September 2024 Newsletter

Hello everyone! I hope all is well and that your summer has been enjoyable :)

It's hard to imagine that summer is coming to an end and the first day of autumn is only a few weeks away. I have decided to bring the autumn teas in early since the extended forecast has more fall-like weather and it gives you the opportunity to have them in time for first day of autumn on 9/22. Two new teas have been added to the menu - Cinnamon Apple Decaf Black Tea and Bitaco Tea Estate Organic Colombia Wulong! In this month's newsletter, I am spotlighting Bitaco and their wonderful teas. A few other infuser cups are in the process of being added to the website and my The Pleasures of Tea Tasting Cup is already live, in case you wanted one but didn't get a chance to purchase one before the shop closed. We got very behind in doing the photography and adding teaware to the website, but we have a focus to try to get as many items live in time for the holiday season. Stay tuned!

The Women's Expo is a month away and I am looking forward to seeing whoever can make it to the event! Pre-orders will be highly recommended to ensure I have what you need, so please see details outlined below. Also, a reminder that a pick-up option is in effect. Pick-ups are on Wednesdays and orders must be received by the end of day Sunday each week in order to make the deadline. Details are also outlined below.

I would like to express my sincere appreciation for your continued support. Your orders and emails provided a sense of purpose and normalcy during a very surreal several months. And thank you for providing updates about what's going on in your lives in the Comments section of the cart - and to those of you who have sent follow up emails because you forgot to add a comment ;) I believe I have FINALLY gotten caught up with the emails that you have sent; however, if you have not yet received a reply from me, please resend your email. I had about 10,000 to scroll through, so it's possible I missed a few.

September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. As I reflect on my experience over the past five months, I think about how fortunate my situation has been. Not that I am necessarily happy about getting cancer, but I am grateful that the outcome has been ideal and I finished chemo treatments three weeks ago. The timing was absolutely perfect. The shop was already in the process of closing as I was undergoing diagnostics and you were all able to get the supplies you needed. Summer is always a slower time for my business so I was able to take the time I needed for the treatments and recovery (which pretty much turned into a full-time job), while still being able to keep up ensuring you were able to still have your teas with minimal disruption.

Now I am ready to move on with a renewed sense of purpose. While I am still healing and still working to uncover the underlying drivers of my cancer, I have honed my ideas for direction with both of my businesses. Some of the ideas I had before closing the shop have been set aside and new ones have come about. In digging into understanding how my cancer came about, I discovered that I genetically have an extremely low risk of getting cancer in my lifetime - less than 5%, which is much lower than the average person. And all indicators have been pointing to environmental drivers of my cancer. Even though I have been technically doing "the right things" to support good health and reduce my cancer risk for years and I have a pretty regimented self-care routine, I still got cancer. I probably would have been able to identify issues several years ago if the particular functional lab tests I wanted to take were not restricted here in NY. The statistics regarding cancer are not great. With all of the money being spent researching cancer since the 1970's, cancer rates have gone up, 50% of people will get cancer sometime during their lifetime, and research is showing that 92-95% of cancers are due to internal and/or external environmental factors. I was lucky because I was being screened for ovarian cancer due to several risk factors. This cancer is one of the most deadly for women because they don't get a diagnosis until few to no good options remain. The diagnostics for this cancer are terrible! Even with us screening for it, it took at least nine months for us to identify that something was off and needed further investigation - and this is because my doctor caught one important detail from a sonogram that easily could have been missed. Prevention and understanding one's risk for this, or any other cancer or chronic disease, is the key. Several years ago I got certified in a program that addresses the metabolic and terrain (internal and external environmental) factors that drive the cancering process in the body, along with autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases, blood sugar dysregulation and cognitive impairment. I had not yet communicated this out, mainly due to lack of time; however, this is going to be one of my top priorities when I start seeing clients again. This mission is very important to me and I have a renewed sense of urgency to help as many people as possible understand their risks and what they can do to reduce them or potentially mitigate the damage that has already taken place. I am also developing plans for some free webinars and new programs, so stay tuned for details!

Back in January's newsletter, I announced that the shop would be closing and that I would be moving to the mountains early next year. I also included a beautiful picture of the westward facing view from my land - a place of peace and tranquility. That view is in the mountains of Tennessee and I am still on track to move there in March 2025. I have a lot to do over the next six months in preparation for the move and I would like to get on your radar now, since the interruption in business operations will be longer than it was at the close of the shop during the month of April. I am currently developing my plan for the transition and details will begin to be communicated in November's newsletter to ensure that everyone has enough time to prepare and stock up. My primary goal before the transition is to ensure that you are able to purchase all the tea you need to get you through the duration of the service interruption. Stay tuned for these important details!

As always, I appreciate your continued support of my small business!! Enjoy the rest of your summer and autumn teas will be back next month :)

-- Kristine, FDN-P

Pick-Up Option

Donna from West Sayville Flowers (my former business neighbor) has generously offered her shop as an option for order pick-ups! This service will ONLY be available on Wednesdays from 9:00 to 5:00, so as not to interfere with Donna's business. Orders will need to be placed before the end of day on Sundays so that I will have the time to pull them together and get them over to her. If you would like to take advantage of this option, please indicate so in the Comments section of the cart. Please note that a shipping charge will be applied when you place your order, but it will be removed when I manually finalize and charge the order :)

Please be advised that, at times, her shop is closed for a short period of time while they are running deliveries. They will have a sign posted stating this, so please be aware that this may happen if you decide to use this service.

Gift Certificates

You may redeem any outstanding gift certificates in the online shop! To redeem, please input the following information in the Comments section in the cart: compliments of, especially for, gift certificate number, amount, and date. You will still need to input your credit card, but only the balance will be charged, if there is one. Gift certificates never expire - I put an expiration date on them because I want them to be used, not forgotten in a pile of paper ;).

Need to purchase an e-gift certificate? Feel free to email me at kristine@infuseteabarny.com - be sure to include name from and to and the gift certificate amount. I will email you an invoice that you may pay online.

This year's Women's Expo is a month away!! :)

I am honored to have been selected again as an exhibitor at the annual Women's Expo. A not-to-miss-event, this annual Expo showcases the creativity and talent of women entrepreneurs from Suffolk and Nassau Counties. The timing is perfect for the upcoming holiday season, so be sure to stop by to show your support for all of the exhibitors and get some gifts knocked off your list.

When: Thursday, October 10th

Time: 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Where: Middle Country Public Library

101 Eastwood Boulevard, Centereach

Check out the event's website womensexpoli.org or Facebook page Women's EXPO LI

Please note: If you are planning to stop by to pick up anything particular, please place your order in the online shop and indicate Women's Expo in the Comments section. A shipping charge will be applied, but I will remove it. I will not have much of the time required to prepare for this show and, therefore, will not be able to bring as many teas as I have in the past. The focus will be on the autumn teas, samplers, and a few other items. To ensure you get everything you would like, please be sure to place your orders no later than Monday 10/7. After this and depending on the volume of orders coming in, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to pull your order together in time to bring with me - although I will do my absolute best to do so.***

I look forward to seeing you there!! :)

Berry Fig and Strawberry Lychee Green Teas are back in stock and so are all of our autumn blends - see list below!! Blended up another fresh batch of Lemongrass Spearmint Organic Green Tea!

Bitaco Colombian Tea

When it comes to producers of tea you might not think of countries in this hemisphere. One country in South America, Argentina, is among the top ten producers of commodity tea - high production, low quality yields that are destined for teabags. In recent years, however, tea gardens have been established with the sole focus of producing high quality artisan teas - the ones that get me excited. Bitaco Tea in Colombia is one such garden and I have been happy to offer their teas for five years and have just expanded the offering!

Located in the Andes Mountains of Colombia at an altitude above 6,000 feet is the Bitaco Tea Plantation. This small organic estate in the western part of the country was established in the early 1960's and is situated next to a protected rain forest with a high level of rainfall and biodiversity. The tea plants thrive in the consistent tropical rainforest climate and mineral rich, volcanic soils.

In addition to producing high quality, unique teas, the garden focuses on sustainable farming techniques and social accountability, along with fostering community through its foundation that provides education for local children and infrastructure improvements.

The garden produces several styles of black, green, white, blended, and flavored teas, and the new addition - a high oxidized wulong tea. All of their teas are smooth and mellow with a lovely sweetness and lack any astringency. I only offer five of their pure origin teas:

• Colombian Breakfast Organic Black Tea is one of their tippy grades. Perfect for a morning cup, these small leaves yield an infusion that is full-bodied, robust, and full-flavored with lingering deep, rich, fruity notes. Enjoy straight or with a splash of milk.
• Colombian Afternoon Organic Black Tea is one of their wiry grades. Perfect for an afternoon cup, these large, twisted leaves yield an infusion that is medium-bodied, smooth, balanced and mellow with pleasant and sweet notes of raisins and dried plums. Recommended to enjoy straight.
• Colombian Organic Green Tea is their leafy grade, which consists of very large leaves that have been well twisted and rolled.The infusion is light-bodied, smooth, balanced and mild with sweet, nutty, and vegetal notes.
• Colombian Organic White Tea is comprised of large, multi-colored leaves that yield a smooth, balanced, mild and quenching, light- to medium-bodied infusion with sweet, vegetal, and mildly woody notes.
• Colombian Organic Wulong Tea is comprised of large, higher-oxidized leaves that yield a smooth and balanced, medium-bodied infusion that is sweet, deep and rich with notes of molasses and roasted stone fruit. There is a lovely sweetness that lingers on the palate.

These amazing teas are all available in the online shop and you can see all five of them by clicking here. Check them out and let me know what you think!

New Teas

Two new teas have been added to the online shop! Cinnamon Apple Decaf Black Tea and Bitaco Tea Estate Organic Wulong Tea, as discussed above.

Your favorite autumn blends have returned and are also now available in the online shop! Here's the line-up: Apple Molasses Black Tea, Gingered Vanilla Toddy Black Tea, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Black Tea, Pumpkin Pie Black Tea, Roasted Chestnut Black & Green Tea with Yerba Maté Blend, Maple Walnut Green Tea, Rooibos Maple Walnut Herbal Tisane, Rooibos Pumpkin Crème Herbal Tisane, Rooibos Pumpkin Spice Herbal Tisane and Mulling Spice Organic Tisane. And Cinnamon Chip, Lemon Ginger, Maple and Pumpkin Spice Scone Mixes are back, and join all the other flavors that are available.

The following summer teas are available in limited supply: Minted Coconut Lime Green Tea, Coconut Fruit Punch Fruit Tisane, and Kiwi Peach Fruit Tisane.

The Pleasures of Tea

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

Forever Student of the Art & Science of Herbalism

Certified Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, MRC Certified Healthy Gut Practitioner, Certified Terrain Advocate, & Certified in Functional Nutrition - Vitality Holistic Wellness