Summertime teas

The Urban Tea Merchant is to be experienced. Tea, itself, is an experience. When thirsty, how often do you crave tea? Its not usually the first quencher that comes to mind.

TWG Tea

The Urban Tea Merchant is to be experienced. Tea, itself, is an experience. When thirsty, how often do you crave tea? Its not usually the first quencher that comes to mind. Rather, our affinity for tea stems more from the association with deeply rooted customs, a sense of place and the ability to evoke a particular feeling,

The 5,000-year-old tradition is as far-reaching as soccer and has as many incarnations as there are varieties of tea. So when Tom James and his wife were inspired to open The Urban Tea Merchant, they knew they had to travel the world to learn why.

After finding inspiration at tea ceremonies in France, India, Japan, Morocco and beyond, the couple returned to Vancouver to share their experiences and natural teas with their customers.

The family operation soon grew to involve daughter Casey, and her husband tea sommelier Reza Nasooti. These are the faces youll likely be greeted with upon entering their signature store at 1070 West Georgia, their smiles gracefully tempering the intimidating wall of TWG teas beyond.

No question is too familiar for the tea experts, who fascinated me for two hours over their tea-infused cocktails and a delicate Summer West Coast Tea Service.

The new menu items were mind-bending my Morrocan Mint Mojito had all the essence of a mojito with the lightness of afternoon tea; the perfect patio drink. Created in partnership with Ensemble mixologist Ben Lambie, the cocktails are the hippest thing to happen to tea since tea cups got handles.

UrbanTea.com