I began a months-long series of primers about tea in July, since it has been a long time since I wrote about the types of tea, the variables in determining their classification, their similarities and differences, and each of their defining characteristics. We got acquainted with the tea plant, Camellia sinensis, and discussed black tea in July, we learned about the differences between green, yellow and white teas in August, and last month we explored the complex category of wulong teas. For those of you who are new to my community or if you missed the last three newsletters, you may find them in the online shop here (just scroll down to the bottom of the page). This month, we're going to wrap up the series by diving into another complex tea category - that of Pu-er and Dark teas.

Gong Fu Tea Service at the bar continues and our autumn menu is available!! The details for this unique, by appointment service are outlined below. Please note that the last day of service this year will be on Friday, November 12th. All of our autumn teas are also now available and your favorites have returned, along with a few new ones too. Please see below for the list of teas, which are available for purchase/pre-order in the shop and online shop. You'll also see a mention of all the new products that arrived or been restocked.

Normal business operations continue at the shop, but I have amended the policy slightly. The wearing of masks is not required, but you may continue to do so if you prefer. The traffic in the shop has increased and so has crowding and wait times. It is requested that everyone please bring a mask to the shop that may be worn during the times that we are packed, so that we don't have to ask people to wait outside as the weather begins to get cooler. Moving forward, I request that you do not come to the shop if you are feeling under-the-weather or please wear a mask, if you do stop by. 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 www.pleasuresoftea.com. Your pre-order is not finalized until you pick up, so there is no need to input your credit card info. This allows flexibility to browse the shop, add more teas, a cup of tea, or some of our goodies to your order. Any additional changes to our COVID policies will be communicated as necessary.

When: Friday, November 5th from 9:00AM to 4:00PM

Where: Middle Country Public Library

Rain Date: Friday, November 12th

Details can be found on their website https://www.womensexpoli.org/ and on their facebook page Women's EXPO LI | Facebook.

Please note that there are no appointments on Saturdays and the last day for Gong Fu Tea Service this year will be on Friday, November 12th.

If you would like to make an appointment for this unique experience, please email kristine@infuseteabarny.com or reply to this email. I look forward to preparing tea for you! :)

This month, we are going to discuss the diverse and complex category of Pu-er and Dark teas, how they are classified, and their typical characteristics. There is no general consensus about how these teas should be categorized. Some purveyors classify Pu-er and Dark teas into separate categories, some classify them under the category of Post-Fermented teas, and I'm sure there are other classifications as well. I classify them all as Dark teas, with Pu-er tea being a sub-category, because all of these teas undergo a fermentation process and then aging. Whether or not the leaves have some level of oxidation is generally not considered with a Pu-er tea, so this is different from the other categories that we have already discussed. I do not know exactly how much total world tea production is devoted to this type of type of tea, but I'm thinking that it is probably about one percent since they are such labor-intensive and time-consuming teas to produce. Books have been written about Pu-er and Dark Teas, so only the very basic information is provided here. It is a wonderful category and there is such diversity in taste and aromatic characteristics, so I hope the information here will inspire you to explore them if you are not already familiar with this type of tea.

Typical First Stage Dark/Pu-er Tea Production Steps - yields mao cha (raw tea)

Here are a few key details for some of the processing steps:

Plucking - the leaves to be harvested depend on the style that the tea maker will craft. Leaf pluck for Dark and Pu-er teas may vary from pure bud to a bud and four leaves, or a leaf-only pluck of the fifth to ninth leaf down the branch.

Leaf Style - Dark and Pu-er teas can be found in loose leaf form or as pressed or formed. Popular pressed styles include cakes (beeng cha), bricks (zhuan cha), bowls/nests (tuo cha), coins, and hearts, but other shapes can also be found. The leaves in pressed forms are usually best separated with a Pu-er knife, a specialty knife that can fit into the small spaces and does not destroy the leaves during separation.

I use boiling water for both Western-Style and Gong Fu-Style methods of preparation for Shou Pu-er and Dark teas. If I am preparing a Sheng Pu-er Western-Style, then I tend to use a water temperature that reflects the age of the tea: a temperature anywhere from 175 to 185 degrees for a young Pu-er, 185 to 200 degrees for a moderately aged Pu-er, and boiling water for a "fully ripened" Pu-er. I tend to use visual appearance of the leaves to determine the water temperature that I am going to use, but the age of the tea may also be used (this can be misleading due to the storage conditions and its impact on aging). If I am preparing a Sheng Gong Fu-Style, then I use boiling water and adjust my steeping time accordingly. Experiment and see what works best for your palate!

If you would like to learn more about this exciting new venture, my focus and what makes it unique, my program options, and how I work, please visit https://vitalityholisticwellness.net. We just launched the site and it was tested, but please let me know if anything is not working properly. I know many of you have been waiting for this announcement, and I apologize for the delay, so 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 discovery call directly through the website. I also have a new email address specific for Vitality business kristine@vitalityholisticwellness.net. Please direct any inquiries regarding my health coaching services to the new email. I receive around 300 emails daily to the Infuse email, I am VERY behind, and emails, unfortunately, tend to get lost in the volume. I will be able to see the emails for Vitality business in a more timely manner if you send them to this new email address. Even though I am extremely excited to be able to offer these services, I will be limited with the number of clients I can accept at a given time. The amount of time that I will be spending with each client and investigating their case will be sizeable and will need to be fit into my already jam-packed 70-hour workweek. I do not want to overextend myself and prefer, instead, to devote the time and focus necessary to meet, if not exceed, your expectations as we work toward optimal wellness for you.

October 10, 1989 is the day that my life changed and put me on the path on which I have been traveling. I went from being an 18-year old plebe at West Point to not being able to get out of bed in the morning or do simple things like brush my teeth to spending decades researching my conditions for relief to finally finding some answers and beginning the rebuilding of my body. This year on October 10^th, instead of adding another anniversary year to this journey of feeling unwell, I started the clock over. This October 10^th I celebrated my renewal, my restoration of vitality, and the experiences that will unfold during my next 32 years and beyond. If you would like to read my health story, please click here. For those of you who have been receiving my newsletters for some time, you probably know that brevity is not a strength of mine. My 32-year health story is rather long – it is 32 years after all - so be sure to grab a mug of your favorite tea or tisane :)

All of your favorite autumn teas and a few new ones are available! Apple Molasses Black Tea, Gingered Vanilla Toddy Black Tea, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Black Tea, Pumpkin Pie Black Tea, Roasted Chestnut Black Green & Yerba Mate Blend, Maple Walnut Green Tea, Rooibos Maple Walnut Herbal Tisane, Rooibos Pumpkin Creme Herbal Tisane, Rooibos Pumpkin Spice Herbal Tisane, and our house-blended Mulling Spice Organic Herbal Tisane. New this year: Persian Market Black Tea and Rooibos Pistachio Pomegranate Herbal Tisane. The Persian Market is an ode to the customer-favorite Persian Bazaar Black Tea that we were no longer able to source and it has the similar notes of pistachio, sweet spices, and rose. The inspiration is the same, but the flavor is a little different, hence the name change. Looking forward to getting your thoughts on this replacement! :)

Pumpkin Cinnamon and Chai macarons are now available!! Or select from 24 other delicious flavors :)

New povitica has arrived at the shop! This satisfying treat is part of my Croatian and Slovenian heritage and is perfect with tea. It's a yeast dough that is rolled out very thin, slathered with delicious fillings, and then rolled up so that there are beautiful swirls when it is cut. It is available in the following flavors: traditional Walnut & Honey, Apple Cranberry Walnut, Apricot, and Chocolate.

Effie's Biscuits are fully restocked as well...and with new flavors too! They have added Almond, Ginger, and Walnut to their delicious line-up of Cocoa, Corn, Oatcakes, Pecan, and Rye. These shortbread-like biscuits are not-too-sweet and make a perfect accompaniment to your tea.

Lots of great tea ware items have arrived for the upcoming holiday season! Many new patterns of the 14-ounce latte-style mugs will be available and they will also be used in our popular Holiday Mug Sets that we assemble each year. We also got some new infuser mugs, teapots, and beautiful tea-for-ones and are completely restocked in the customer favorite Dew Mugs. We'll be getting the new products on the floor in the shop over the next several weeks and we're working on getting some of them in the online shop as well. Many of these items will be featured on our facebook over the next few months, so be sure to check it out! :)