To Your Health

Wellness Teas Help to Fight What Ails You

The holidays are behind us. All the later-than-usual nights, the merry making at parties, and yes, the occasional over indulgence in alcohol and rich foods can take its toll on your immune system. And with a compromised immune system comes colds, disrupted sleep, a lack of focus, and stress.

What if you could brew up an antidote to all of the above and more? What if your afternoon pick-me-up was packed with polyphenols (phytochemical antioxidant powerhouses), amino acids, and catechins (the class of flavonoids that make green tea such a super hero)? Well, toss the what-ifs out the window because at Happy Lucky’s we carry a host of wellness teas that will see you through the winter and stave off all sorts of nastiness.

Our wellness blends are chock full of goodness—both in taste and the ingredients we use. Happy Lucky’s Leafsters are knowledgeable about adaptogenic herbs and roots, which have been used for centuries in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine and play a big part in our formulation. Adaptogens work by interacting with the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal (HPA) triad which regulates the body’s response to stress and fatigue. They may adjust hormone production and physiological responses to stress so that your body—from your mind to your energy levels and immune system—functions as it should.

Wellness teas are a quick and easy health tonic. With today’s busy modern day lifestyles, swapping out a latte for a more healthful herbal option is much easier than trying for a complete diet and exercise overhaul. While we absolutely advocate for a balanced lifestyle, supplementing your healthy habits with wellness teas is a direct route to managing the stressors that our overloaded calendars stack on top of us. Take a look at Happy Lucky’s wellness blends (and their powerful ingredients) that will boost your energy, build immunity, and make you feel so much better. Because, you’re worth it.

Koala Bear’s Nasal Care: When your nose is running off your face, this tea made from eucalyptus, spearmint, peppermint, lemongrass, chamomile, orange peel, ginger, clove, nettle, and licorice will slow the pace and let you take that deep breath you’ve been longing for.

Hangover Monkey: Your go-to day-after make-it-better tea. Dandelion, burdock, roasted chickory and nettle help your liver detoxify, while skullcap eases the nerves with some assistance from goji berries. Schizandra berries provides more protection for the liver; rose hips give a bit of vitamin C; a touch of black tea should put a little bounce back in your step; licorice root and orange add a nice lingering sweet finish.

Vitalitea:What’s in a name? In this instance, everything. Vitalitea is exactly what the name says it is, and is blended with alfalfa, red raspberry leaf, tulsi, chamomile, ginkgo biloba, nettle leaf, red clover, rose hips, lemongrass and hibiscus. 

Be Well: A TKO blended with ginger root, linden leaf and flower, lemon myrtle, french vervaine, lemongrass, orange peel, echinacea purpea tops and roots, nettle leaf, rose hips, pao d’ arco bark and lemon peel delivers a punch that ratchets up your immune system.

Cosmic Cold: Find relief from the  sneezes, headaches, sore throat and aches and pains that come with colds with this blend of chamomile, yarrow, feverfew, elder berry, elder flower, red clover, rose hips, hibiscus, yerba santa, cinnamon and lemon peel. 

Peppermint Pat-Tea: So much goodness is found in this tea. Peppermint, marsh mallow root, and ginger soothe upset stomaches. Slippery elm bark makes a sore throat feel oh, so much better. And chocolate? That’s for the extra yumminess. (So much yumminess.) 

Ginger Orange Carrot:Dried orange peel, carrot, ginger, and turmeric. That is an antioxidant super cocktail, guaranteed to shoot your immune system through the stratosphere.

Golden Chai’Ld: Turmeric, CTC Assam black tea, pepper corns, coconut, and cinnamon show inflammation the door. Buh-bye!

Moon Cycle:Tame monthly cramps, bloating and stress with our exclusive blend of dong quai, marshmallow, licorice, cramp bark, roasted dandelion, ginger, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, and sarsparilla. 

Baby on Board: Take good care of your most precious cargo with red raspberry leaf, alfalfa, nettle, spearmint, rose hips, linden leaf and flower, as well as a touch of fennel seed. 

Detox Herbal Blend:Your liver will love this blend of goji berries, burdock root, dandelion root, licorice root, orange peel, and roasted chicory root. Long lasting sweetness of licorice and orange peel make this tea extra special. 

Long winter months can be tough. Be good to yourself. Have a cup of wellness tea. Each one of them is super good, super healthful, and quite possibly, your very own super power.

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Chocolate Tea: The Treat that Treats You Back

Chocolate tea. It’s rich and delicious and indulgent. The flavor profile is complex and sophisticated. Add milk (we like it frothed) and a shot of sugar or honey, and you have a mugful of happiness: delightful and just right any time of the day. For the non-dairy, no sugar alternative, chocolate tea is delicious with coconut milk and just a touch of stevia or coconut sugar. We’re featuring chocolate teas this month — perfect for a guilt-free holiday treat. (And as a gift for your chocolate loving friends.)

At Happy Lucky’s, we blend our chocolate teas with cacao hulls, not artificial flavorings or syrups. We carefully choose the base teas and other ingredients to craft our very own unique teas that you simply cannot find anywhere else.

Cacao hulls are the thin, papery skins the surround the whole cacao bean. They contain generous amounts of amino acids and theobromine, a naturally occurring compound found in both cacao plants and tea leaves. Theobromine affects the body similarly to caffeine, but with a much gentler come-down. It’s been shown to lower blood pressure, improve brain function, and increase airflow to the lungs. Even better, it naturally promotes health enamel in teeth — that’s not going to happen with a candy bar. Score!

You’re bound to find a chocolate tea (Or two. Or three.) that will tickle your taste buds and in some instances, your tummy. Peppermint Pat-Tea, for instance, contains ginger, slippery elm bark, and marsh mallow root that have known benefits for stomach upsets and also aid in digestion.   Or try Chocolate Mints, an herbal blend that doubles your pleasure with peppermint and spearmint.

Chocolate Chai is blended with chocolate (of course) Rooibos Chocolate Orange, Rooibos Vanilla, ginger, cinnamon bark chips, cloves, cardamom, orange peel, and nutmeg. 

Aztec Chocolate is the tea lovers answer to Mexican hot chocolate. The chocolate, cinnamon, and Happy Lucky’s super secret blend of peppers and chilis will warm you from the belly up. 

Who doesn’t love chocolate and raspberries? The sprightly tartness of the berries and the rich velvety chocolate make Rooibos Chocolate Raspberry a creamy, decadent, and delicious treat. 

If you haven’t given Pu-er a try, Chocolate Aire is a great start. It’s a deep and earthy tea that blends China Topaz Pu-er, chocolate, and two vanilla teas — rooibos and black — with a touch of roasted chicory root. 

With so many chocolate teas to choose from, there really is only one response: yes, please.

Nuo Mi Xiang Ch — The Secret Ingredient in Kheer Chai

Like a bowl of Kheer, the beloved rice pudding dessert of India, Happy Lucky’s Kheer Chai is sweet smelling with cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and one very special ingredient: nuo mi xiang cha. Known as “sticky rice herb,” nuo mi xiang cha is a rare plant indigenous to southern China’s Yunnan province. The crushed leaves release a scent similar to basmati rice.

All you need is one whiff of this tea from the sniffer can to know it’s something very special and very unique. And it was a long time in the making.

“We used to carry pressed disks of sticky rice pu-er and it was pretty common to see Rich (one of our Leafsters) run around and grab herbs from here and there — cardamom, cinnamon, and sometimes ginger — to make a tea that tasted similar to rice pudding,” explains Master Blender and store manager, Andy. Because he was blending per cup, the tea was never quite the same each time and Andy encouraged Rich to create a blend that could be offered on our Great Wall of Tea.

“I wanted to blend something that would taste and smell like kheer,” says Rich. “It’s one of my favorite foods, and it became a goal of mine to recreate it as a tea. The “sticky rice” herb became a foundational element, and it grew from there.”

The result: comfort food in a tea cup.

While it’s common to find nuo mi xiang cha pressed into pu-er discs, it’s difficult to find the herb in its pure form. Andy contacted one of Happy Lucky’s suppliers who has many Chinese sources, and this request was a head scratcher. While the supplier had never seen nuo mi xiang cha offered on its own, she knew it was found in pu-er villages and is frequently offered in local hotels as an alternative to tea because it’s so warming and delicious.

Soon, a kilo of nuo mi xiang cha arrived at Happy Lucky’s and the experimentation commenced. China Velour Pu-er is the base, providing a layered and complex flavor profile. (Pu-er is fermented; processed in such a way to encourage microbial fermentation after the leaves are dried, resulting in a deep, rich tea.) Then something magic happened when a pinch of this and a sprinkle of that were added to added to the loose-leaf China Pu-er tea. 

A perfect “it’s getting colder outside” drink, Kheer Chai is delicious on its own, but Rich recommends it with a splash of milk and sugar or honey to get the full “rice pudding” effect. It’s a wonderful way to start the morning or for sipping to get you through a mid-afternoon slump. Keep in mind, pu-er is caffeinated, so Kheer Chai may not the be ideal pre-bedtime drink.

We promise you will fall in love with this new blend just as much as we have.

Kheer Chai

… with a side of (homemade) Kheer.

1,000 Cranes for Peace

We did it. This April, you wonderful people banded together and helped us fold 1,000 cranes between our two teahouses.  Now it is time to figure out where to send them. So far we have two nominations, but are welcoming more.

1. The Family of  Robert W. Napier (Bobby and her three children)

 

 

Shawn Grey-Schulte, the founder of the Iron Horse Challenge Facebook page with the primary focus on the fight to end ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) nominated the family of Robert Hawkins-Napier.  Robert was a father of three, a loving husband, and a lived with ALS for over a decade before passing away this March.

Robert’s wife, Bobby,  was his primary care nurse, which cost the family dearly.  Shawn wanted to nominate Bobby and her kids because he sees them in need of the gift of peace and any symbols that can help them through the rough time ahead.

2. People of Palestine

Sheryl Martin is nominating the country of Palestine to send some peace. Palestine is presently undergoing a genocide and has had ongoing oppression since 1948.  The Palestinians are losing hope as many of their children are being killed and imprisoned.

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This list will be updated when we have more nominations. Who would you send a message of peace? Let us know on Facebook.

Pemberley Woods Afternoon Tea at Happy Lucky’s

Celebrate mom right this Mother’s Day. Treat her (and yourself) to a three-course Tea Party! Catered by the wonderful people at Pemberley Woods, this Mother’s Day is a guaranteed success if you join us at our Old Town teahouse.

Each course has been paired with one of our high-quality loose-leaf teas, with the option to substitute an Herbal Blend if you so choose.

May 13th, 2018

Seatings at 1 pm & 3 pm. 

$27.95 for adults | $17.95 for Kids (12 and under)

Call (970) 689-3417 to reserve seats

Gluten free and Vegan options available if noted when booking a reservation.

Kid’s Menu  (12 and under)

Course 1

Classic Cucumber Tea Sandwich

Turkey and Earl Grey Honey Apple Butter Tea Sandwich

Strawberry and Cream Cheese Tea Sandwich

Course 2

Milk Scones served with butter, preserves, and cream

Course 3

Berry Tarts

Mini Eclairs

Cranes for Peace at Happy Lucky’s Teahouse

There is an ancient Japanese legend that said if you folded one thousand paper cranes you would be granted a wish. The wish of Sadako Sasaki, who survived the Hiroshima bombing of Japan in 1945, was diagnosed with leukemia from the radiation, was to live. The story of her bravery and resilience resonated with the world, and the symbolism of paper cranes has been associated with peace and hope ever since.

This April we want to put energy into the idea of peace. Peace within ourselves through meditation, and peace for the world through acts of charity and good intentions. Throughout April we will be folding paper cranes in both teahouses, and at the end of the month we will count our cranes (hopefully making it to one thousand) and send a wish of peace to someone.

We will vote on social media to determine who to send the cranes to, so be sure to follow us on Facebook!

Make Your Tea Happy with CBD Infused Honey

Feeling stressed? Body a little tense? Make your tea (and your body) Happy with a shot of CBD infused honey. We’re excited to have Farmhouse Hemp products at the teahouse because it’s one more way we can help Nourish Your Happy. You can add a 10mg honey shot for only $1.50 for a relaxing happy feeling in your body. Studies show it can reduce stress, reduce inflammation, and ease nausea.  We measure it out with an actual syringe, so you get exactly what you pay for.

What is CBD?

CBD (Cannabidiol) is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid compound found in the hemp plant. That means to won’t get you high (that’s THC) from ingesting CBD products.  CBD doesn’t even affect the same receptors that THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) does, so your mind stays present. It is extracted from the seeds, stalks, and flowers of the hemp plant. THC, on the other hand, comes from the flowering tops and leaves. 

It is legal to purchase and consume CBD under U.S. Federal law as long as it’s extracted from hemp. Hemp is a non-psychoactive variety of Cannabis sativa L. that contains less than 0.3% THC. The marijuana plant is in the same genus as hemp, but their chemical makeup is not identical.  So don’t worry, you’re not breaking the law when you treat yourself to a bit-o CBD. 

CBD Benefits 

Studies are beginning to discover a ton of amazing health benefits of CBD. It’s been as beneficial for treating inflammation, pain, anxiety, seizures, spasms, and nausea, according to Medical News Today.

Why Farmhouse Hemp?

We chose to partner with Farmhouse Hemp because they are dedicated to natural processes, local ingredients, and authenticity in every part of their business. The high quality, pure full-spectrum hemp oil is made naturally (no weird solvents here!) from 100% local products. They hold themselves accountable by 3rd party testing, which they publish on their website.

The hemp they grow is 100% organic and local to Colorado. Each batch of hemp rosin is tested at a Colorado State University Lab to determine the CBD concentration and is published on Farmhouse Hemp’s website.

They use heat and pressure to extract the CBD, which eliminates the need for solvents. This guarantees their products are full-spectrum hemp oil.

Full-Spectrum hemp oil is pure, concentrated CBD that you can use orally or topically. The terpenoids and trace amounts of other cannabinoids contribute to the relaxing effect CBD has on your body. Terpenoids are oils that are secreted from the plant’s glands and are responsible for the aroma of cannabis. Those oil compounds along, with cannabinoids, increase blood flow, enhance cortical activity, and kill respiratory pathogens, according to a study published in the British Journal of Pharmacology.

Happy Lucky’s Wellness Bombs

CBD honey shots are the perfect addition to any herbal blend. Some of our favorite Wellness Bombs are Be Well, Ginger Orange Carrot, Vitali-Tea, and all of our chai blends. If you’re getting pure-leaf tea, we suggest you order a honey shot of CBD on the side, as the honey can overpower some of the flavors. But when it comes down to it, it’s your tea. Take it how you want it!

CBD Honey Shots, they’re CD-licious!