Tea at the Unicorn Wine Guild

It’s a quiet evening here at the Unicorn Wine Guild.  The snow is falling gently and customers appear have decided to stay home this evening.  This is the last night we will be open until 9PM for a while.  The holiday hours did not seem to catch on.  Most evenings we were open late, everyone left by 7 anyway.  Traffic on Washington Boulevard slows on winter nights.  As I review the blessings 2010 brought us, I sip Serenity Chai.  It’s is a wonderful Rooibos, with aniseed, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and fennel.  We carry it here at the winery.  Yes, we are a winery.  But, we are also a tea room and retail shop.  While Joel and I worked full time jobs to support this business while it is in it’s infancy, Mandy did a great job keeping the shop stocked and the clients served.  She did a great job behind the scenes, too, developing tracking systems for the wines and customers.  We were blessed nearly a year ago with Stephanie, a talented artisan.  She is tackling the job of the baking part of the business, specializing in Gluten-Free.  I did not realize the need for the service, but quite a few are purchasing her goods.  And I will say they have improved greatly as she experiments.  She makes beautiful cakes and bows.  With her expertise, the gift baskets have taken on a new look.  Joel has expanded the wine selection to 34 and I have expanded the tea selection, coffee selection and the retail gifts.  There is so much to learn and without the great customers that we have, there would be no reason to continue.  Just last week we added Ashley to our staff and she promises to be a valuable asset.  Big changes are coming in 2011, from personnel to new teas, new classes and the expansion of our offerings.  There are so many things we want to do that we have to be careful not to expand too quickly.  Serenity Chai.   It’s a great tea.   May you find the serenity and joys that I have this last year. Thanks for “stopping by.”  Come again soon.