Well, the Christmas rush began this weekend. We are almost out of the Christmas linen tea towels. And there is no Candy Cane, Gingerbread or Cranberry tea left in the store. But not to worry there is still lots of product even though things have been selling fast and furious. We have an apple spice black tea and a cinnamon spiced black tea that we have for the holidays. Last week I was worrying that I had too much product and this week I'm glad I ordered the extra shipment of Bee House tea pots and the snack sets and infuser mugs.

I really enjoy Christamas in retail. I love having customers fall as in love with a product as I did at the buying show. I love helping people pick out a present and feeling like they are happy with their purchase. I love chatting with customers and hearing about their plans and what shows they are going to see and their Christmas parties. I do kind of love the madness.

I am off to see what needs to be done up after the weekend. Oh and we are getting four new teas. They will be available this week.

Tea and Caffeine

All tea does contain caffeine. Tea being white, green, oolong , pu-erh and black teas. There is no such thing as a caffeine free green or white tea.
Herbal tisanes do not contain caffeine but herbal teas sometimes do have caffeine. This is because the company producing the herbal tea is actually using tea for the base and adding herbals to create a blend. So, if you are trying to avoid caffeine make sure you check the ingredients before purchasing.
Decaffeinated tea still has caffeine, just not as much as your regular tea. There are three main methods used to decaffeinate tea.
1) Ethyl Acetate is a chemical decaffeination process and is the cheapest method used. It involves soaking the tea leaves with ethyl acetate solvent. Many of the health benefits are stripped away and some solvent residue remains. The taste of the tea is also affected.
2) Water processing involves placing the leaves into very hot water and then straining the steeped water through carbon filters. The first batch of tea leaves is thrown away and then a second batch is placed in the water and the caffeine dissolves into the water. The tea leaves are then dried. This method maintains the flavour but some of the health benefits are lost.
3) Carbon Dioxide is used to treat water soaked leaves acting as a magnet to the caffeine molecules which are then removed. The leaves are dried after the caffeine is removed. The method allows the tea to retain it’s flavour and it’s health benefits.
You can also decaffeinate your tea at home. It’s similar to the water processing method. After you boil your water cover the tea leaves and let sit for 20-30 seconds. Pour off the water then fill your cup or teapot and let the tea infuse. Since, many teas taste better on the second infusion this is a great way to get your second cup flavour without the caffeine of the first infusion.