Two Years in Business.

Well, it's year two, I smile every time I think of it. So, we have been having a sale, which continues until April 30th. All tea and food is 10% off and all gifts are 15% off. There are other discounts on items in the store, some are up to 50% off. We, also, introduced our newest tea-Britannia Bakeapple. It's been created exclusively for us and the response has been fantastic. Our Royal Albert 3 piece Teacup sets are 20% off until Mother's Day.

I am really happy with the store. We started off with 40loose teas and now have over 100. It's been great to see people embrace loose tea and falling in love with it. I keep telling everyone that I really did this so I could have my favorite teas whenever I felt like it.
Our food section has expanded over the past two years, as well. Our jams and chutneys have devoted fans. There are customers who come in just for those treats and don't ever look at the tea.

As a new store we are still being discovered and I take great joy in people who come back and say that they didn't know how great tea could taste. I, especially, enjoy when someone says how much they hate tea and then let themselves try the sample of the day and discover that "it's not half bad." And, as many of you know, I just love talking about tea! Sometimes I have to tell myself to stop talking about it.

As we enter year three, there are lots of ideas and hopes for the store. There are many paths that we would like to follow and we are looking forward to seeing where they lead us.

It's St. George's Day! We have put on a Dragonwell for sample today in the store.

The most well-known story of St. George concerns him slaying a dragon that had long ravaged the country of Libya. Every day the dragon demanded a sacrifice of a beautiful maiden. Terrified of the beast’s power, the local people had sacrificed their daughters one by one, till none remained except the daughter of the King.St. George heard of this, and was determined to save the princess. He engaged the dragon in combat, but upon rushing upon the serpent, his spear broke into pieces against its impermeable scales. Falling from his horse, St. George rolled under an enchanted orange tree which protected him from the dragon’s venomous breath.Rested, the saint attacked again, though this time the dragon’s breath crumbled his armour, forcing him back under the orange tree. A third time, the saint attacked, sword in hand. He rushed under the dragon and pierced it under the wing where there were no scales, so that it fell dead at his feet.
Dragonwell has a dragon, as well, but it's a good dragon.
Legend has it a great drought parched the mountainous regions of China's Lion's Peak in Hangzhou in 250 AD. The tea crop for that year was thirsting for every last drop of moisture it could find. Alas the lack of a single drop of precious liquid threatened their very existence. So a monk traveled the treacherous mountain paths to summon the dragon residing in the spring that fed their well. The monk prayed to this dragon for rain pleading with him to save their precious tea crop. The dragon feeling generous, and perhaps thirsty for tea as well, granted the monk's wish with a lush soaking rain and the spring never dried out. To this day that very same spring nourishes the tea bushes near Lion's Peak granting us the finest in Dragonwell tea, and the dragon has never thirsted for his favourite first flush Long Jing.

Pop down and have a cup of this legendary tea.

A busy week.

On Sunday, the 26th of March, Britannia Teas was part of the Devotion Wedding Show at the Delta hotel. 1100 people, close to 400 of them brides, attended the event.

It was a busy afternoon and a great time for meeting people and chatting. We spoke to many brides who are now thinking of using tea as wedding or party favours.

I, also, had a chance to explore some of the other booths. I was blown away by the cakes at Picco's Creations. These were works of art. Every bit of the cake was edible including the bumblebees, baskets and flowers. You can check out the cakes at www.piccoscreations.com but the pictures don't do them justice.

On Tuesday, March 31st I was one of the guest speakers at the Salvation Army City Wide Women's event titled " High Tea-The English Tea Party" it was a great night and I really enjoyed meeting people, especially those who had been stationed on Random Island. The ladies were very welcoming and attentive. It was great for me to be able to speak about Britannia Teas and my love of tea. If anyone out there ever wants a guest speaker who has no problem talking about tea, I'm your girl. I welcome the opportunity to talk about two of the loves in my life.

We have some new teas in the store, they should all be out by the end of the weekend. I am having a cup of the Lichee Jasmine and am loving it. Some of the new teas that are on the shelf today are the Lichee Jasmine, Green Tea Chai, Strawberry Green and Golden Pu-erh 5years. Yummy!