• Q|A Amy Dubin-Nath


    Amy Dubin-Nath sees a bright future for specialty teas originating in India, “but I don’t think it is going to be a quick flip where people are only after high end teas.” Instead, the process will be gradual, following a path similar to fine wine. “Do I want to see the spectacular teas of India keep selling at a high price?” she asks, “Yes, definitely, as that elevates the perceived value, making it something precious. I believe that message should be spread throughout the world — including in India.”


    Listen to the interview:


    Amy Dubin-Nath
    Amy Dubin-Nath

    India’s Spectacular Specialty Teas

    Amy Dubin-Nath established Janam Tea in 2004 to showcase the rich array of teas produced in India, which she experienced firsthand during her self-guided travels. She began developing her palate as a teenager and came to tea appreciation by way of wine and whiskey. In 2005, she opened a tea shop specifically for single-origin Indian teas and in 2016 a tearoom in New York City.

    Dan Bolton: Are single-origin whole and broken leaf teas the future?

    Amy Dubin-Nath: Oh, that is that is such a fantastic question. I love talking about the future of tea. Because everything is possible in the future, right? When it comes to the future of tea, I see a broader range.

    We have tea at every level, the challenge is that we have been exposed as a society to teas of a certain style of a certain grade of a certain color. It creates a certain expectation.  If you like Lipton tea, great, drink it, I’m happy for anybody to drink tea, but there are other styles, there are other places that tea comes from, there’s other experiences that you can have.

    I think the near term future of Indian tea is in the excitement and curiosity around exploring India’s most spectacular teas. I foresee in the next 15 to 20 years, that people will have more facility with the language of tea and clarity around what they’re buying and be intentional about buying and be able to better discern what they want in the grocery store.

    I personally, in my professional experience, do not believe we’re there yet. It’ll take a little bit of time to expand people’s horizons, giving them more choices and some more opportunities to taste fine and specialty teas.

    Dan: The new president of packaged tea at Tata Consumer Products in April introduced a premium tea sold exclusively online and marketed exclusively to India’s domestic consumers. Tata’s 1968 tea in 50g tins sells for between 500 and 1500 rupees ($20 US). The company reports that sales grew by 59.6% in value and 23% in volume from January this year.

    Amy: The thought that one person has only one tea, and they only drink one tea 10 cups a day their whole life definitely does happen, but more and more people want different flavors, just like preferring to wear red one day or yellow another day. You just want novelty.

    However, I don’t know that you can attribute all of that to the desire for tea itself. Sometimes people want the best of the best just because it’s the best. And it doesn’t matter what it is. And sometimes people want something that looks posh, because it’s a really special gift.

    You can have the best, most gorgeous packaging in the world, and the best tea in the world, but that tea and the experience of tea are inextricable.

    Indians know what tea is, they already have a flavor expectation, they already understand what it is, but when it comes to long leaf, loose leaf tea, and whole leaf tea, most of that has been exported to Western countries.

    It’s hard to project success, but 1500 rupees for 50 grams in a handmade, beautiful, gorgeous wrapping, is still a tough sell, even in the highest end retail shopping centres in Delhi and Kolkata.

    Do I want them to keep selling at a high price? Yes, definitely because what it does is it elevates the value the perceived value of Indian tea as something that is precious, and it is and I believe that message should be spread throughout the world and including in India.

    The sustainability of our industry depends on getting consumers to wake up to the fact that tea is precious. The value should come up, the prices should come up so that our industry, as a whole, can come up.

    Dan: Will you discuss the pivot to online by tea retailers and the popularity of suppliers selling direct to consumers and share your expertise in marketing tea.

    Amy: So, to share with you a little bit about what’s happening in India in Assam alone there is something like 100,000 small leaf producers.

    Now there are also several smaller areas, gardens, where people are making tea and making experimental tea and some fantastic stuff.

    Amy Dubin-Nath
    Amy Dubin-Nath sampling a selection of Indian tea.

    People who are producing tea are aware that specialty tea is growing as a concept and that organic tea is growing as a concept. But expecting small growers and small producers to be attuned to the whim and whimsy of Americans in particular, is a pretty big ask.

    I would be very surprised to find producers who are rushing to meet the style demands of Americans. They make what they make and they know that their skill and their craftsmanship go into designing the best flavor, the best style for the leaf at that time, and they are trying to get the best prices for it.

    Aside from Janam Tea, TEAORB is the only outlet that I am aware of for small Indian growers. Their online marketplace and website is called TEAORB Marketplace. The site guarantees their teas to be fresh, and they get it to consumers, as close to direct to the from the producers as possible. It was established in 2016. There really isn’t anything that is perfect, pervasive, government backed, or the work of large organizations willing to step up to promote the teas from small producers.

    So far as I know, in India, TEAORB is ground-breaking. I don’t know of any other marketplace for small growers where you can find hand-rolled teas, dheki (mortar and pestle) teas and phalap (tea of Singphos).

    Tea Orb

    TEAORB Marketplace is a social entrepreneurship startup, working closely with small tea farmers and estates of India by providing a virtual platform in an effort to ensure a fair price for their high quality produce and to uphold the essence of sustainability by addressing real issues affecting people and the environment. ? Founder Jayanta Kakati, former secretary, Guwahati Tea Auction Centre.

    Dan: Tell me about your talk next week at World Tea Expo.

    Amy: This is going to be a very interesting week for me because I’m speaking at the World Tea Expo and the Global Summit for All Things Food, a completely separate show at the MGM Grand a couple days later.

    The World Tea Expo talk is all the things I love about Indian tea Indian tea, I feel has been a little bit underrepresented at World tea Expo, so my goal in going is to share with people how I got into it, how I developed my love for Indian tea over 20 years ago, how and why I changed my life to basically be a de facto brand ambassador for Indian tea in North America.

    People don’t realize they’ve been drinking Indian tea. They think of Indian tea as Masala Chai and are unaware that India produces so many different styles and types and varieties.


    Amy’s talk at World Tea Expo, Las Vegas, is titled: The Wild Expanse of Indian Tea: Hang on to your Tastebuds! at 1 pm Tuesday, June 29. Two days later at the Global Summit for All Things Food, Amy will accept an award as one of the 100 most influential food and beverage professionals.

    This interview has been edited and condensed.

    Bespoke Event  Planning
    Janam offers bespoke event planning featuring specialty teas.

    Janam Tea

    Amy is now making plans to open her third business selling Indian tea, a tasting lounge and gift salon in Columbus, Ohio. Amy is a tea curator, host of afternoon tea and a tea educator. She offers staff training and consulting services, introduces fine Indian teas to both corporate and private clients through bespoke events (both social and outcome-driven), and creates custom gifts.

    ? Dan Bolton

    Janam Tea
    Janam Tea

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  • INFUSED Adventures in Tea


    “So I must warn you of two things. Firstly: be careful of drinking good tea; you might get hooked and be unable to stop. If the tea is really good, you might indulge deeply drinking and drinking until your heart feels close to exploding with pleasure and caffeine. Even those habituated to hard drugs and amazing tastes get swept away.

    And secondly: the pleasure might take away your inhibitions. Above and beyond the caffeine, the exquisite beauty of tea can turn your head and rob you of your normal control. Intensely delightful experiences are so out of the ordinary that our response to them can be similarly unexpected.” – Henrietta Lovell (Chapter 13, page 99.)


    Infused by Henrietta Lovell
    Infused by Henrietta Lovell

    A Book to Reignite your Tea Flame

    By Kyle Whittington | Tea Book Club

    Wow! What a book! From start to finish Henrietta had me captivated, excited and enthralled by her world. A tea book unlike most, this is the very personal story of Henrietta’s adventures with tea, in tea, and all around tea. From her first fledgling sips out of dainty China Cups at Diana’s House as a child, we are taken along on a ride of reminiscence. With trips to far flung tea fields swathed in mist via the odd lightning strike or two, we zip off to tea tastings with chefs at some of the best restaurants in the world, accompanied by her little yellow suitcase and strange meetings on trains. To mention but a few of her adventures. 

    The extreme highs of Henrietta’s life in tea (which could otherwise have felt like so much name-dropping) are balanced by her battles with cancer. And yes, she really has been struck down by lightning. The realness and personality of Henrietta and her book comes through in these juxtapositions, making the book expressively and genuinely human. You really feel like you are sitting over a cup of tea with Henrietta as she regales you with her stories, the highs, the lows, and the off on a tangent. Oh, and the recipes! Dotted throughout the book are her teas and recipes, each connected with its own story. 

    This is not a book with sections on different teas, recipes, growing and history like most other tea books. But all this and more is woven throughout the stories that Henrietta tells. Like real life, we learn as we go along, picking up useful tips, ideas, and inspirations. 

    If you ever find yourself in a bit of a tea rut, drinking the same thing every day, then this book is sure to reignite your tea flame and get you trying something new. It certainly did for me. 

    INFUSED Adventures in Tea
    INFUSED Adventures in Tea

    And here is what some of the book club members had to say:

    I opted to get the audio book. It was so fun to hear her voice and her telling the stories. It was like I was there having tea with her!  – Shawn, USA

    It’s about her story and the experiences she has with those teas, and with these people. It absolutely gets you excited and interested in all these teas.  – Nadine, UK

    She makes it all sound so delicious. – Alison, UK

    I really enjoyed it, Henrietta is such a storyteller. I could hear more of her stories any day, she is just a very interesting character.  – Laura, UK

    I think it was very brave of her to share that part of her life, about her illnesses, that wasn’t easy. And she shared how it was in the beginning of her company and how it has transformed to what it is today. It’s really inspiring. – Kristine, Sweden.

    I like the way that she makes it fun as well. What she’s doing is a really noble cause, but she doesn’t make it heavy or preachy. It’s more a joyful experience and trying to celebrate and have joy. – Tran, UK

    Made me want to try different teas again. – Saunders, UK

    I really liked when she wrote about Malawi Antlers. As I grow tea myself, I have to try this; Swedish Antlers.  – Greta, Sweden

    Usually I’m not interested in blends, and I found it fascinating. The way she talks about how she creates these different blends for different chefs and different foods. With her little yellow bag. – Nadine, UK

    I connected a lot with this book. – Sean, USA

    When I read her book, I thought I would like to write my own stories or adventures with tea. – Brigette, Canada.

    If you’d like to join us for next read, visit teabookclub.org or @joinTeaBookClub on Instagram. 

    Henrietta Lovell
    Rare Tea Lady Henrietta Lovell

    Rare Tea Co.

    Henrietta Lovell is perhaps best known as the Rare Tea Lady, after her company “Rare Tea Co.” rareteacompany.com. Sourcing directly from farmers since the very beginning Henrietta has traveled the world and searching for rare and precious harvests of teas and tisanes. Her quest has taken her on many adventures, from the far flung and bizarre to those closer to home. She has worked with some of the most prestigious restaurants and hotels around the world, pairing teas and creating bespoke blends. Henrietta founded Rare Charity, which works to bring educational opportunity to young people in tea growing areas.

    — Kyle Whittington


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  • Q|A Jan Holzapfel


    First-flush teas flown to J.T. Ronnefeldt Tea’s blending and packaging facility in Frankfurt Germany account for only 0.02% of the company’s offerings by weight, yet in a single season “flight tea” generates more greenhouse gas emissions than the millions of kilos transported by ship, says owner Jan Holzapfel. He acknowledges that for a premium tea supplier, abandoning expedient air cargo after 75 years is a significant step: “however, we have a responsibility towards nature that we take very seriously.”



    Ronnefeldt Mood Tea

    Sustainable Wholesale

    Sustainable best practices in the tea gardens are well established and often third-party certified. The tea supply chain links that follow also offer significant opportunities to protect the environment and conserve energy resources. Costs vary by origin and distance to market but middlemen add 20% or more to the cost of delivering tea to retail. Jan Holzapfel, the owner of 198-year-old J. T. Ronnefeldt Tea, has for five years published a sustainability report that clearly states the company’s goals and measures progress toward achieving these initiatives. In 2021 Ronnefeldt is replacing its tea packaging with eco-friendly Teavelopes, embracing traceability, and reducing emissions by no longer air freighting tea.

    Dan Bolton: Ronnefeldt eliminated air cargo in favor of sea transport and will complete its conversion to sustainable packaging materials by year-end. The company is also trading some of its gas-powered vehicles for electric and hybrid-powered vehicles. Will you share with listeners your vision of sustainable wholesale in tea.

    Jan-Berend Holzapfel: Tea is one of the most natural products that you can find on earth. So we as tea producers and tea suppliers must do everything we can to ensure that we continue to have great teas from around the world.

    It is a tradition to have the first flush season teas from Darjeeling transported by air to Germany and Europe, but we stopped this year. Anybody out there waiting for his first flush will have to wait maybe six or eight weeks longer than normal.

    We want to make sure that we get the tea here in an as environmentally friendly way as possible. That is the reason why we have stopped air cargo completely.

    I think it is the right thing to do.

    Another of the many, many steps that we have taken is to eliminate all the traditional packaging materials. We are well on the way to meeting our 2021 goal of fully sustainable packaging materials.

    Teavelope made of sustainable materials
    A Ronnefeldt Teavelope made of sustainable materials.

    It’s not that easy I have to say. Supply is always an issue.  

    We want safe and customer-friendly packaged material, of course, our team has been doing great work here and found all the different packaging materials that we need so that all will be sustainable by the end of this year. 

    For the last five years, we have been publishing our Sustainability Report to show our commitment to sustainability along the entire supply chain from cultivation and transport to refining, packaging, and shipping.

    Here are the company’s five sustainability goals at a glance:

    • 100% sustainable packaging materials
    • Increase training hours per employee
    • Procure tea from small plantations
    • Increase share of organic teas on offer
    • Transition to electric, hybrid, or fuel cell vehicles

    Dan: You mention that Ronnefeldt is also increasing the proportion of organic tea in its range.

    Jan: We are not an organic company yet, but we try to increase our tea selection in our organic range on a constant basis. The good thing is that tea gardens in Asia, but also in Africa, are turning to organic manufacturing methods and therefore we find more and more selection of organic teas. And we are happy to put them Into our range.

    As far as we can see our customer side really appreciates organic, it’s a small proportion of the market, but it’s growing, especially with the younger people.

    Dan: What is your view on traceability and public disclosure of source gardens?

    Jan: I think it’s a very good idea. We see that a lot of customers are really keen and really interested in finding out where the tea is coming from, how it has been produced, how it can be used, and sometimes they are even interested in corporate social responsibility programs at these tea gardens. We are looking for a way to put traceability information online. I think that is the best way because sometimes tea gardens and supplies are changing quite often during the year. If we do it, for example with a QR code and website so that we can really provide up-to-date information about all the specific teas that are available.

    One thing we are also trying is to promote new tea growing areas. 

    There are some fantastic teas from New Zealand, Columbia, Mozambique, Korea, you name it and we are really trying to promote them and help them to grow so that we don’t have to rely on the big tea-producing countries in the future. 

    Dan: Will you discuss your commitment to education and the return to face-to-face instruction beginning in July.

    Jan: Quite often you find that service people in the hotel business all know how to handle the coffee machine, which is quite easy. They might be very interested in wines and make perfect recommendations, but tea seems to be a little bit more difficult. So we have set up different levels of education depending on the outlet, the style of the restaurant, or the cafe in the hotel. 

    We provide anything from a quick 40-minute training with the iPhone or Google app, or up to two days with our team. The gold standard is our seven-day trip to the tea gardens in Sri Lanka.

    We are very happy that we are going to restart face-to-face training in July after the lockdowns. It has been a really, really long time. We can educate about tea, but one key element is really tasting the tea and the interaction with instructors and peers. That is something which can really be only done face to face. 

    Dan: Ronnefeldt supplies upscale hotels in more than 80 countries. How is the recovery progressing?

    Jan: We already see a lot of hotels booking our training programs, our education programs. Before the pandemic, we trained 7,000 hotel staff members each year and that is where we want to come back to as soon as possible. 

    We have seen that since January and February business is picking up in hotels and restaurants in Asia, for example, in China, Korea, and Japan. These are now hot markets for us, but there’s one issue — it’s local tourism now, so it’s the Koreans visiting Korean hotels. There is no international tourism yet.

    In the Middle East hotels are starting to be filled up, but again, it’s local tourists. Europe got a late start. We see restaurants, cafes, etc., being filled up since May but again, international tourists, for example from China or from the United States, are still not here.

    I’m optimistic. I think that tourism will return in summer, maybe early fall. 

    We already see that the hotels in the countryside, real tourist destinations, are already filled every weekend here in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

    What will take much longer is business travel to trade shows, conferences, etc., which might take until next year. City destinations still have a lot of capacity to fill.

    Ronnefeldt Tea Academy
    Ronnefeldt Tea Academy

    Ronnefeldt TeaAcademy®

    There are more than 20,000 graduates of the Ronnefeldt TeaAcademy® a program established in 2000 to increase the number of tea experts among beverage professionals so that they can offer the best service for their restaurant or hotel.

    Frank Holzapfel, who created the academy, wrote at the time that “High-quality tea alone is not enough, the tea needs the right preparation, the perfect handling, and the creative staging on-site in the hotel and restaurant by competent and trained employees.”

    Taught in Frankfurt, the two-day Silver-level training is for junior managers in food and beverage with at least one year of professional experience. Apply in writing using the link below and Ronnefeldt will confirm your eligibility in a personal interview.

    Ronnefeldt TeaMaster® Silver certificate holders seeking to bring their tea expertise to perfection may apply for an in-depth seven-day immersion at origin in Sri Lanka. The gold-level program is designed not only to build skills and master techniques but also to achieve a higher level of personal development with individual coaching. Graduates are certified as TeaMasters.

    ? Dan Bolton

    Bernard-Maria Lotz

    TeaAcademy® Head Bernhard-Maria Lotz

    TeaAcademy® “graduates” are true tea experts who can answer any question your guests may have on the topic of tea. The exciting training courses teach practical skills and are designed to be fun.


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  • Japanese Tea Marathon


    Tea lovers, not just athletes, are getting ready to take part in the Tokyo Olympics. Tea enthusiasts from around the world can participate in a marathon of their very own: a marathon of tea.

    The Japanese Tea Marathon is a series of live, online events showcasing teas from 15 of Japan’s tea producing regions. The Zoom sessions, each open to 1,000 viewers, begin July 23 and will be held twice daily, concluding August 8. Two hundred people will enjoy a free flight of teas to accompany the events. The Japan Tea Marathon is a partnership between the Global Japanese Tea Association and the Japan Tea Central Council. The entire world of tea will have an opportunity to cheer their favorite tea to victory.

    Simona Suzuki, née Zavadckyte, co-founder and president Global Japanese Tea Association

    Japan Tea Maraton
    Japan Tea Marathon

    A Race for Tea Lovers

    Tea Biz’s Jessica Natale Woollard speaks with Simona Suzuki, president of the Global Japanese Tea Association, about the Japanese Tea Marathon.

    Tea Biz: How did you choose which teas to feature in the marathon? 

    Simona Suzuki: As you know, Japan makes green tea. However, there are many different kinds, many variations. We wanted to show the variety of Japanese tea, including the 15 tea producing regions, and show their unique teas, their regional teas. Some teas are common across Japan, and some are much less known. We wanted to give a good picture of what Japanese tea is like.  

    Tea Biz: Can you tell us about a few of the teas that will be on the menu?

    Simona Suzuki: We are having 30 teas altogether, two from each region. For example, a very traditional, high-grade loose-leaf tea here in Japan, gyokuro. There are a few areas where gyokuro is made, so we are introducing it from Kyoto and from Fukuoka. It’s one of the really beautiful, umami-rich, sweet teas of Japan.

    Also, organic has been a big topic recently. People are curious and interested in organic and healthy foods. We wanted to include that as well, even if Japan does not produce that much organic tea yet. But there are a few regions where organic tea is made. We are including organic matcha and organic sencha from Kagoshima and Nara. 

    Some of these teas are very well known, abroad as well. But there are also some regional teas that are lesser known. We are really excited to introduce a little-known tea from Kochi Prefecture called goishi-cha. It’s a post-fermented dark tea that has a totally different shape from the teas that people think Japan produces. It’s squares of pressed leaves and has a very unique taste. I hope people will be excited to try it.

    Tea Biz: Will people be able to learn more about all the teas you’ve selected on your website? 

    Simona Suzuki: A big part of this project is to introduce the tea farmers, introduce their teas and the key regions themselves. 

    We do want to share a lot of this information on the website. People can look on our Japanese Tea Marathon website, and they will find information about tea regions and the teas themselves. 

    Tea Biz: Will some of the farmers be presenting at your online events? 

    Simona Suzuki: Definitely, that is our main feature, to introduce the tea farmers, the tea producers. Japanese tea is struggling a little bit; there are many challenges with decreasing demand and aging farmer population and so on. We want to focus on the farmers and producers who put all their heart into making the tea. We will be inviting one or two producers from every region to speak about their region and their teas, to share their stories with participants.

    Tea Biz: Whenever it’s an Olympic year, there’s always a focus on the country hosting. You’re offering a different glimpse into Japanese culture, Japanese tea culture. 

    Simona Suzuki: We definitely feel the Olympic spirit in Japan, and we wanted to join in. Tea is a big part of the culture here, so I think it’s essential to introduce it. 

    Tea Biz: I’ve heard that you’ve already had many participants sign up for the tea tastings and events. Can you tell me a little bit about the people who are going to be participating? 

    Simona Suzuki: We can welcome up to 1,000 people to this event. So far we’ve had people registering from over 40 different countries around the world. This is going to be a really global event.

    Tea Biz: Incredible! Forty countries represented already.

    A marathon of tea sounds like one marathon I just might be able to complete. 

    Simona Suzuki
    Simona Suzuki leading a tasting of Japanese tea.

    Marathon Details

    Visit the Global Japanese Tea Association for more information to sign up.

    Event dates and times: The Japanese Tea Marathon will be held between 23rd July – 8th August. To account for the time difference each regional event will be held twice a day: 11am-1pm and 4pm-6pm (JST). 

    Event language: English will be the main language of the events with some translation from Japanese.

    Participation fee: Participation in the Japanese Tea Marathon is free of charge.

    Participation mode: Online through Zoom. Zoom information will be sent to registered participants before the start of the Japanese Tea Marathon.

    Participation options:

    • Ticket with a set of 30 teas (2 from each region)
      • Registration deadline 30th May, 2021
      • Limited up to 200 participants. If more than 200 people apply, priority will be given to those, who: 
        • can participate in the whole marathon
        • can help promote the event (tea schools, tea shops, tea blogs, etc.)
      • The tea set and shipping are free of charge, but depending on the country import taxes and duties may apply.
    • Regular ticket
      • Registration deadline 7th August, 2021
      • Available up to 1000 people

    Recording: The events will be recorded and may be displayed publicly. If you do not wish to be recorded, please have your video and audio off. 

    ? Jessica Natale Woollard

    Japan Tea Marathon
    Japan Tea Marathon

    The Japanese Tea Marathon is organized by and the Japan Tea Central Council PIIA and the Global Japanese Tea Association. 

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  • The Charm of Vancouver’s Chinatown


    The announcement in 1984 that the British colony of Hong Kong would be formally transferred to China in 1997,  led to an exodus of 335,646 emigrants many of whom made Vancouver their new home. Today a second surge is building as new visa applications rose by more than 20% in 2020 to 10,800 applicants for Canadian residency. In the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, 42% of residents list either Cantonese or Mandarin as their first language. Retailers benefitted as demand swelled for authentic Chinese tea, leading widespread popularity and the expansion of Vancouver’s Chinatown, now the third largest Chinatown in North America.

    Listen here:

    Jessica Natale Woollard takes listeners on a virtual tour of Vancouver’s Chinatown

    Millennium Gate Vancouver Chinatown
    Millennium Gate, Vancouver Chinatown

    Millennium Gate | Commons

    The Charm of Vancouver’s Chinatown

    By Jessica Woollard

    In 1981, Kwok Sun Cheung, an immigrant from Hong Kong, opened the first premium teashop in recent memory in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Canada’s West Coast.

    Catering primarily to immigrants from China, Mr. Cheung chose Vancouver’s Chinatown for the location of his shop. Now a National Historic Site, Vancouver’s Chinatown spans around six blocks and is located a short walk from Vancouver Harbor and the cauldron from the 2010 Winter Olympic games. It’s the third-largest Chinatown in North America, after New York and San Francisco.

    Olivia Chan, Mr. Cheung’s daughter, now runs the teashop, called Treasure Green Tea Company. The shop is one of two premium loose leaf tea purveyors in Vancouver Chinatown. The second shop, called simply The Chinese Tea Shop, is a six-minute walk from Treasure Green. The shop and opened in 2004.

    Tour of the tea shops: Treasure Green Tea Company

    Our tour begins at Treasure Green Tea Company on East Georgia Street.

    Upon entering the modern storefront, you’ll sense immediately the vibe is east meets west. There is minimalistic décor accented with old finishes to keep with tradition and Mr. Cheung’s legacy. Olivia says it’s important the shop is appealing to modern customers — maybe people new to tea — but that it also not lose its strong tie to tradition.

    Treasure Green Tea Company
    Treasure Green Tea Company

    Here’s how she’s accomplishing that blend of old and new:

    Near the back of the shop is a black, sleek table with white benches, used for tea education and conversation. Adjacent to the table is a wall of white pigeonhole shelving. It’s a very modern, clean look until you examine the items on display in each of the pigeon holes more carefully: there are earth-colored terracotta teapots, with an old-world feel, alternating alternate with modern ceramics.

    Old meets new again in the way Treasure Green makes use of tea canisters in the decor. Behind the sleek main counter, you’ll see wooden furniture on which rests a conservative selection of canisters with crisp, cream labels. On the labels, is calligraphy in black and red ink. The crispness of the printed labels gives those canisters a very modern feel.

    But across from that main counter, you’ll see older looking canisters with red labels. Those labels feature Mr. Cheung’s hand-drawn calligraphy. They are the original canisters from when the shop opened in 1981, and they are placed in a few areas of the shop as well as in a memorabilia space, detailing the shop’s history.

    Olivia also honors tradition through the tea leaves she sells. Many are purchased from farmers her father started working with in the 1980s. Just like Olivia is second generation, some of the tea farmers she works with are also second generation.

    I asked Olivia if it’s important to nurture the relationship her family has had with tea farmers over the years. Here’s what she told me:

    “Absolutely, it’s like any other relationship. You need to keep it alive and connected. It means a lot to them for someone to come from abroad and say hello,” she says.

    Ultimately, Olivia wants to connect her customers at Treasure Green with the best, premium Chinese teas she can source. “Some people might come in and say, ‘I’m trying to replace my coffee in the morning,’ and we will suggest some tea that a little bit heavier flavor and with a higher caffeine content,” says Olivia. “Some people might come in and say, I want some green tea and then you need to understand why they’re drinking green tea. For example, some green tea can be very loaded with antioxidants. So it depends what benefits they want to be getting from the beverage.”

    To ensure the teas she sells are high-quality and pure, Olivia examines how clean the tea is and how it’s handcrafted. She also looks at the flavor — no pesticides, which she says you can taste — smoothness, durability (numbers of brews), sweetness and the after-taste.

    Tour of the tea shops: The Chinese Tea Shop

    Once Olivia and her staff have helped you select the right tea for you, leave the shop heading west, stroll four blocks on Main Street, then turn left on East Pender. Walk another 250 meters. When you see bright red awnings at the corner of East Pender and Columbia Street, you’ve arrived at The Chinese Tea Shop.

    The Chinese Tea Shop
    The Chinese Tea Shop

    Like Mr. Cheung, owner Daniel Liu is from Hong Kong; he immigrated to Canada in 1997.

    The feel of The Chinese Tea Shop is traditional in the best way. The shop features many shelving units packed with items — teawares, teacakes, canisters, and all the items you need to prepare tea using the Chinese method — Gong Fu Cha, meaning Tea with Great Skill. You’ll find tea scoops, trays, gaiwan.

    The furniture in the shop is made of rich wood, many pieces coming from China, adding to the traditional feel of the shop.

    It’s a place where it feels right to drink aged tea dust kept in an antique tin receptacle, steeped in water from an embossed cast iron kettle.

    Daniel, like Olivia, sources his high-quality premium teas selectively. He travels to China yearly to meet his contacts and sample teas in person. Relationships, he writes on his website, “are essential to procuring the best tea.”

    After visits to Treasure Green and the Chinese Tea Shop, your mind will be full of wonderful information about tea, and, importantly, your palate will be activated, delighted by the premium teas available in Vancouver’s Chinatown.

    Related: Wikipedia

    227 East Georgia Street
    Vancouver, BC V6A 1Z6

    (604) 687-4181

    treasuregreen.com

    Treasure Green Tea Company
    Treasure Green Tea Company

    101 E Pender St
    Vancouver, BC V6A 1T6

    (604) 633-1322

    thechineseteashop.com

    The Chinese Tea Shop
    The Chinese Tea Shop

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