About Us
Building Community Through Tea
The Hidden Peak Teahouse was founded on the principle that “a simple cup of tea” can change your day. For thousands of years humans have relied on this benevolent little leaf for its ability to give us fresh perspective. Accepting the challenges of the small business in the modern marketplace, combined with the fact that the country we live in is not historically a “tea culture,” we decided to go for it and give our community something special.
The Teas
There is ample knowledge out there in the world now, especially about the once illusive pu-erh teas, and we'd love to share its history with you, but we always want you to know that, when it comes to tea or anything else, don't let the so-called experts have the authority over your own inner understanding.
That said, we do think the way a tea is grown, handled, cared for, and processed makes a difference and that's why we take sourcing tea that is sustainable, approachable, organic, and well-tended by loving, happy tea people is important. Often, the processing of a tea we have can be traced by to people we know personally and that are dear friends. We think it might make a difference and you might think so, too.
In our lineage, seed-grown plants are paramount to the continued vitality of the tea. How they grow and the transformations that ensue in the harvesting and processing of the leaves are inextricably linked to this foundational prerequisite. Organic growing practices should be a given, in the "no brainer" category, but unfortunately the tea industry is plagued with an overabundance of chemicals in the yearly yield of tea worldwide. Handmade is essential, too, as direct human contact with living tea plants and hand-harvested leaf creates a symbiotic relationship that no machine could ever rival.
And, in the world of air-stored dark teas (pu-erh, liubao, liuan, fu and others), carefully managed environmental factors are needed to keep them clean and progressing towards their highest potential.
The information out there, the knowledge to be gained, is a wonderful place to continue your understanding of the tea and who it is; but allowing for the natural unfolding of your tea journey and trusting yourself is truly honoring yourself.
The Space
In a world of distraction and rushing from one thing to the next, we take our cue from the tea: come, sit, be.
Whether you're stopping in for a three hour long gung-fu tea session or just dropping by to do some shopping, we have curated a space that feels steeped in ancient, human, natural ways. A tea mercantile straight out of another era and a community tea service space for deep, heartfelt connection, necessarily free of modern distraction so you can find your rhythm in harmony with that of the simple, but precious infusion you imbibe.
We have taken care to gather furniture and decor from various places, including estate sales and antique stores, to create a unique lounge-like setting for our tea service space and an old world tea emporium feel for our retail space.
