(Hong Kong, May 20, 2015) Society’s latest fad has been termed the “arty youth” lifestyle. But in fact what is seen as a brand new trend has been around for a long time. The truth is that many elderly people have been “arty youth” themselves many years before today’s young generation were even born!

To allow elderly people who come from underprivileged backgrounds to reminisce about the past, and also to encourage them to enjoy the present-day social life and pursue their hobbies, the Hang Lung As One volunteer team organized the “Back to Teenage, Be An Arty Youth” program, covering three themed activities, namely tea brewing, coffee art and picnicking. In the first two activities, the elderly participants thoroughly enjoyed themselves, telling volunteers how things have changed for “arty youth” since their young days.

On Saturday (May 16), 20 elderly people from the Ho Wong Neighbourhood Centre for Senior Citizens (Sponsored by Sik Sik Yuen) took part in the tea brewing workshop. Accompanied by volunteers, they gathered at a newly opened café which had been redeveloped from an industrial building and learnt how to mix and match flowers, herbs and tea leafs, and use the Taiwanese tea brewing method to make scented tea. Since the quality of scented tea available in the market varies, the tutor explained some of the dos and don’ts when buying the product. The tutor took particular care to explain how to avoid poisonous products.

Auntie Fu, a tea-lover, was eager to question the tutor how to turn citrus peel into tea, and also shared her extensive tea knowledge with the volunteers. “Youngsters face a lot of pressure at work. Drinking rose tea helps lift their mood because it’s like eating chocolate,” Auntie Fu said.

Besides the scented tea workshop, volunteers also joined the elderly people in learning about coffee art at another weekend. At a small café, they learnt different types of coffee like latte and cappuccino. Among the participants, Uncle Ip, ages over 80, who was chef at a Chinese restaurant in Japan for over 30 years, expressed his surprise when discovering the coffee art techniques after spending so many years cooking Chinese dishes.

The third activity will come in end of May when volunteers will dress up in the style of the 1960s and join elderly people at picnicking at the Lake Egret Nature Park in Tai Po, enabling all taking part to enjoy outdoor fun while embracing nature.