I hope you are well!

Our tasting workshops kick-off this Saturday 2/11 with Tisanes for Immune Support and we have three open spots! See below for details and feel free to join us for an interactive, fun, and educational evening filled with tea...well, actually, tisanes ;)

Gong Fu Tea Service has returned and appointments for this seated service are being accepted. Please see below for all the details and the winter menu. I look forward to you joining me for this relaxing and culturally enriching experience.

I get lots of questions in the shop about some globally popular teas, so I figured this would be a good time to break them down and discuss their nuances. In this month's newsletter we deconstruct the intricacies of breakfast teas, Earl Grey, and chai.

Lastly, cardiovascular disease is the annual number one cause of death in the US and, for good reason, February is American Heart Month. There are a lot of diet and lifestyle practices that can be employed to reduce one's risks and incorporating teas and tisanes can be an important practice. Last year's February newsletter was dedicated to teas and tisanes for cardiovascular health and you may read it here, if it is of interest to you.

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

Chocolate Tea Samplers are have been assembled and are now available - just in time for Valentine's Day! :)

Gong Fu Tea Service

The winter menu for Gong Fu Tea Service is now available! 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 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 winter menu is as follows:

• 2017 Shou Mei White Tea Cake - Fujian, China
• Lu An Gua Pian Green Tea - Anhui, China
• Genmai Hojicha Green Tea - Japan
• Huang Jin Gui Full Roast Wulong Tea - Fujian, China
• Rou Gui Wu Yi Wulong Tea - Fujian, China
• Okayti Estate Black Tea - Darjeeling, India
• Satemwa Estate Dark Tea - Malawi

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 & Pairings 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!

We're switching things up a little bit this year and are starting with the herbal tisanes workshops, which will include information drawn from my herbalism practice. We will then jump into the pairings workshops before diving into the tea tasting workshops! Here are a few of the upcoming workshops:



Tisanes for Immune Support - February 11th

Keeping our immune systems supported is key to maintain health and wellness. Join us to discover some tisanes that are perfect for the task at hand. We’ll also be discussing other strategies that you can use to keep your immune system at optimal performance.

Tisanes for Stress/Nervous System Support - February 25th

Tisanes for Digestive Health - March 11th

Tea & Cheese Pairing - March 25th

Tea & Chocolate Pairing - April 8th

   The rest of the workshop schedule, descriptions and policies, are posted in the 2023 workshops tab at infuseteabarny.com.

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! :)

Deconstructing Popular Teas

English Breakfast and Earl Grey are the top-selling black teas world-wide. Irish Breakfast, Scottish Breakfast, and Chai are surely not too far behind. But did you know that there may be differences among each of these teas? That's right! English Breakfast, as an example, from one source may not be the same as the same named tea from another source. In fact, none of these teas follow a standard recipe - it is entirely up the blender and the style of tea they are creating. So let's break down some basics of these popular teas.

Breakfast teas all have one thing in common - they are strong, full-bodied black teas that will not fade away with the addition of milk. And here is where the similarity ends. They are often blends of black teas from different sources; however, they do not have to be blends. In fact, the original English Breakfast was Qimen (Keemun) from the Anhui Province of China. If the tea is going to be crafted as a blend, each blender selects teas from regions that embody the aromas and flavor profile that they are trying to create. To use English Breakfast as an example again, different versions can be blends of teas crafted from different regions in India or China, Indonesia, different countries in Africa, or other desired tea-producing regions. This will lead to different aromatic and taste characteristics, body and boldness among the various blends. The same principles can be applied to all other breakfast teas.

Many think that Earl Grey is a plain, unflavored tea; however, this is not the case. The traditional Earl Grey is a black tea that has been enhanced with oil of bergamot, which is a citrus fruit from Italy. Currently there are many versions of Earl Grey. To begin with, the black tea base can vary just like the breakfast teas that we discussed above. Then there are various types of bergamot flavor that can be used in varying proportions - oil, natural flavor, or artificial flavor. And the base can also be modified to be green tea, wulong tea, white tea, or herbal bases. Other additions are also common such as lemon or orange peel, lavender or rose petals, vanilla or other fruit pieces/flavors.

Chai is another complex type of tea. "Chai" translates as "tea" and it has been shortened from "Masala Chai" or "spiced tea" to refer to the familiar warming and comforting blend. Traditionally Masala Chai is a strong, full-bodied black tea, usually from the Assam region of India, that has been blended with spices - often cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom - and blended with milk. There are many other spices that can be added including, but not limited to: black pepper, nutmeg, cloves, fennel, and vanilla. These spices can also be blended in varying proportions yielding sweet chai blends, spicy chai blends, or anywhere in between. As with the Earl Grey blends discussed above, chai can have a base of other teas (green, wulong, white, or Pu-er) or tisanes (rooibos, honeybush, tulsi, yerba mate) or be simply a blend of the spices that yield a lovely caffeine-free option. There is truly an infinite number of chai recipes.

Many options of breakfast teas, Earl Grey and chai blends and samplers of each are available in the shop and online shop. Feel free to explore them to discover a new favorite! :)

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. We are out of stock on several of our autumn and holiday teas and tisanes, and limited stock is available on the following: Apple Molasses Black Tea, Chocolate Peppermint Black Tea, Christmas Blend Black Tea, Pumpkin Pie Black Tea, Rooibos Orange Gingerbread Herbal Tisane, Rooibos Pumpkin Creme Herbal Tisane, Candied Pomegranate Herbal Tisane, Holiday Punch Fruit Tisane, and our house-blended Mulling Spice Organic Herbal Tisane.

We are fully restocked on the following teas and will carry them through early April: Gingered Vanilla Toddy Black Tea, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Black Tea, Roasted Chestnut Black Green & Yerba Mate Blend, Maple Walnut Green Tea.

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