Wednesday, February 25, 2009

New Teas: Flower Power and Japanese Cherry

I can't wait for spring anymore. I don't know how the weather was by you if you don't live in the Capital Region, but it has been really brutally cold and windy here lately. I am now officially protesting winter and am bringing out springtime teas!

Japanese cherry green tea is a popular tea that I have available only while my supply lasts during early spring. It is light bodied green tea (a sencha) flavored with the essence of cherries and reminds us that cherry blossom season is right around the corner. I offered it last spring and it was very popular, so come and get it.

Flower Power - this is one of our new signature teas. To be honest, I have been working on this tea on and off for over a pretty long time. Basically, I designed a label that I thought was really cute and needed to come up with a tea to fill the pretty tin. It took a long time to come up with the right blend of tea and flowers, but I'm pleased with the result. With a base of white and lightly oxidized oolong, Flower Power blends a brilliant bouquet of flowers - roses, lavender, mallow, calendula, and more, along with a hint of delicate fruit flavoring and a teeny bit of stevia for a touch of sweetness. Enjoy a multi-sensory experience with Flower Power and pause to notice the beauty and fragrance of the dry leaf before savoring the warmth and taste of the brewed infusion.

So for me - it's spring!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Customer Appreciation


I really appreciate your business and want you to know it!

I've been planning this update to my customer appreciation program for a while and am ready to roll it out.

Many of you have been carrying a Good Leaf Tea Totaler's Club card with you. (For those of you who don't have one, it's a punch card you use when you purchase drinks at the teabar. With ten drinks, you get one free.) I will be continuing that program and you can pick up a card at your next visit, but I'm expanding the program.

You can still carry the card if that's your preference, but I have additional ways for you to earn rewards. I am now keeping a customer book at the counter. You can create a customer page and we'll track of your purchases. Using your customer page, you can earn rewards in 4 different ways.
1. Get a free tea or specialty drink on your birthday!

2. Track your teabar purchases in the customer book just like you would with your card and you won't have to carry the card anymore.

3. Take the Tea World Tour and earn rewards for trying different teas. We'll track the different teas you try, and you'll earn periodic rewards for exploring the world of tea.


4. The Kilo Club: For those of you who prefer to puchase your teas in larger quantity, we'll track your bulk tea purchases and you'll qualify for a free tin of tea for every kilo of tea you purchase.

It's all your choice. You can continue carrying the card if you don't feel like keeping track in the customer book, or you can participate in one of all of the new Tea Totaler's programs. Or you can skip the program completely and just know that you're appreciated.

Thank you so much for your business, and I will continue to do my best to provide you with the product and service you deserve!

Upcoming Closures

Just a heads up:

We'll be closed next Sunday, March 1st.

We'll also be closed April 16th-19th.

Thanks!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

More Important National Holidays

Guess What?

This Thursday, February 19th is national chocolate mint day. You probably didn't know that, but I feel like I would be downright unpatriotic if I didn't do something to acknowledge this important national holiday. So to celebrate, this Thursday I'll be featuring my Mint Chocolate Chip black tea. Mention this blogpost for a cup of Mint Chocolate Chip black tea for just .99 (regularly $2.49) and $1 off any tin of Mint Chocolate Chip. Just ask for it quietly, because Wednesday the 18th is national drink wine day and I intend to fulfill my civic duty.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Love

Love is The Good Leaf's limited edition Valentine's tea. It's absolutely beautiful. If I knew where my camera was, I would upload a picture. (When I find it, I'll edit this post to include a picture of Love)

Love is white tea embraced by rose petals and kissed with the essence of strawberries and cream. It smells like love - sweet, innocent, young love. While the fragrance is reminscent of the bubble yum I was chewing when I fell in love with Josh Rabinowitz in junior high school (I never had the courage to even speak with him; that's the kind of innocent young love I'm talking about here), the flavoring of this tea is subtle so as to not overpower the delicate white tea.

I'll be featuring all my favorite romantic teas in the shop from now through Valentine's Day. When ordering Love, I recommend the following phrasing, "Brew me up some love, baby" (the "baby" part is optional).

For a romantic Valentine's gift, choose a regular tin of Love and heart shaped tea infuser in a pretty red gift box with ribbon for $12.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Hey - What about those New Year's Resolutions?

Remember January 1st? That's the day everyone resolved to lose weight and get healthy and fit. They say the average New Year's Resolution lasts about 6 weeks. Let's see if we can't figure out what that's all about. What happens about 6 weeks after January 1st?

Hmmm - February 14th, Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day with its obligatory chocolate and other decadent confections. Valentine's Day comes 6 weeks after we set our healthy lifestyle resolutions and it's the perfect set-up to blow them.

The climate is right for a self-indulgent butterama and sugarpalooza. Because we're getting a little sick of depriving ourselves, getting a little sick of the dark, sick of winter, getting sick in general, and this year we're frustrated by an unrelenting winter and terrified about the economy. Our resolve has weakened and we're vulnerable, and maybe even ready to let go.

Now, I know for a fact that people can indulge for a day, and get right back on track. But unfortunately, that's not what usually happens. Once we break the seal, we have a tendency to just keep on going, and that's really too bad.

That's why TEA makes an awesome Valentine's gift. Healthy, indulgent, beautiful, fragrant, and completely guilt-free. No calories! It doesn't throw us off track, but can satisfy the Valentine's Day gift criteria.

With gourmet teas, there are so many great indulgent options. Chocolate teas, fruit teas, floral teas, dessert teas - the choices go on and on. I even have a rooibos blend with rose petals and little heart shaped candies called Sweetheart Red.

So, as you read this, I'm busy filling the shop with great Valentine's gift packages, and in my next post, I'll introduce my limited edition Valentine's Day tea - Love.

Stay tuned (and stay warm - tea helps).

Sunday, February 1, 2009

New Teas #1: Coffee Break

I'm very excited about my new teas. I have about 6 or 7 of them, and I'll feature each of them in my next few blog posts. Today I'll be featuring:

Coffee Break - a tea for those breaking from coffee

I can't tell you how often people come into the shop telling me that they're looking to get off coffee. They're looking for a coffee replacement that offers a rich morning brew with a good kick of caffeine. I designed this tea with those customers in mind and in the process I created my own new go-to morning drink. I love this blend! Coffee break is a black tea and mate blend that offers a full bodied but incredibly smooth brew with a roasted aroma sure to satisfy just about anyone's coffee craving.

In the process of designing the blend, I drank a lot of it. A LOT OF IT! And I can attest to the energizing qualities of Coffee Break. It's been many years since I've been really cranked up on caffeine, but I was again while I worked on this tea. In the past, when I used to drink a lot of coffee, I would get energized, but jittery, nervous and irritable. With Coffee Break, I was enlivened, energized, productive, and happy. Then the effect slowly faded and I was able to sleep at night. It was the perfect buzz! My small circle of test subjects were surprised at how it truly works as a coffee alternative (even though it doesn't really taste like coffee - it's not pretending to be).

It's brand new in the shop and will be available on the website in the next week or so.
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