I wrote to Kate after I saw this today and she wrote back already. My understanding was correct. I think the new policy is perfectly reasonable and am not disappointed at all. Here's what she said:

"We had to put this policy in place because we have been receiving huge group orders from overseas with 12 or more samples of various colors - 12 Apple Blossom Samples, 12 Honey Rose Samples etc. They cost a fortune to mail and take forever to fill.

We didn't want to say only one sample per color, because some people get an extra or 2 for friends and family, but we have to cap it at 4 per color. Of course we still want people to be able to try all of the samples that interest them."