Tea time has arrived for downtown business owner

Helping others has always been Kim Pyron’s cup of tea. But in her new role, it’s her tea that is doing the helping.
My Vintage Gypsy Tea’s and Magickal Makings opened on April 1 upstairs at 19 East Main Street and is holding its official grand opening this Saturday.
As for Pyron, she credits the inspiration for tea-making to her husband, and his job at a car dealership.
“I started with the tea because my husband has a stressful job and I wanted to make a tea blend that could help him sleep,” Pyron said. “I gave it to my friends and I didn’t tell them what it was going to do to them and they all called me back and said it tasted great, but they had the worst day at work because they slept all day. So it works.”
Once she realized she could help her friends and family through the power of tea, Pyron decided to take it a step further.
“I’m a retired nurse. And as a retired nurse, it’s very important that the ingredients in here we’re using are therapeutic and do help,” she said. “[So] I started with herbal teas that help you. They’re therapeutic, they’re here to help. There’s nothing in there that could be harmful to your body.”
Now, Pryon’s shop carries teas designed to help with all sorts of issues, from trouble sleeping to menstruation and even a “hangover tea,” for those looking for a more natural solution.
“There are certain herbs that help people,” she said. “A lot of times we think we need to take an Asprin or we think we need to take something that just comes from the drugstore when in reality we can take a lot of things that are natural that do help. So that’s where the base teas started because I have studied herbalogy and I have studied things like that that help people.”
But tea isn’t just about making the drinker feel better.
“From there, because I love tea and I’m southern, it grew,” Pyron said. “I wanted teas that really tasted good. And I wanted teas that I could actually bring here just to Dahlonega. I got started because I come from a place where I want to help people, with the herbal teas, but I also like tea that really tastes good.”
Pyron features locally inspired teas with names like “Dahlonega Gold Rush” and “Georgia on my Mind,” as well as other tea mixes, inspired by taste. But while these teas don’t include the herbal ingredients made to help, Pyron says there are health benefits to making any kind of tea.
“When you sit down to make a cup of tea, your blood pressure will reduce because you’ve slowed down and become mindful of that moment,” she said. “The process of making the tea itself, it puts you in a space of calm automatically. It allows you to slow down. How many times are we running around in the day: ‘I need a coffee, I’m just going to drive through Starbucks,’ you don’t even slow down. They’re going to hand it through the window to us. We’re going to go to Chick-fil-a and get that iced tea. What if I had to boil a cup of water, sit down, wait five minutes for it to steep and be there, be present. It’s so much more calming just in doing that. It’s just sitting down and enjoying that moment and what’s there in it.”
Pyron also strives to help the community through the profits of her teas. A portion of each purchase from her shop goes toward the Rainbow Children’s Home in Dahlonega, which works with girls between the ages of 12 and 18 that have suffered from abuse or neglect.
“As a nurse and just a person, it’s very difficult for me to see anyone that’s hurting. It’s very difficult for me to see anybody that has had to struggle or has been abused in any way,” she said. “So the Rainbow House was just a natural place for me to partner with because I do have a teenage daughter.”
As for her store, Pyron takes pride in the fact that her shop is a little different.
“It’s a little bit different, it is more of an experience and it is more hands-on if you will.
They’re fun, I name them all. Alexis [Avery] and I bag them all up. You get to come in and you get to smell the teas. Because I think when you smell them you determine what it is that you like.”
Starting with this Saturday’s grand opening, My Vintage Gypsy Tea’s and Magickal Makings will be hosting events on the second Saturday of each month, called “CommuniTEAS.” The events will be aimed at celebrating the community around Dahlonega as well as the shop’s tea. For more information on the events, the shop and Pyron, visit myvintagegypsy.net.