Noah Kopito pours tea at Hidden Peak. Owner David Wright believes in creating a tea experience that’s accessible to everyone.
Stepping off the busy downtown streets and into the Hidden Peak Teahouse is truly like stepping into another world: the noise of Pacific Avenue fades and gives way to Japanese flute and a bubbling fountain. The entrance is shrouded with exotic plants, the walls are decorated with ornate Chinese carvings and people from all walks of life are slowly sipping small clay cups of tea.
Upon entrance, my digital voice recorder immediately died. The owner, David Wright, took it as a normal occurrence.
“Those things tend to happen here. Digital things fall apart,” he explains. Hidden Peak policy requests that all who enter turn off any digital devices: cell phones, computers, iPods, even Kindles or e-Readers.
“The presence of glowing screens is just not what we are going for here. It’s not conducive to the atmosphere we are trying to create,” says Wright.
Indeed, the difference in atmosphere within the Hidden Peak is palpable. In place of haste and hurry, the Hidden Peak offers a serene environment, with both indoor and outdoor seating to enjoy high quality Chinese teas in many forms. Patrons can enjoy tea by the cup, or in the unique Gung Fu style, which is a ritual tea tradition from China. They also offer herbal tisanes and vegan snacks, as well as loose leaf teas to brew at home. If you want to take a deep dive into the warm waters of tea, they teach classes on all topics related to the subject.
One specialty of the Hidden Peak is Pu-erh, a fermented black tea grown only in the Yunnan province of China. This tea has a deep umber color, and an earthy, leathery and sometimes smoky flavor. Pu-erh has recently become popular, cropping up in coffee shops and health food stores, but the Hidden Peak offers quality and selection that is unrivaled locally.
“It’s easy to get mediocre teas, but where do you get stellar teas? In China, it’s really about who you know,” Wright says.
And it appears that he knows the right people. Under the guidance of his tea master in China, Wright hand selects all of his teas. He has found extraordinary varieties, some of which are even exclusive to his shop. Glimpsing through their menu, you may be impressed to find tea prices that range all the way up to $550 per serving.
While some of the teas may be exclusive, it is important to note that the Hidden Peak is anything but.
“This place is for everyone. I will always have a cup of tea that is $0.99 on my menu,” he explains, referring to the Big Bowl, which is a cup of their house Pu-erh.
Consistent through all of their offerings, though, is the ethic of Gung Fu, which stands on the pillars of precision, patience and skill and permeates every aspect of the Hidden Peak.
“I’m not interested in giving people a cranked out commodity with money as its incentive. Instead, [tea] is a practice that is clean, healthy, inspiring. It should remind you of a clean mountain stream. It should inspire the cleanness, the minerality, the actual flavors of the minerals, at its source.”
And at $5 per person, which is the price of many of their quality midrange teas, I’ll take it.
Hidden Peak Teahouse is at 1541 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz.
