SANTA CRUZ — a number of steps off the hustle and bustle of Pacific Avenue could be a quiet spot where you’ll be able to get off the treadmill and notice respite in an exceedingly cup of tea. simply don’t bring your telephone, laptop, or iPad — Hidden Peak Teahouse could be a digital-free zone.
“It’s like walking into a unique country, or a unique time,” said proprietor David Wright, 41, a tea aficionado for thirteen years who opened Hidden Peak per week ago along with his wife Marilee.
The couple, who operated a small tea search, Chaikana-Tea Culture, 9 years downtown, have moved into Plaza Lane, formerly home to Rhythm Fusion, an area that’s four times larger.
A fountain of gently effervescent water and a palm tree sit at the doorway of the coated patio furnished with rattan chair and tables. within the one,300-square-foot teahouse will seat forty folks. The decor is jap, with a scroll in Chinese characters saying “Go eat tea” and another that includes a 500-year-old poem regarding seven bowls of tea.
Tables imported from China are equipped with drains to arrange Hidden Peak’s specialty, exotic teas referred to as pu-erh. this type of tea comes pressed within the form of a brick and ages like wine. One brick will price $10, or $7,500, up to $20,000.
“They reclaim with age,” said Wright as he poured hot water over a small pot and 2 cups for “gung fu” service. “This one is regarding seven years recent.”
He said the brick of tea is powerful enough to be steeped up to sixty times.
“You’re inspired to spill and slurp,” he added. “ It’s terribly liberating.”
Prices for pu-erh vary from $5 to $550 per pot. A bowl of house mix tea is ninety nine cents; a glass of tea $1.99.
Wright considers the tea-drinking expertise “a sacred time,” one that ought to not be disrupted by high-tech devices. He offers patrons an in-house library, chess, backgammon and Chinese checkers.
The reaction to the digital-free policy?
“There’s been no complaints and lots of thankfulness,” Wright said.
He offers dried fruit, seeds and nuts to accompany the tea, and is yearning for a vendor to produce tea snacks.
Patrons will sample and purchase quite seventy five teas in bulk and purchase teaware or antiques. One uncommon piece could be a 500-year-old shipwrecked tea bowl for $70.
The transform, completed by Slatter Construction, price regarding $22,000, together with an ad kitchen needed by the town, new bogs to accommodate folks with disabilities, new floors, windows and doors and contemporary paint.
“We are backed by a personal investor,” Wright said.
He credited his landlords, John and Karen Huffman, for investing in building enhancements that created Hidden Peak doable.
The name refers to the mountains where the tea is grown.