Meet the Face Behind Your Happy Place!
Baird Funk, a.k.a. Absolem, wanted to take the saying "Close your eyes, and go to your happy place," and make it a physical spot. While serving in the Army, and on a peace mission in Iraq, he was exposed to hookah after joining a family for dinner. After returning to the states, Absolem fell in love with hookah, and found that it paired well with tea, something that he loved from childhood. In 2010, Baird got the idea to open up a tea lounge, then decided to add hookah down the line.
Baird "Absolem" Funk
Tea
For our tea, we have Divinitea brand loose leaf teas. They are all hand mixed from fresh tea leaves from around the world. Due to the owner being allergic to ginseng, we are unable to get any ginseng tea. However, everything else is some of the best tea to be found. With only a few options here at the lounge, if you are interested in a certain tea flavor that we do not have, we can most likely get it for you either to try, or to take home. Our teapots are the Japanese style cast iron kind. By using this specific setup, we are able to provide you with hot tea capable of staying hot for nearly an hour! We do also have a special tea club available for those wishing to buy one of our teapots, then have some of our tea sent to your house monthly! Different memberships are available, with different amounts of tea for each one. Come stop by or contact us for details!
Hookah
Our hookah set includes pieces like the Starbuzz stem, which has surgical grade stainless steel at the core. At the bottom of the stem, we have two pieces. The first is a diffuser, which is a silicone attachment, put onto the stem, quieting the sound of the hookah. The other is the LED Dream Base, which the stem is inserted into. The base has a LED light in the bottom, which changes between red, blue, and green lights to create a mesmerizing experience. Perched atop the Starbuzz stem, is a Phunnel bowl which comes in one of two sizes. One is the traditional 15g bowl, and the other can hold anywhere from 25g up to 50g depending on how packed you want the bowl. The Phunnel bowl was designed to keep the shisha from entering the rest of the set-up, keep the shisha juices in the bowl, and together allows for the best flavors and largest clouds. On top the bowl is your choice of foil and coals, or a KaLoud Lotus with coals. The foil is the standard option for hookahs. The Lotus, on the other hand, is an upgrade, that prevents any ashes from entering the bowl or hookah itself. Also, it maintains the flavor through your smoking experience. The coals we use are natural coals made from coconut shells, thus being not as harmful. However, with that said, they do take longer to light. For the hoses, we use Nammor hoses, which are made of silicone with a removable mouth piece. The detachable mouth piece is convenient for our Mystique ice tips, that cool the vapor, and help prevent it from getting harsh. This combination of hookah options make our hookahs the best around. And providing this, as well as teaching our customers how to properly setup a hookah is our goals. We want you to have the best time you can possibly have at a lounge!