Thank you to Joe at Happy Lucky’s Tea House for this taste!
Today I went for my regular Sunday Tea. Almost immediately after perching myself on a high barstool, a special bag of tea was whipped out from behind the bar by my grinning tea professional, Joe.
“Here it is, the 1982 Wenshan Baozhong I told you about,” said Joe.
“Heh, chimed in Eric, none of us were born when this was produced.”
(Which made me groan!)
“Really? Thanks!” I said, pretty excited to try a tea that old!
Instead of me bringing a tea for my friends to try, they had a special tea to share with me! An Oolong 30 years old from Taiwan!
Joe made sure that I was presented with the tea in a formal way for viewing at every stage of the process.
First, I looked at the long dark twisty leaves, some with a little green on the edges. I smelled them but they had little fragrance since they were so very old and dry, but they were lovely.
Next the tea was brewed in a Gaiwan and then poured into cups and the leaves placed in front of me so that I could smell the aroma. Whiskey, apple, tobacco, honey.
The fragrance of the wet leaves was unbelievable. Everything about the leaves was a symphony of shifting melodies.
The flavor was so delicate that as soon as I decided on one flavor it was gone and another took it’s place. Again another one was also elusive and gone. The flavor’s were moving around like sheets of silk on a breeze.
Plum, light colored jujube, honeysuckle, apricot, yellow delicious apple, yellow raisin, and always back to a mystery flavor or flavors that I could not figure out at all.
Oh my.
My friends had as much of a laugh at my delight in drinking this special tea as I have when I bring one to them.
This is what hospitality is truly all about!
Thank you Joe! http://flic.kr/p/d8Zvvs (Here’s Joe!)
What a cutie!! and a generous one to. Is he single? ;)
Yes but not for long. And he dances! He’s a lindy hop dancer!!!
lol I don’t doubt that he’ll be snatched up in a second!
I wish I could have visited Happy Lucky’s while I was in Fort Collins! There seems to be great teas there. Next time I’m in CO, I’ll have to stop by. Also, the other places you mentioned
Bonnie…I’ll fight you for him! I need a good man who can swing! teasing
Hey Bonnie, do they ever do live music at Happy Lucky’s? I’m thinking I should go on a Tea House tour… : )
Oh wow, he does the lindy hop! That’s wonderful!
He traveled internationally dancing! I think that the 4 young men Andy, Sam, Joe and Eric who work at Happy Lucky’s are the tea fearsome foursome! They know their stuff!
Now that “Joe” has been made aware of his fans (Hi there Joe)he not only doesn’t mind the nice comments but would return them based on my recommendations that you are all the cream of the crop, finest of the fine, fairest of them all (too many fairy tales).
Hi Terri, we occasionally have music at Happy Lucky’s. It’s gotta be the right fit though, since we are a small place. Shoot us an email if you’re going to be in town. [email protected]