OTHER CITIES: 
The Best Tea in Toronto
- Posted by Catherine
- Filed in Best of Toronto
- June 6, 2008
Tea people are just nice people. They're as knowledgeable and passionate about their product as coffee people, only slightly less keyed up and twitchy.
And, let's just get it out of the way, when we're talking about tea, we're talking places that specialize in looseleaf tea (one exception to be spotted below). Most prepacked bagged tea is made with the bits and pieces left over after sorting out the tea leaves. They take the sweepings, the tea "dust", the remnants of real tea, then they bag them, and we drink it. You deserve better than bagged floor scrapings.
Looseleaf tea requires a bit of equipment and know-how. But you can become a tea person just by stopping whatever you're doing at 3:30pm and taking a tea break. Ease your way in with an orange pekoe and a cookie. And work your way up to the hard stuff. The lapsang souchongs and the yerba mates. Soon you'll be one of us nutters with our timers and our thermometers, and you'll be loving it.
Tea shops pictured above (from left to right): Pippins, Tealish, & House of Tea. Photograph of Pippins courtesy of Patrick Smith.
House of Tea
In business for 11 years, going on 12, and House of Tea is still simply the best looseleaf tea shop in Toronto. Co-owner and "Tea Consultant" Marisha Golla knows tea. And she'll get to know you. What you like now, and what you might like later. She does, after all, have 280 kinds of tea from around the world in her store. You're bound to like something. All teas are proudly free of anything artificial. More...
Tealish
Tealish gets a lot of points for style. They have a modern tea boutique decor, but they also go the furthest in tea-as-narrative. The teas have lusciously evocative names (Apple Orchard, Deep Green Embrace, Russian Caravan) and each label is printed with both brewing instructions and colour-text. Take 'Patisserie' -- "A sinfully aromatic blend which captivates the senses... Like walking in to a bakery in Paris". Pina Colada herbal tea pictured above. More...
Say Tea
Entering its 28th year in business, Say Tea straddles the west end and midtown -- with a location near Bloor & Jane, and one just north of Young & Eligible. They have a cozy selection of tea paraphernalia, and traditional nibbles to go with your brew. A bit like going to someone's Nanna's house. More...
TenRen's Tea
TenRen's Tea has a location in Chinatown, one store in the world's largest Asian tea company. Based in Taiwan, their specialty Taiwanese teas are particularly recommended. They're also my one concession to bagged tea. TenRen's Plum tea (pictured above), made from dried plums, black tea, peppermint, and other natural herbs is one of the most intense fruit teas I've ever tried. More...
The Red Tea Box
Featuring "premium single-estate biodynamic teas from around the world", The Red Tea Box's current tea feature is a Twin Dragon Oolong -- "an artisan oolang from Mr. Wu's farm in Nanton county". In addition to selling and serving looseleaf teas, they're famous for their elaborate, vivid, diorama-esque desserts (see 'bird in a cage' above) and also have one of the most serene secret courtyards of downtown Toronto. More...
Moonbean Cafe
Kensington's Moonbean is known for their coffee, but it's also one-stop shopping if you enjoy (gasp) both coffee and tea. A good place to pick up your green tea staples like Sencha and Genmaicha (popcorn tea), they have more than 30 looseleaf teas to choose from, either to buy for your home stash, or to have prepared into a cuppa for you onsite. More...
Niche Coffee & Tea Company
Niche had to win over a lot of broken hearts when they took over from the Vienna Home Bakery. But bit by bit they're doing it. Partly with their very presentable selection of "wild-grown" teas. Available for sniff sampling by the cash, they're labeled with "what you'll taste" notes. Like the Niche Green tea, which promises green tea, coconut, pineapple, cornflower, and rose blossoms. More...
Golden Mint Coffee & Tea Co.
On an enthusiastic recommendation by Danielle, I overlooked Golden Mint's lack of interest in "promotion" and tried their Mint Chocolate Rooibos (organic and pictured above). Add a bit of (condensed) milk, and it's crisp and creamy. Like a liquid After Eight. Sublime. I guess we'll have to forgive them their camera-phobia. Just this once. More...
The Tea Emporium
The Tea Emporium distinguishes themselves by having a "School of Tea". Sign up for a seminar on the "Delicate Flavours of Green and White Tea". Feeling seasonal, I picked up their Spring Blend ("layered with fragrant strawberries, lemon and berries", pictured above) and as a complete impulse buy, a sugary powder-mix for Green Tea Passionfruit Latte. We don't all have to be purists all the time... More...
Pippins Tea Company
Pippins has over 130 teas (counting both looseleaf and packaged in that total). They also have a huge selection of tea cups, pots, cozies and lots of tchotchkes. On the atmosphere scale, they tend towards the fussy British end (more floral print mugs, less zen sleekness). If you haven't been able to find a teapot-shaped nightlight, you haven't looked here yet. More...
Submit a Review or Comment
Submit a Review
Interesting that House of Tea is listed as number one. I had gone to the store after much anticipation and found come of the leafs to be much too dried and lacking their flavour. My purchase was no longer used. I basically gave up and continued importing some of my tea from San Francisco or Tealish.