Tea shops · Vancouver, Canada
Tea shops · Vancouver, CanadaTreasure Green Tea Company
A Chinatown tea shop on East Georgia since 1981, now run by the founder's daughter, with over 200 teas and taster sizes from 12 g.
Four of the five teas here come as a taster of 12 to 20 g before they come as a tin. The shop wants you to try first.
Treasure Green Tea Company has been on East Georgia Street, in Vancouver's Chinatown, since 1981, when Kwok Sun Cheung began importing tea directly from China. The first wholesale and retail shop, then called Super Fine Tea Co., opened on the same street, and over the years it became a place where fellow immigrants found a taste of home. The business took its current name in 2003, and at the time of writing it is celebrating 45 years. The calligraphy inside its leaf logo was written by the founder.
His daughter Olivia, who grew up in Hong Kong watching her father make tea, trained under him and now runs the shop as its second-generation owner. She travels farm to farm on annual buying trips, and many of the growers have worked with the shop for more than thirty years. The range is broad: over 200 teas and more than 500 pieces of teaware and accessories, from Fujian, Yunnan, Wuyi and Jingdezhen. Her Tea with Olivia videos cover the etiquette of the tea table, for hosts and for guests.
The shop is set up for trying before buying. The Dark Roast Iron Buddha, a Gu Shu Yunnan black, a Kaori sencha and a masala chai blended in house all come as tasters of 12 to 20 g, next to bags of up to 500 g, and the organic matcha from Shizuoka comes as a 25 g refill. The counter pours tastings, Art of Tea Making sessions can be booked, and a limited set of four Jingdezhen gaiwans carries paintings by Vancouver artist Su Jiangang.
- prices
- 5
- tea types
- 5
- from
- CA$ 6
- shops
- 1
Where it is
Chinatown shop
227 East Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC V6A 1Z6
Hours: Mon 11:00–18:00 · Thu–Sat 11:00–18:00 · Sun and statutory holidays 12:00–18:00 · closed Tuesday and Wednesday
What to buy here
Tieguanyin
Dark Roast Iron Buddha Tie Guan Yin
from CA$ 6 · 20 g
A house bestseller: an Anxi Tie Guan Yin oxidized to about 40% and dried over high fire, so the orchid note sits on top of a roasted one. The 20 g taster is enough for several sessions before you move up to a bag.
See our page on this tea →Masala Chai
Masala Chai
from CA$ 7 · 12 g
Blended in house from Assam black tea, cinnamon stick, black pepper, cloves, green cardamom, fennel seed and ginger, and good hot or iced. It is sold from a 12 g taster up to 500 g.
See our page on this tea →Matcha
Organic Matcha
from CA$ 26 · 25 g
Ceremonial-grade organic matcha from Kawane, in Shizuoka, ground with the bead-mill method for a smooth, clump-free texture, and another of the shop's bestsellers. The 25 g refill bag sits next to the same amount in a tin.
See our page on this tea →
The one worth the trip
Gu Shu Yunnan Black
from CA$ 9 · 12 g
Golden leaves from Yunnan tea trees over 250 years old, velvety in the cup with brown sugar and caramel. The shop sells it in a 100 g signature tin, a fitting thing to carry home from a Chinatown shop of 45 years, and the 12 g taster lets you know it first.
See our page on this tea →All prices
Open a tea to see who else sells it.
| Tea | Type | Price | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Roast Iron Buddha Tie Guan Yin | Oolong tea | from CA$ 6 | 20 g |
| Kaori Sencha | Green tea | from CA$ 6 | 15 g |
| Masala Chai | Chai | from CA$ 7 | 12 g |
| Gu Shu Yunnan Black | Black tea | from CA$ 9 | 12 g |
| Organic Matcha | Matcha | from CA$ 26 | 25 g |
Teas you can find here
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