Spring is here! Well, almost!

Its impossible to believe but Spring really is here! No, no flowers yet, and I know its snowing like crazy in Nebraska and Iowa, but according to the calendar, today (the day this newsletter was written) is the first day of Spring. Here in Princeton, its still bone chilling cold. Yesterday I stepped out for a few minutes in a light jacket to work in our garden, and boy did I make a mistake! It was sooo coooold! So, promptly I came back inside and poured myself, guess what, a hot cup of tea!

My current favorite is Goomtee Summer (second flush) Special which is just perfect for a cold wintery (I mean spring!) day. This is a second flush, so naturally it produces a darker brew than the traditional Darjeelings. Kind of like Keemun, only a little lighter. This cup of Goomtee has very little astringency (or bitterness), but has a nice robust palate with a hint of high fire and earthy after taste. If you brew it at a lower temperature, you might even find a hint of citrus in the aroma. Perfect accompaniment for spicy foods! Any ways, I have been drinking quite a bit of Goomtee lately, so I thought I would let you know.

Where did this come from!

You are probably wondering how this newsletter ended up in your mailbox. You are receiving this newsletter because at some point you went to our website, and signed up to receive our newsletters. I have to confess - when we started the business almost two years ago, we thought it would be nice to send out newsletters periodically. And we started out in earnest, sending out a few newsletters. Then we got so busy that to tackle the business needs, and the newsletter writing became quite difficult.

I hope its different this time around. We have re-started writing the newsletters, and right now we are aiming for one a month. If we get some help, we might send out a newsletter twice a month, but no more than that. Are you the literary kind that has something to say to the world? If so, write to me, and lets share our love of tea through this newsletter.

The perennial question...why loose teas!

Why Loose Teas? Because thats how the tea is supposed to be had! Seriously though, there is a huge difference between loose teas and tea bags. And this difference is not so obvious if you haven't ever tried loose teas. But ask any loose tea convert if they would want to go back and I guarantee you they will look at you like you are crazy.

For starters, when you drink loose tea, you can see the leaf, and you know what you are getting. Who knows what gets put in the tea bag (its mostly stem not leaf any ways). Second, tea bags are a standard commodity - standardized and produced for mass consumption. Where as the loose tea has the characteristic flavor of the region, the estate, and the time of year it was produced, the tea bag has very little individuality left in it. Put it plainly, the difference between tea bag and loose tea is similar to drinking a generic table wine vs drinking a bottle of Chardonnay or Merlot from a great California Vintner.

So, if you haven't yet started drinking loose tea, try some of our teas on specials. These are on sale at great prices. But they are available in limited quantity only, and once they are gone, they are gone for ever.

Our Current Specials

Jaya Standard 1A First Flush: $4.78

Risheehat Second Flush: $5.18

Apple Flavored Tea: $3.98

Vanilla Flavored Tea: $3.98

Our Customers Comment...

About Jaya Reserve Oolong - Second Flush: "What a surprise this tea is. Great color, great aroma and what a wonderful taste. Just a real delight."

About Sungma Second Flush: "This one is my current favorite. It is recognizably darjeeling, has a nice (although mild) classic aroma..."read more

About Our Company: "Your tea is wonderful and the service is too. Thank you for providing these great teas." (from a survey)

Comments, Questions?

We are very much interested in hearing from you. Tell us about the teas, comment on our newsletters, or just share a story with us. If you have a story to tell, and would like us to include it in our newsletter, write to customer service by simply clicking here.

Previous Issues

Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 | Volume 4 | Volume 5 | Volume 6

Buy A Sampler

Due to popular demand, we have added a few samplers for people to buy, so that you can ask and taste the teas you want before deciding to buy a large quantity. These samplers are very modestly priced at $10.00 to help you taste a wide range of teas from us. Order your sampler today!

And remember, it doesn't matter how many samplers you order, shipping is a flat $4.25, and free for purchases over $65.00.

New Teas & Accessories

Teekanne Glass Tea Pot

We have recently added this beautiful glass tea pot to our teaccessories section. Such is the beauty of this tea pot that the process of tea steeping will become a mersmerizing event. What a nice way to watch the tea seep out of the slits at the bottom of the infuser and watch as the water slowly turn from transparent to golden hue! With this tea pot, brewing tea is no longer a drudgery, but an event to be looked forward to! Whats more, the glass strainer sits perfectly in a coffee cup making it a very useful tool to make tea for one person. Heat resistant (can be put on a stove), dishwasher safe, this teapot that will last you a lifetime

Soureni Estate, 2nd Flush

Perched high up in the hills of Darjeeling is a small estate that once belonged to my mother-in-law's family. Located at 4200 to 4600 feet, Soureni Tea Estate once belonged to two brothers, Ramlal and Jalooram Tiwari who followed the trail blazed by many Marwaris* before them to the frigid mountains of West Bengal, to run tea estates.

The company came to be known for its high quality teas, which were often sold even before production started. The estate served as an inspiration to many of our family members, who have followed the family tradition into the tea business. As is the fate of many family businesses, the estate was sold off in late seventies, but under the new owners, the Bhuwalkas, the tradition of quality product has not diminished. Soureni is still regarded as "the little estate that could"!

We are proud to bring you Soureni Estate second flush which is a fine fine tea, with the traditional muscatel aroma of the Darjeeling classics.

*Marwaris are a community of entrepreneurial people from the desert state of Rajasthan. Very early on the Marwari community recognized the value of trading in tea, and were instrumental in taking care of the industry as the British departed India. The contribution of Marwaris to the Indian economy has been immortalized in the book "Industrial Entreprenuership of Shekhawati Marwaris" by D.K. Taknet