If a cicada was to bite you probably thinking you were something else altogether it might hurt a little.
But when the beetle bites into a certain tea leaf in Taiwan, things get interesting.
That bite somehow changes the leafs chemistry and results in a tea that has a slight peachy taste with absolutely no bitterness.
Pedro Villalon tells this story as hes pouring a cup of Oriental Beauty, one of the exotic teas that he and his partner Brian Noble is introducing to Vancouverites at their W. 4th tea salon, O5.
Here, the storytelling is part of the experience. This is a place that while eschewing snobbery, also wants to turn Vancouver into a place that cares as much about its teas as it does it wines and coffee.
Just as 20 years ago your only choice for coffee was milk and sugar?, Vancouver now prides itself on its many micro roasters, each with a devoted line-up of customers. Give Vancouver a few years, and its burgeoning tea scene will have the same status, Villalon says.
He laughs when he says that the only thing that tea experts, like many other experts, agree on is that they know the best way to do things and everyone else is wrong. He shies away from any titles, calling himself a tea hunter. He travels the world and Asia in particular looking for teas that are special and richly nuanced. No vanilla-infused flavours here. The teas that he lovingly scoops out of their containers get their flavours from the leaves themselves.
Just as the farmers took care in growing the tea trees, Villalon and Noble honour the farmers commitment by creating a space that aesthetically and even ergonomically pays tribute to such dedication.
In Asia, you drink teas sitting upright on the floor. North Americans dont share the same penchant for being on ground level so while there are chairs at O5, they dont have back rests. With nothing to lean on, you naturally keep your back straight. This is an unhurried place, not the type of tea salon where youre tempted to drop by for a quick cuppa. The Japanese kettles are carefully chosen; the teapots were custome designed for O5. The charcoal which helps filter the water comes from a store that caters to the charcoal crowd. O5 calls itself a terroir based, obsessively sourced rare tea bar + boutique. (The O stands for their obsession with origin. The five stands for the five nationalities of the team members including a tea hunter, a master barista, a Japanese flower arrangement expert and a chef who cut her teeth in two of Vancouvers best restaurants.)
Updated: O5 has partnered with Kale and Nori for special food and tea tasting events. The next one is February. Tickets are $50 and this months featured teas and hand-foraged bitters ingredients from the Americas. For more information go to O5Tea.com and KaleandNori.com
