Thursday, July 10, 2008

Place (Distribution)

Where can one busy tea in Canada? List as many ways as possible how teas are being distributed in Canada.

4 comments:

farhiyo said...

There are different ways in which aperson purchases tea depending on the catagory of consumer: for example regular consumers can buy tea from tea shops, families can buy from super markets, retailers buy from wholesalers whereas whole salers get from the manufactures/farmers.

the following website tells us great deal on how is distributed mainly by retailers and wholesalers.

http://www.internettradebureau.com/article/wholesale-tea-the-role-a1347.html

jc said...

http://www.246.dk/teacanada.html


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tea in Canada

The information below is taken from private correspondance.
China Tea House, 350 Highway 7, suite 211, Chalmers Gate, Richmond Hill,
Ontario, Canada, L4B 3N2. Tel: 905-882-9952, Fax: 905-882-5994.

Tea lovers visiting our great Canadian city, Toronto, will be astonished
by the experience they will have at China Tea House. Daniel and Jenny
Wong do a wonderful demonstration of the traditional way to prepare tea,
Gong Fu, for every customer who wants to see it! The demonstration takes
place in a beautifully decorated Chinese tea shop. Time vanishes as you
fall deeper into a lovely tea trance.

China Tea House specializes in mainland Chinese teas. Some are good
value, many are very high quality, and a few are simply extremely high
end. They sell by mail, but you must pay by cheque as no credit cards
are accepted.

I had a chance to try some very unusual and rare teas, thanks to this
shop, the likes of Imperial Robe from fourth generation tea tress, a tea
costing more than a thousand dollars a pound, rarely seen outside China's
circle of high officials. The tea has been mentioned in several
centuries old classic Chinese texts. A book you list in your Web Page,
"All the Tea in China", gives a glorious account of this magnificent
Oolong. I also had the opportunity to taste tea made from fresh tea
leaves. This is even more unprocessed tea than white tea. The leaves
are picked off certain tea trees in Taiwan, flash frozen while still
fresh, and shipped in an insulated cooler to China Tea House, Canada.
What an experience. The tea is like liquid flower, intoxicating to the
extreme. And just about unavailable anywhere in the world except in
Taiwan and, rarely, at China Tea House in Canada. Occasionally I have
had the luck to purchase here Taiwan's President favorite tea. It's
called something like "Pretty Oriental Girl." I've never seen any other
tea so pretty. The leaves, mostly whole and young, are a variety of
colours, forming an unusual bouquet in the bag and in a glass tea pot. A
rare sight. It tastes sumptuous, with round cherry notes, fruity,
velvety smooth... and very difficult to get. I owe to this shop my
knowledge of fine white teas as well, such as Silver Needle. It's the
only place I know where a fanatic about Gong Fu tea can purchase a
Yi-Xing tea pot seasoned by a tea master. Daniel, uses and seasons many
pots as he makes tea several times a day. He sells these well used pots
to connoisseurs who appreciate that a new pot simply won't make very nice
tea.

It's a great boutique to get Gong-Fu
accessories, miniature Yi-Xing tea pots, miniature tea cups, Fairness
Pots, covered porcelain cups for green tea (called a cheung by some a
Guyan (spelling unsure) by others).

A great and unique feature of this shop is the sale of used tea pots
seasoned by the tea master-owner Daniel Wong. Such a seasoned pot is
very rare in North America and a treasured item by advanced tea lovers.

He also sells magnificent clay kettles like I have not found anywhere
else. They are from Taiwan. They boil water and allow to pour water on
tea leaves like no other kettle does, a smooth, perfect, meditative
gesture. Does it contribute to the quality of the tea? It may have to
do with what it does to the oxygen. My Western kettles are brutal with
the tea leaves, breaking the water in millions of mini bubbles. They get
in a heck of a street fight with my precious tea leaves. But the
magnificent Taiwanese kettles sold at China Tea House simply allow the
water to flow naturally from the kettle to the tea, with beautiful and
gentle grace. But in blind tests, I didn't find a significant
difference. A blind test will only pick massive differences, not subtle
ones like the effect of a kettle. For me it's an esthetic pleasure to
use such a beautiful clay kettle to boil water for tea. China Tea House
accepts Mail-order, payment by cheque only, ask for pictures of the pots
and tea sets. Tel: 905-882-9952, Fax: 905-882-5994.

Ten Ren Tea shop in Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Dundas Street (at the
corner of Huron Street). Tel: 416-598-7872, Fax: 416-595-5080. Mail
orders accepted, payment by Visa accepted.

Ten Ren Tea shop in Vancouver, BC, Canada: 550 Main St, V6A, 2T9. Tel:
604-684-1566. Fax: 604-684-7348. Mail order accepted, payment by Visa
accepted.

They specialize in teas from Taiwan, *not* from mainland China. They only
carry a few teas from China, mostly Oolongs from the Wu Yi Mountains in
the province of Fujian, good value but nothing high end. If you want to
try some of the most spectacular Taiwanese teas, however, hum...mmmmm!!!
Ten Ren is a great place. I've tasted a tea that reminds you of fresh
cream and butter. I didn't know tea could taste like that. It comes in
a pretty pink box. It's called High Mountain Tea, nothing more, and it
is rarely available. It's a spring tea. I also tried another rarity, a
tea that comes in a small can, vacuumed sealed and wrapped in white rice
paper. You'll find printed in Chinese and partly hand written on the
outside: the date and the time when the tea was harvested and processed,
plus the name of the farmer and the small tea garden where it is made as
well. I find this box once a year on the shelves of Ten Ren, usually at
the end of the spring. Humm..mmmm.... This tea is phenomenal. A high
mountain green oolong grown above 2,000 meters. The leaves and the bud,
still all attached and intact (imagine the care to preserve the cuttings
like this...) give a phenomenal taste to your cup, with notes of
artichoke, rich and exotic honey, fresh baked bread, ...).

I'm a big fan of Ten Ren, even if the service could be better. Is Ten
Ren expensive? Yes. Is it overpriced? I do not find better Taiwanese
teas cheaper elsewhere, with perhaps one exception: Van Cheong"s Fine
Teas, Vancouver BC).

Van Cheong's Fine Teas, shop #1050, Aberdeen Centre (a Mall), 4151
Hazelbridge Way, Richmond, BC, Canada, V6X 3L7. The service is more
attentive here than at Ten Ren. It's trying hard to compete. The
boutique is worth visiting. They will sell by mail. Tel: 604-279-1839.
Fax: 604-279-1839. I don't know if Visa is accepted.

Another great shop for Taiwanese teas, with some high end offerings, but
mostly good value mid-quality range, and prices that probably give Ten
Ren a run for its money. The shop is located in an all-chinese plaza in
a rich southern suburb of beautiful Vancouver, BC, Canada:

Oh while I remember. Sorry it's in the wrong order. Another shop worth
visiting when you come to Vancouver, Canada: a *unique* and exotic
experience. No English spoken here, not one word. It's all by giving
you best rendition of a chinese pronunciation for a specific tea like
Lung-Ching Cha, or a category like Wu-long or Ti-Guang-Yeh... and using
your hands. But very friendly service. Very good value in this old shop
in the middle of the old Vancouver Chinatown. Mid-Quality level, no high
end tea, very good prices, all mainland China teas. Quality Tea Ltd
(also listed under 'Excellent Tea Shop' or something to that effect in
the Vancouver Yellow and white Pages): 275 E. Georgia St, Vancouver, BC,
Canada, V6A 1Z6. Owned by William Yeung. Tel: 604-671-2803/451-4191,
Fax: 604-587-4181.

In Toronto, Canada, a very pleasant shop, Victoria style elegance and old
charm: the name of the boutique is 'SAY TEA', it's located in a very
pleasant boutique district, known as the West Bloor Village. The
shop is at: 2363 Bloor St. West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Tel: 416-
766-5425. Mail order accepted, Major Credit cards accepted. Co-Owners
Kate McArdle (who bought the shop from her mother about 15 years ago)and
Wnedy Winship are very pleasant people to discuss tea and tea
paraphernalia with.

This fits under a different section: Tea Accessories.
For people interested in Japanese tea sets, tea pots and
lovely cups, many hand made at the most prestigious Japanese kilns, an
excellent and very pretty shop is called FROM JAPAN BOUTIQUE, at 187
Victoria St, Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario, Canada, L0S 1J0. Tel:
905-468-3151, Fax: 905-684-4977 (8am - 8pm EST only. It's in the owner's
bedroom). A delightful shop to visit situated in the beautiful wine
region of Ontario. I love his rare, hand-made, cast iron japanese tea
pots (called Testu Bin). I bought one and treasure it as one of the most
decorative tea items I display at work. Mail order accepted, Major
credit cards accepted. Ask for pictures of his tea sets. Very
knowledgeable and friendly service by shop owner Rand Campbell who lived
in Japan and can tell you all the details about the tea sets he sells.
If you are interested in tea ceremony accessories (Cha-no-yu), this is
also a very good shop. Rand studied Chanoyu in Japan and can be of great
help in outfitting yourself.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 8, 2008. Birger Nielsen, bnielsen@daimi.au.dk, drinker of tea.
This document: http://www.246.dk/teacanada.html

jc said...

http://www.silkroadtea.com/location.htm
store location
retail store
& spa location

1624 Government St
Victoria, BC V8W 1Z3
Canada

Tel: 250 704 2688 (press 2)
Fax: 250 382 0001

Click here to email the retail store.
Click here to email the spa.

Metered street parking is available.

If you are visiting our spa, we recommend the City of Victoria Parkade located on Fisgard St. between Douglas St. and Government St.



retail store & spa
hours of operation

Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm
Sunday 11am-5pm



mail order & wholesale department location

1624 Government St
Victoria, BC V8W 1Z3
Canada

Tel: 250 388 6815
Fax: 250 382 0001

Click here to email mail order department.
Click here to email wholesale department.
Click here to learn more about our wholesale offerings.



mail order & wholesale department
hours of operation

Monday-Friday 10am-6pm (Pacific Standard Time)
Saturday CLOSED
Sunday CLOSED

jc said...

TEA CAFE:
http://www.menunette.com/?q=node/2995
http://www.infusionsteacafe.com/teas.php
http://www.tealuxe.com/index.html