world (or at least the internets) why tea is wonderful and better then coffee.

To enter, post a short video here and tell us why tea is better then coffee*. What about tea makes you happy? Is it the health benefits or the taste? If you're a convert, what convinced you to keep to the tea pot? What makes tea your taste of happiness?

The winner of phase one of this contest will:

• Have their video used to help pass the word of the wonders of tea, being used to promote phase two of the CTC contest
  
• receive a sample set of four 1oz tins of the teas of their choice
• also receive a very special, personalized piece of tea ware (details to follow)

We invite you to also add your videos to the Viddler group here (you are welcome to use whatever video hosting service you like - we like Viddler's community) to help share your taste of happiness.


Phase Two of CTC contest:

Coffee drinkers this is where you get to enter the happy world of tea. The details of how you can enter yourself (or a coffee addicted friend) for a coffee cup make-over will follow.

The winning coffee addict, to help them convert from tea to coffee will receive:

• A sampler set of our custom teas
• A very special, personalized piece of tea ware

and, best of all:

• A custom blended tea of their very own

If the winner is nominated by a friend, the nominator will also get a sample set of Felicitea's custom blended tea and some of their friend's custom tea.


We'll share some of the video's as they come in (picked by cool tea personalities), update you on what exactly the special tea ware prize will be and maybe even drop some hints on how you'll be able to trade in that coffee mug for a cup of tea in this space. Feel free to add Felicitea to your RSS reader or flickr friends to keep up on the details as they come out.

Now get your camera rolling and tell the world why tea is better then coffee!



*All entries must be posted to the Felicitea Forum's by 12pm EST on June 30, 2008. All entries must be between 30 seconds and 2 minutes in length. (We want it short and sweet people. Coffee drinkers have short attention spans with all the caffeine. *wink*) Eligibility to enter may be prohibited by law or loved ones (Disobey at your own risk. Felicitea will not be held liable for any actions you or your crazy friend take while making this movie.). Immediate family of Felicitea employees are ineligible to win (they are welcome to make video's - that'd be awesome.). Winner's will be announced after all the videos have been reviewed. (We're hoping by July 4, 2008) Have fun!

Gift Certificates Available!

Can't decide on what to get? Don't know if that special someone would prefer green or black tea? Want to let her chose between tea, massage or a lovely gift set?

You can now purchase a gift certificate for Felicitea!

Simply click where you see this button:

Gift certificates are wonderful for any occasion: graduation, weddings, birthdays or a simple thank you!

Now you can share the taste of happiness!

Question of the Day at Felicitea Forums

Over at the forums we've added a new conversation: a question of the day.

Each day we'll ask a new question - something to make you think, give you a chance to share a little bit about yourself and learn a little about others. Topics will cover a wide range of topics.

Come over, share your thoughts, and see what others think!

Felicitea Forums are up!

Have thoughts on one (or several) of our teas? Want to see what other people think before you make an order? Looking for a place to chat with other tea people?

Check out our new Felicitea Forums.

See reviews from other tea drinkers, ask questions, and find out more about Felicitea and what we offer.

Click here to join!

Decaffeination Myths Are All Washed Up

While there are certain tea preparation methods that require a rinse of the leaves, decaffeinating isn't such a method.

That doesn't stop it from being a common, and oft repeated, myth:

Rise your leaves for 30-45 seconds and that decaffeinates them 80-90%.

You'll still find tea sellers repeating this to customers, and friend telling friends. Like so many other myths, it's pervasive and people want to believe it.

Thanks to those in the tea industry who are committed to knowing the truth, (in particular Nigel Melican of Teacraft, and in general the committed members of the Teamail list) we have this piece of scientific enlightenment:

After some intensive Internet trawling (nay, dredging) and poring over a mish-mash of half truths and myth (and some of my own caffeine data regurgitated without attribution or comprehension) I have now found the level of data that I was advocating earlier this week - a peer reviewed scientific paper recording precise time related extraction of caffeine from tea using a modern detection technique (HPLC). This paper "Tea preparation and its influence on methylxanthine concentration" by Monique Hicks, Peggy Hsieh and Leonard Bell was published in 1996 in Food Research International. Vol 29, Nos 3-4, pp. 325-330. (FRI is copyright of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology).

In summary Hicks et al measured the caffeine and theobromine (total methylxanthine) content of six different teas (three bagged and three loose leaf, including black, oolong and green types). They measured caffeine extraction in boiling water at 5 minutes, 10 minutes and 15 minutes. They replicated all their extractions three times to eliminate error. Extrapolation of their data gives the following caffeine extraction percentages below 5 minutes (averaged over all tea types and formats; note while loose tea extracted marginally more slowly than teabag tea it made only a couple of % points difference):

30 seconds 9%
1 minute 18%
2 minutes 34%
3 minutes 48%
4 minutes 60%
5 minutes 69%
10 minutes 92%
15 minutes 100%

This is very much at odds with the mythical "30 or 45 second hot wash to remove 80% of the caffeine" advice - as a 30 second initial wash of the tea will actually leave in place 91% of the original caffeine!

(Thanks to Nigel.)

Green tea has it's own caffeine myth: green tea has less caffeine then black.

Each tea has it's own caffeine level, with different amounts ending up in your cup, based on the leaves, the processing and the preparation in your pot. Some greens have more caffeine then certain blacks. It also serves the drinker to remember that decaf isn't caffeine free, it's simply a lower level of caffeine - some still remains.

While many of us enjoy, need or crave a caffeine kick to others it's a health hazard. These are dangerous myths for those who are cutting back on caffeine for health reasons.

Good ways to truly lower caffeine levels in your cup:

• Select teas that have tea and herbal ingredients (Sloth Tea, Carol's Tea and Day Dream are all excellent low caffeine choices)
• Go with something completely herbal (like Refreshing Afternoon or Hibiscus Mint) or based on rooibus

The good news for caffeine addicts: you'll still get your caffeine kick on the second and third infusions.

Felicitea believes you should know what's in your cup - a well informed tea drinker is a happy tea drinker.

(For more info, and a fascination conversation in the comments, check out this full article over at ChaDao by Nigel Melican. Thanks Brandice!)

Bagless Tea

After consideration it's been decided here at Felicitea that we're not going to use plastic or paper.

We already carry all our groceries home in canvas or fabric bags, use public transportation as much as possible, recycle, eat locally when possible and are deeply concerned for the environment in general. We encourage our friends to conserve water, even when the drought lifts. We have heated debates about petroleum use, whether ethanol is really a green choice, whether electric or bio-diesel is the better choice and contemplate if carbon off-setting is (necessary) cheating.

We cannot, in good conscious, send you tea in a bag. The amount of petroleum and water waste to create plastic, or even paper, bags is simply not acceptable. Neither is their likely fate: taking up space in a landfill.

All of our teas are packaged in tins which can be recycled or reused. Tins can be used to store teas, herbs and spices. They can be recycled, made into wind chimes, use to store any small bits and pieces (nails, paper clips, all those spare one-nub Lego's). Some local customers even return their tins to Felicitea, to be used for their next order.

Tins are also, in our mind, a better choice for tea storage. Tea is protected from air, light and moisture, keeping your tea fresher, longer.

To make it easier on you, we're adjusting the way teas are listed: weight as well as an estimated number of cups will be listed with each tea.

Teas will still be shipped with cardboard boxes (those are recyclable) and we're working to find an environmentally friendly packing material.

We want every cuppa to be a happy one for you - and the world we live in.

Natural Flavorings

Many companies use "natural flavorings" in their teas. According to the government tea companies (and food companies) are not required to release the ingredients on "natural flavorings" or "spices" when they are proprietary or under a certain percentage in the food/beverage to be consumed. The idea is to protect the company.

However, that can be a danger to the consumer. Natural flavorings and spices can be allergens. Sometimes people are allergic to things that most people aren't allergic to, so it's (in our view at least) important that people know what they are consuming.

Here at Felicitea, we've got a list of allergies that can make sharing a pot tea an interesting, if complicated, proposition at times: coconut, mango, pineapple, lavender, rose and a number of people who are gluten sensitive.

We're sensitive to the fact that people have allergies. And having tasted more then one cup of tea with trepidation because of uncertain ingredients, Felicitea will always list all of our ingredients.

If you pick up a tin of Felicitea tea's you'll know exactly what's in it. Because every cup should be a happy, and safe, cup.