For many many years of my life I have been cultivating an inner listening and learning to allow my life to be guided by Nature

Before Traveling Tea, I spent many years studying metaphysics and learning various healing modalities including studying Plant Spirit Medicine with Eliot Cowan, and Journey method with Brandon Bays. All of this helped me to get a strong sense of “listening” to my own inner guidance – which many times seems at odds with what makes sense to my rational mind. I thought I was going to make a career in the metaphysical or healing realm but that path never fell into place. In 2008/2009 the idea and opportunity did fall into place to start Traveling Tea – which I saw as a way of serving my community via the plant spirits of Tea.

It is this sense of service to something larger than myself that kept me putting one step in front of the other as it took a Very long time to make any profit, and why I never “quit the day job”. That is why we don’t “look like” traditional businesses that are open 5-7 days a week; and yet, it also allows us to weather changes, and stay open when so many businesses around us are closing.

In 2008 as I was considering the possibility of where and how to start a tea business, making high quality teas readily available to the St Louis market, the idea of starting at the Tower Grove Farmers Market (TGFM) was the “click” that set everything into motion – the name and the logo both popped into my mind with that sense of commitment. From 2009-2019 that was a fixture of my life – and it introduced Traveling Tea to you. It allowed TT to get established and open a brick and mortar store in Maplewood in 2013 and meet and serve more of you.

In November 2021 when it came time to consider participation in the 2022 TFGM season, my inner sense said “No”. It didn’t make conscious sense as we know many of you miss our presence there – and I do so much enjoy serving you Good tea – but then several months later both my employees made career and life decisions that meant I needed to hire all new staff, and I did not have the framework of support that I needed to keep up with all the extra work of attending Market. This, combined with grief and life changes of losing my sister, made me realize that my inner sense knew what was going on better than my mind did.

I got a ‘NO’ re: participation again for the 2023 TGFM season, and this year I find myself supporting a dear friend as she is aging and losing control of her faculties and needs assistance with the details of everyday living. Time I would have spent on Market related tasks can be used to support her.

My point in sharing this with you is 1) to help you to understand why I cannot be at the Market – and I do miss serving you there; and 2) to give you an insight from my experience about how life can work if you develop a method for connecting with your own sense of Knowing

The answers and guidance are there – IF you ask the right questions. A basic tenet of my life is learning to ask the right questions, and pay attention to the answers I am getting. I remember advice that Eliot Cowan gave regarding the best way to follow what seems to be inner guidance (paraphrased, and he was talking about methods of spiritual healing, but I have found it applies to life too): “start taking steps in that direction and see what happens; if it is really guidance you will see results. If not, then it was probably just your own mind”

2023 thus far has been about adding more teas and items for your enjoyment; and we are excited about the return of the Scottish Games, at Schroeder Park in Manchester this year, Saturday 5/6/2023.

Even though I have not been doing much in the way of emails or texts (or even keeping up these pages) we are still working to serve you.

It is my dearest wish that our teas and our time can be a support for you. Thank you for honoring us with your trust.

With the Spirit of Tea – Kateri

Why we did not have a year-end sale for 2021….

I am sorry – I know many of you look forward to this sale each year. I hope to offer one this month to make up for it (January being “Hot Tea Month”).

My sister, Nanka Castulik-Byrne, died the week before Christmas. She passed on quickly with little pain and no long-term care or hospitalization. She died at home, with her husband (Bob) by her side.

We have always been rather pragmatic about death – and yet, there is a natural expression of grief – arising as a need for silence or pulling away from extra activity – the stillness of Winter. Between meeting the barest needs of the shop and my day job I had nothing left in me to attend to the behind the scenes pieces to implement and promote a sale. It seemed healthier and more important to me to respect the urges of my body/mind rather than the outward responsibility and routines of the business. There must be some benefit to being a business owner after all, to be able to make this call.

It is largely thanks to Nanka and her husband that Traveling Tea even exists. She gave me encouragement and support (emotional and financial) in the “getting started” hurdle – and then more, when I expanded into our storefront in Maplewood. She was a staunch supporter of buying local and regular attendee of the Tower Grove Farmers Market. She was also very passionate about women’s rights and safety – working for and with Safe Connections for many many years.

Nanka donated her body to SLU for the benefit of scientific research and, per her wishes, there will be no memorial service. Raise a cup of tea with your warm wishes for her memory and her family. She and Bob had a favorite “morning tea” of Earl Grey White Tip with milk and sugar. As a tribute from me, for her love and support, I will be donating a portion of proceeds for all Earl Grey White Tip sales from December 2021 through December 2022 to Safe Connections. If you would also like to make your own memorial gift, visit https://safeconnections.org/give/donate-now/