April 2023 Newsletter

I hope all is well!

Our tasting workshops continue and details are provided below. So far workshops have been scheduled through the end of July and the remaining workshops will be scheduled within a month or two. Feel free to join us for an interactive, fun, and educational evening filled with tea! :)

Gong Fu Tea Service also continues and appointments for this seated service are being accepted. Please see below for all the details and the spring menu that is now available. I look forward to preparing tea for you during this relaxing and culturally enriching experience.

Many do not realize that there are many different methods that can be used to prepare tea. Using a different method can result in a different aromatic and taste experience. We're diving into the different methods in this month's newsletter.

As a reminder, I apologize to those of you who have arrived at 11:00AM when the shop opens and you have had to wait. I have contemplated opening the shop a little later; however, I have decided to keep the same hours. If you arrive on a day when the shop is supposed to be open, but it is just past 11:00AM and the blinds and door are still closed, please wait if you can, as I will be there within 5 or 10 minutes. I am sorry in advance for the inconvenience.

I appreciate your continued support of my small business and I wish you much health and great tasting cups of tea in 2023!

-- Kristine, FDN-P

Both combinations of Customer Favorites Samplers have been assembled and are now back in stock! These and all our other samplers are available in the shop and online shop.

Blended up fresh batches of Digestion Helper Organic Herbal Tisane and Lemon Ginger Mint Organic Herbal Tisane :)

Shop Schedule

Please note the following days that the shop will be closed:

Easter Sunday 4/9

Mother's Day Sunday 5/14

Monday 6/5 through Wednesday 6/21

Sunday 7/30

Be sure to check your stash and stock up before the extended June break. I will be sure to have the summer teas available before the break, so you can have them on hand to celebrate the first day of summer. Stay tuned! :)

As a reminder, current hours, along with future schedule changes and policies, can always be found on our shop website infuseteabarny.com.

Gong Fu Tea Service

The spring menu for Gong Fu Tea Service will be available when we re-open this Thursday! This Chinese method of tea preparation means "done well" and it requires time and focus, delivering a more aromatic and flavorful infusion than those prepared using the more familiar western method

of tea preparation. I am happy to be able to offer this cultural aspect of tea and guide you further through your own tea journey.

This is an appointment only, seated service and, at the moment, is limited to four appointments at a time. Each session lasts approximately 1-1/2 hours (allow 2 hours in case it runs long) and costs $30 paid upon booking. It includes multiple infusions of the tea that you select from the Gong Fu Tea menu and there are 4-7 infusions, depending on the tea selected and as time allows. It also includes a Gong Fu lesson, if you like, so that you may incorporate this method into your own tea ritual at home.

The menu is crafted and rotated seasonally and curated from the larger origin tea offering available in the shop. The spring menu is as follows:

• Ruby 18 Formosa White Tea - Nantou, Taiwan
• PT Harendong Green Farm Green Tea - Java, Indonesia
• Lan Gui Ren (Ginseng & Licorice) Wulong Tea - Fujian, China
• Chamraj Estate Frost Wulong Tea - Nilgiri, China
• Huo Shan Black Tea - Anhui, China
• Lao Shan Black Tea - Shandong, China
• 2016 Loose Leaf Dark Tea - Hunan, China

Gong Fu Tea appointments are available:

Thursdays & Fridays - 11:30 through 3:00

Sundays - 11:30 through 2:00

Please note that there are no appointments on Saturdays.

If you would like to make an appointment for this unique experience, please email kristine@infuseteabarny.com or reply to this email and put "Gong Fu" as the subject. I look forward to preparing tea for you! :)

Tea Tastings Workshop Schedule

Journey with us on select Saturday evenings for an exploration of tea. Whether it is a fun and unique tasting of a flight of teas or a "foodie" excursion where we pair a few of our favorite things, you will be experiencing a unique, informative, relaxing and interactive adventure - no passport required!

Here are a few of the upcoming workshops:

Introduction to Tea Appreciation - April 22nd

Tea is more complex than wine and in this workshop we delve into the techniques and terminology used to unlock its wide-ranging characteristics. Overview of tea types, typical characteristics, factors that affect quality and characteristics, analyzing the leaf and the liquor. This workshop provides a solid foundation for the rest of the workshops in the series.

Black Teas - April 29th

80% of all tea produced around the world is black tea, but few realize the range of aromas and flavors that can be found within this type of tea. Join us to explore several flavorful black teas that have been selected from our catalog of over 65 origin black teas that have been sourced from over 15 countries.

Green Teas - May 13th 

Wulong Teas - May 27th

White Teas - June 10th

   The rest of the workshop schedule through July, descriptions and policies, are posted in the 2023 workshops tab at infuseteabarny.com. More tastings will be scheduled beginning in August, including another Tea & Cheese and Tea & Chocolate Pairing, so stay tuned!

Workshops begin promptly at 7:00 PM and go to 8:30ish. Feel free to stay on after the workshop to enjoy the highly recommended second infusions of each tea that will be prepared. Cost is $30 per person. Pre-paid registration is required and seating is limited. For questions or to register, please email kristine@infuseteabarny.com or stop by the shop. I look forward to seeing you in class! :)

Pre-order Reminder

As a reminder, pre-orders of loose leaf teas are encouraged in order to streamline the preparation of your custom orders and reduce your wait time, especially if the shop is busy when you arrive. Orders also continue to be shipped nationwide and all (pre)orders can be placed in our online shop pleasuresoftea.com.

• Please place orders at least 24-hours ahead of desired pick up time, if possible, to ensure that it will be seen in the portal and there is enough time to pull it together in time for your arrival.
• Indicating the approximate date and time of pick up in the Comments section in the Cart helps ensure that your order will be ready for you upon arrival. Pick-ups can only be done during shop hours.
• If you plan to browse at the shop or grab a cup of tea, then please do not pay online - select the Pay at pick-up option. You will receive an emailed notification once your order is ready for pick-up.
• DO NOT send orders to my email or leave on voicemail - they will be lost and most likely will not be seen until weeks after you are looking for them.

Thank you for your continued cooperation in helping to serve you in the most efficient and expeditious manner possible! :)

Tea Preparation Methods

For those of you who have been to the shop, you may have had the experience in which I will not make specific recommendations on teas or tisanes. I do this for several reasons, but the primary one is because I want you to go through the process of selecting the teas/tisanes that will speak to and soothe your body, mind, spirit and senses. This will be different for each person and selecting the right tea for the moment can tremendously help achieve satisfaction and stress reduction. And many of you may also know that there are several different methods that can be used to prepare your teas and tisanes. These methods can extract out varying amounts of the aromatic, taste, and healthful constituents, thereby yielding what may seem like a different tea. So let's take a look at some of these methods and when they should/could be used to bring out the best qualities in your teas in order to further your tea-appreciation experience.

First up is the familiar Western Style Infusion Method. This is a great way to steep most teas and tisanes and is the method that you find on the back of our pouches. It is also the method that is used in the shop to prepare your teas, with the exception of the Gong Fu Tea Service. Generally, one teaspoon of tea leaves is used for every eight ounces of water, with more being used if the leaves are fluffy. For origin teas, whose leaves can often be difficult to measure, it is best to weigh the leaves and use 2.5 to 3 grams of leaves for every eight ounces of water. The leaves are put into some type of infuser, the appropriate temperature of water is used based on the type of tea and then the leaves are steeped for the suggested length of time, or to taste. The leaves are finally removed from the water when the steep time has been reached. A variant of this method is the English Style of tea preparation in which the leaves are put loosely in a teapot and, when the appropriate steep time is up, the tea is poured into a cup using a strainer. It is important to note that any tea remaining in the teapot will continue to infuse and can get bitter - this can be averted by either adding more water or pouring out all of the tea into mugs or another teapot.

The next method is Gong Fu Style, which is one of my favorite ways of preparing and appreciating origin teas. This method is employed using a gaiwan (pictured above under the Gong Fu Tea Service section), a small Yixing clay teapot or other smaller teaware items. The leaf to water ratio is much higher than that in Western Style with much shorter steep times. I use five grams of tea for approximately five ounces of water. Boiling water is used regardless of the type of tea being prepared and the steep time usually takes mere seconds. This is a great method to enjoy the layers of complexity in an origin tea that rarely get revealed when the same tea is prepared Western Style. The leaves can be infused anywhere from four to eight times, so it's a lovely way to spend an entire day with a special tea.

In the Grandpa Style Method of preparing tea, the leaves are not removed; instead, they remain steeping in the water. There is no set steep time and the appropriate temperature of water needs to be used for the type of tea/tisane. The appropriate amount of tisane for the volume of water should be used in preparation; however, it is extremely important to use about half of the amount of tea leaves in order to prevent over-steeping and bitterness in the tea. There are many different steeping vessels that can be used to prepare tea Grandpa Style, including our popular Tea Traveler Travel Mug.

Interested in Iced Tea preparation methods? Got you covered! Details for the various methods that can be used will be included in June's newsletter or, if you don't want to wait, check out last year's June Newsletter to begin preparing fresh iced tea at home.

If you decide to try any of these methods for preparing your tea, let me know how it turns out! :)

Do you or someone you know need a personal health detective to address chronic wellness issues that can't seem to be resolved? If you haven't tried the FDN approach, then you haven't tried everything. Make 2023 your best year yet!

As a Certified Functional Diagnostic Nutrition (FDN) Practitioner, I help clients get to the root of their health and wellness issues and reclaim the vitality that they very much deserve. I offer fully customized, programs that are unique to each client and that incorporate holistic protocols addressing body, mind, spirit and senses. This is an extension of my work in tea and herbalism for the past fifteen years, but I will now be able to help those of you who need it at a much deeper and personalized level than I can offer in the shop. In addition to the new tools in my toolbox, I will continue to draw from my experience in using tea for health, along with my herbalism training, during the development of the comprehensive protocols that will be specific to the bio-individualized needs of each client. I will educate and empower you to make the choices that are best for YOUR health so that you can be your own health advocate moving forward. I look forward to showing you what I can do to help you achieve your wellness goals and enjoy continued vitality well into the future!

To learn more, please visit https://vitalityholisticwellness.net. If you are ready to make the investment in your wellness, then I would be happy to discuss the potential opportunity with you. You may book a complimentary discovery call directly through the website so I can learn about your issues and you can learn more about how I work and how my approach is different from the conventional medicine and/or alternative approaches that you have already experienced. I also have an email address specific for Vitality Holistic Wellness business and I ask that all inquiries regarding these services be directed to kristine@vitalityholisticwellness.net.

The website also shares My Why - the reasons why I am so passionate about this approach to health and wellness. This is a very personal experience for me and I share my 32-year journey toward finding health and wellness and dealing with autoimmunity and a compromised immune system, among many other issues that you or someone you know may be experiencing. I hear from so many of you about your own chronic wellness issues and I share my story as a way to connect and open the door and show that there is hope…even after 32 years! If you would like to read my health story, please click here. It is long, so make sure you have a big mug of tea :)

I also email out a newsletter with health and wellness tips that do not fit within the scope of this newsletter. If you are interested in receiving the Vitality Newsletter, then feel free to sign up while you're at the website!

New at the Shop

Nothing new just yet, but this is a last call for Gingered Vanilla Toddy Black Tea, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Black Tea, and Candied Pomegranate Herbal Tisane.

Infuse Tea Bar & The Pleasures of Tea

106 Main Street

West Sayville, NY 11796

www.infuseteabarny.com - shop

www.pleasuresoftea.com - online shop

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500+ Loose Leaf Teas, Herbal Tisanes & Functional/Medicinal Herbs

Certified - Tea Professional, Tea Sommelier & Tea Health Expert

Student of the Art & Science of Herbalism

Certified Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner - Vitality Holistic Wellness