Hello to you all and I hope that everything continues to be well!
The shop is abuzz getting ready for the upcoming holiday season. Where has the time gone??!! Our holiday teas, samplers, and popular tea mug sets will be available Thanksgiving weekend and all will be available in the online shop the week of November 23rd so that they can be shipped or pre-ordered for pick up at the shop beginning that weekend. Our autumn teas remain available for you to enjoy and the complete list, along with this year's holiday teas, is outlined toward the bottom of the newsletter below. Some other goodies have also recently arrived :)
Saturday 11/28 is Small Business Saturday, so be sure to support all of your favorite small businesses. Please mark your calendars that this year's Women's Expo will be held virtually on Thursday 12/10. This Expo, which has been held for many years at Middle Country Public Library in October, features women entrepreneurs from around Long Island and is always a much anticipated event each year. I will be exhibiting again this year, if I am selected. It is a great event to find some wonderful gifts for the holidays and to support some extremely talented, creative, and hard-working local women. Details will be shared once I receive them!
The shop will be open for extended hours and additional days for all of your holiday shopping needs during the holiday season and our full schedule is outlined below. Our current hours and schedule updates can always be found on the shop website www.infuseteabarny.com. And to show my appreciation for your support of my small business throughout the year, I'll once again be having a holiday raffle. The details for our 9th Annual Holiday Raffle will be announced next month, so stay tuned!
The newsletters have been a bit long for the past few months because I needed to keep communicating all the changes in policies and procedures in the shop. I have finally been able to put this year's newsletters on www.pleasuresoftea.com, so I don't have to continue to communicate some of the same information each month. You will also find information about some of our functional blends, new teas, and the iced tea tips that we send out in June. New policies and procedures were communicated last month in order to be proactive and get ahead of the anticipated increase in wait times at the shop that will occur during the busiest times. Below I have added a few new requests for your visits and listed only a few of the key points that have already been communicated in prior months. You may read all of the details in last month's newsletter by clicking here. For your reference, the new COVID policies and procedures have also been added to the shop website www.infuseteabarny.com. As the COVID situation continues to be fluid, any additional updates will be communicated in future newsletters, on our facebook page, and put on the shop website.
As mentioned in last month's newsletter, at this time of year I like to focus the content of the newsletter on teas and tisanes for immune support. The focus last month was about how teas and tisanes can support your immune system, which is especially important since coronavirus will be accompanying the cold and flu this year. This month we're going to discuss how teas and tisanes can provide support to other systems of the body so as not to put undue stress and strain on the immune system.
Lastly, a reminder that pre-orders for pick up at the shop are strongly encouraged to reduce the lines and wait time outside. The new website for our online shop www.pleasuresoftea.com was launched in August and the vast majority of our 500+ loose leaf teas and herbal tisanes are there. I haven't focused so much on adding the other items yet because they are more off-the-shelf and do not require the amount of time that pouching up your teas does. We ship nationwide and the new website will make it easy for you to place your pre-orders for pick up at the shop. Please see details below under the new procedures regarding the best way to place your pre-orders and the requested steps to ensure that we can continue to serve you in the best way possible.
I appreciate your continued support of my small business and I wish you all much health and delicious tea!
-- Kristine
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Holiday Schedule
The shop will be open on several additional days and for extended hours during the holiday season for your shopping needs and to hopefully spread out the anticipated increase in traffic during the busy holiday season. Please also note the days the shop will be closed and our annual post-holiday break for some much needed recuperation. This schedule is in place of our usual hours beginning Wednesday 12/16 through Wednesday 1/13.
Additional Days & Extended Hours
Wednesday 12/16 through Sunday 12/20 11:00 to 6:00
Monday 12/21 through Wednesday 12/23 11:00 to 7:00
Christmas Eve Thursday 12/24 11:00 to 3:00
Saturday 12/26 through Wednesday 12/30 11:00 to 5:00
New Year's Eve Thursday 12/31 11:00 to 3:00
Saturday 1/2 11:00 to 5:00
Sunday 1/3 11:00 to 4:00
Closures
Thanksgiving Day Thursday 11/26
Christmas Day Friday 12/25
New Year's Day Friday 1/1
Monday 1/4 through Wednesday 1/13
As a reminder, current hours, along with future schedule changes and policies, can always be found on our shop website www.infuseteabarny.com.
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New Shop Procedures Reminder
As you know, my shop is not an off-the-shelf shop; instead, I offer a customer-focused approach where everything is custom prepared to order and we offer the unique option of having any of our 500 teas prepared fresh for you either hot or iced. The benefit to this approach provides the greatest flexibility to personalize your experience and best meet your needs, but the downside is that everything takes time to prepare and there are no shortcuts. Due to the personalized nature of your shop experience, the need to limit the number of people in the shop and follow COVID-19 guidelines, all transactions take much longer to process and I am not able to assist as many people at a time or in a day as I used to. As a result, new procedures have been implemented in the hopes that they will provide more structure to the operations at the shop, reduce your need to wait in a line outside in the cold, and enable flexibility so that I can keep the traffic moving into and out of the shop, while still being able to maintain the welcoming and educational atmosphere as best as possible.
Even though traffic is not at the levels of the past, order preparation is getting backed up because of the amount of time it takes to prepare everything. Even not reaching the levels of daily holiday traffic that have occurred in prior years, I have estimated that 75% of daily orders at the shop will need to be pre-ordered in order to keep up with traffic. As of now, only 25%-30% of daily orders are being pre-ordered. I am trying to keep the shop open for everyone to be able to browse and offer the flexibility to meet your needs, but I need your assistance in order to be able to achieve this.
New recommendation: I am requesting that anyone purchasing teas for personal use to please do so by Friday 12/11, in order to reduce traffic during the two weeks leading up to Christmas, or stop in the shop after Christmas. These two weeks are peak browsing time and people tend to be in the shop longer as they look for holiday gifts. This will further slow down the flow of traffic in the shop and increase wait time and lines outside. The shop will be open the entire week after Christmas and the weekend of 1/2 and 1/3 for any necessary re-stocks before the shop is closed for a much needed post-holiday break.
Policies & Procedures
- Please do not come to the shop if you are feeling under-the-weather.
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Please DO NOT input your credit card info if you plan to pay in cash or browse and/or add items to your order at the shop. Instead, please select the "Pay when picking up order" payment option so everything can be processed as one order. If there is a line when you arrive at the shop, then you will need to wait in line.
- As a reminder, the minimum quantity for each tea in the online shop is the standard 2 oz. pouch (unless it is $15/oz or more). If there are a few teas that you would like to order a 1 oz pouch or if there is a tea or functional herb that you couldn't find in the online shop, then please mention the tea and quantity in the Comments section at checkout. Please DO NOT input your credit card info for these orders; instead select the "Pay when picking up order" payment option.
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The remaining policies and procedures that were communicated in October's newsletter have been posted to our shop website for easy reference and can be accessed by clicking here.
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Teas & Tisanes for Immune Support Part II
As was discussed in last month's newsletter, teas and tisanes are great options to have in your toolbox for immune support and I have been using them to support my own compromised immune system for over twenty years. To maintain health it is important to support the various systems of the body, but it is also equally important to eliminate bad habits or other activities that may compromise or negatively impact the function of these various systems. Immune support is rather complex and there are many variables that come into play. Teas and herbs that can be used specifically for supporting the immune system were discussed last month and you can read that content here if you missed it - just scroll down to the appropriate section. This month I'd like to focus on the importance of reducing stress and getting adequate quality sleep to help with immune support. As always, the greatest benefits are realized from a holistically healthy lifestyle, which also includes exercising or staying active, staying hydrated, and eating well in order to provide necessary nutrients, reduce inflammation and maintain good gut health. Decreasing or eliminating sugar, refined carbs, and alcohol will help to reduce strain on the immune system. It's never too late to get a jump start on supporting it!
Stress is probably the biggest contributing factor to chronic health issues, with estimates attributing it to approximately 80% of them. Stress is a natural part of life and there are several sources that we encounter daily, whether they be emotional, physical, biochemical, or environmental. Stress isn't always a bad thing though; in fact moderate stress helps to build resilience and enables us to be more adaptive. Unfortunately, there are many downsides to stress particularly when it has a destructive effect on the body and results in a cascade of symptoms that points to underlying dysfunction. Stress depresses the immune system, impacts the nervous system, can affect sleep, can impair cognitive function, can reduce the ability to digest food and thereby the absorption of the necessary nutrients, among many other effects. This is why it is so important to get a handle on stress and to incorporate practices that will help to mitigate the negative aspects that it has on our bodies.
So...be sure to incorporate stress-reducing activities daily! There are so many activities that you can incorporate and they don't need to take much time. But they DO need to be activities you enjoy - they shouldn't feel like just one more thing to add to the to-do list or another box that needs to be checked. They need to be meaningful and enriching to your life. Practice yoga or engage in other exercise or physical activity, meditate, do deep breathing exercises, take walks, garden, read, sew, knit, draw, paint, etc. But my favorite activity, as I'm sure you may guess, is tea appreciation. You may notice that I usually don't talk too much about drinking tea, but instead refer to appreciating it. There is a difference. Drinking tea is mindless, it doesn't engage all of the senses, and it is usually done while doing something else. Appreciating tea, however, is a meditative practice of mindfulness, it is a full-sensory experience, and it is very hard to be stressed while doing it. Any tea or tisane will do, so pick what speaks most to your body, mind, spirit and senses. While your water is heating up, you can incorporate these steps into your mindfulness meditative tea practice:
- Look at the dry leaves - color, shape, size, etc.
- Smell the dry leaves
- Measure or weigh the leaves and put into your steeping vessel (cup, teapot, infuser, etc.)
- Get your water to the appropriate temperature for the tea
- Pour the water over the leaves and inhale the steam that rises, breathe deeply and relax
- Cover the leaves and set your timer
- Breathe and focus on how you feel as the tea steeps, think about how the tea will make you feel, what is the taste and aroma that you expect to experience
- If your tea is steeping in a clear glass vessel, watch the leaves unfurl
- Breathe deeply
- After steeping, remove the leaves, look at them, smell them
- Look at the color of the infusion, smell the infusion, see what aromas you can identify
- Slowly sip the infusion, see what tastes and textures you can identify, how does it make your mouth feel, what are your emotions, is it what you expected
- Continue to slowly alternate between sipping the tea, inhaling the aroma, and breathing
- Give yourself permission to just relax and see how good it feels.......
- Feel free to adapt this ritual to whatever steps work for you - it should feel natural, not forced, and should be enriching and rejuvenating
Another reason why I love teas and tisanes for stress reduction is that they contain various nutrients that can induce relaxation or bathe the body with nutrients that can offset the negative effects of stress. Again, here I suggest that you select the ones that speak to you most - black, green, wulong, white, yellow, dark teas or any tisanes of your choosing! As discussed last month, just make sure they are good quality.
Tea leaves contains many healthy compounds and two of note include L-theanine and polyphenols. L-theanine, also referred to as theanine, is an amino acid that induces calm and relaxation, reduces stress, enhances cognitive focus and alertness, and strengthens the immune system. Polyphenols support the immune system and reduce the damage created by stress. Current research is showing that polyphenols may actually provide an adaptogenic action in the body, rather than that of an antioxidant, which are thought to provide a protective effect in the body and helping it to adapt to stress. I wrote more about this in last month's newsletter.
Tisanes were also discussed in last month's newsletter, but the ones of particular interest to us now are the nervine herbs. These herbs support and nourish the nervous system, which can be battered from stress and reduce our resiliency. These herbs can serve various actions in our bodies as follows:
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Relaxing nervine herbs help to relax and quiet the nervous system. There are many herbs in this category, they taste great, and can easily be included in a daily regimen. Just a few of these herbs include chamomile, lemon balm, linden, lemon verbena, lavender. Our Calm Organic Herbal Tisane, Chamomile Citrus Organic Herbal Tisane, or Chamomile Mint Herbal Tisane are some nice options.
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Tonic nervine herbs nourish the nervous system so that it can function optimally and they restore a nervous system that feels "frayed". These herbs include oatstraw, oat tops, skullcap, lemon balm. Our Nervine Tonic Organic Herbal Tisane is a really nice option here.
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Sedative nervine herbs have an even more relaxing effect than the relaxing nervine herbs and they may promote sleep. Sleep is one of the most critical practices that you can incorporate because your all over body function depends on it. Your immune system cannot be strong without proper sleep and your nervous system will not function optimally either. Good sedative herbs include valerian and kava kava. Chamomile may also work as a sedative for some. Our Pleasant Dreams Organic Herbal Tisane is a nice option here for those of you who aren't put off by the pungent earthiness of the valerian.
- Other nervine herbs help to quiet and relax the mind. A few examples are passion flower and California poppy.
All of the mentioned herbs are available in the shop and the bolded ones have links to the pages in our online shop. If you would like to include any of the straight herbs in your pre-orders, please indicate which one and how much in the Comments Section of your order. Due to unique individual responses to herbs, some may work better than others for your individual needs. Let us know how we can best help you find the herbs that will provide the greatest potential benefit.
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Autumn Teas & Goodies Are Available!
Your favorite flavors of fall 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. Due to the inability to source one of the blends we use for our Honeybush Apple Nut Crumble Herbal Tisane, the recipe has been revised and the blend is now back in stock. The new blend is slightly different than the original one, but the name stayed the same. I look forward to hearing your feedback on it!
The following goodies are available: Pumpkin Cinnamon, Peanut Butter Cup, and Chai Macarons. The deliciously swirled Pumpkin Spice and Apple Cranberry Walnut Povitica, which represent my Croatian and Slovenian heritage. Seasonal scone mix flavors Pumpkin Spice, Maple, and Apricot.
Holiday Teas will be available Thanksgiving weekend and will be live in the online shop earlier that week in order to accommodate pre-orders for pick up that weekend. Returning favorites include: Christmas Blend Black Tea, Chocolate Peppermint Black Tea, Rooibos Christmas Cookie (Vanilla & Walnut) Herbal Tisane, Rooibos Orange Gingerbread Herbal Tisane, Holiday Punch Fruit Tisane. Holiday Tea Samplers and our popular Mug Gift Sets will also be available. White Chocolate Peppermint Macarons will also be available Thanksgiving weekend. Yum! :)
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106 Main Street
West Sayville, NY 11796
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500+ Loose Leaf Teas & Herbal Tisanes
Certified - Tea Professional, Tea Sommelier & Tea Health Expert
Student of the Art & Science of Herbalism
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