Tea
As far as I know there are two main school of tea. The “European” school likes to flavour tea and blend them (the bergamot flavoured earl grey or the famous flavoured kusmi tea lines are examples.) The “Asian” school focuses on a single source and origin seems to be more important.
This distinction matters because a lot of our early tea parlours are were of the “Asian” persuasion. We do have European tea but a lot of focus is but of the Asian way of enjoying tea and a lot of my friends who are tea aficionados will focus on single source and origin over blends. I am not a tea aficionado myself but I tend to enjoy the European style much more.
- My favorite tea brand is Kusmi and my favourite tea from them is sweet love, a blend of black china tea, liquorice roots, spices, guarana seeds, pink pepper and other flavours (see https://ca-en.kusmitea.com/sweet-love-2490.html?packaging=56 )
- My friend Patrick is more into Pu-Ers and oolongs.
- I remember on of my ex who was a tea enthousiast liking dragon pearls from camelia sinensis ( see http://camellia-sinensis.com/en/perles-du-dragon )
Here are a few tea parlour and merchants that can provide interesting teas:
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Camelia Sinensis: the elder statesman of the tea parlour. It is a boutique and a tea house. The boutique has a varied and extensive selection. They know their stuff, they are very serious and they are very passionate. The tea house is a bit weird. They have a “technology free zone” so you can’t use your laptop or phone. The clerk has a bell that he will ring if the atmosphere is too loud. It is a place designed and maintained for quiet discussions, meditative enjoyment of tea and calm reading. It is quite popular and is the antithesis of the “loud american” starbucks atmosphere. They also offer courses in their tea school and russian tea service on wednesday for 6$. see: http://camellia-sinensis.com/en/
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Un amour de thé : I believe they were the second “new wave” tea shop I noticed after “Camelia Sinensis”. They have been there a while and are clearly knowledgeable and very passionate. I don’t think there is a tea parlour however. see: http://www.yelp.ca/biz/un-amour-des-thés-montréal-7
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Ming Tao Xuan: A nice oldchool chinese tea house in the old montreal. They have a fine selection of tea pots and a lot of tea. They have a small space where you can sit and sample some of their products. see http://mingtaoxuan.com/index.html
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Specialitea (Commerce Ming Wah Hong) this small teashop on the corner of Clark and René Levesque is probably my favourite in Chinatown. There might be better tea shops that I don’t know of but the sheer enthusiasm of the clerk that served us last time we were there really impressed us. On hearing my friends liked pu-erhs, he brewed samples and gave us a demonstration so involved that we could not leave his shop without buying something even if we didn’t come in looking to buy. It might look a bit “ghetto” to some but to me it looks authentic and charming See http://specialtea.ca/ or http://www.yelp.ca/biz/commerce-ming-wah-hong-montréal-3
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Cha Noir: Looking for a tea house in Verdun? Cha Noir is a great little tea house where you can drink in a confortable atmosphere. http://www.cha-noir.com/en/
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Kusmi: The famous french tea house has a brand store on the plateau. I think its the only store in Canada so enjoy! You can find Kusmi tea and most fine shops but you’ll find the best selection there. They make my favorite tea and offer sample boxes for you to try and make your mind. See: http://www.yelp.ca/biz/kusmi-montréal
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David’s tea : To me, David’s tea sells tea for your colleague stuck in middle management in some random company. If Starbucks were to start a tea shop, David’s tea would be it. They are not bad by any mean but they are pretty mainstream and I would not count on them to have the institutional knowledge of a Camelia Sinensis even if they probably sell the same stuff at the same price. That being said, their customers probably don’t care that much either. A good entry level tea shop found in most shopping malls. https://www.davidstea.com/ca_en/winter-collection/view-all-winter-collection?gclid=CM2FkuGf7skCFQ2OaQod1nEPZQ#
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Ritz Carlton: Looking for a place to enjoy english afternoon tea in high style? It doesn’t get more posh than at the Ritz Carlton. Yep, its pretty expensive (32$ per person… while you are there, why not enjoy a glass of champagne for 13$ more?) but you get the full experience in an authentic setting. They have been doing this since 1912 so they have plenty of institutional experience. see: http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Montreal/Dining/Afternoon-Tea/Default.htm
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The Griffon d’Or Tea Room: Ok, I get it, you want the Edwardian afternoon tea tradition but you are not looking to spend Edwardian money for it. Worry not, I have a locally sourced hipsterish afternoon tea alternative to offer! At 25$ per person, you get teas, scones and sandwiches (please reserve 24/hr in advance). This tea room is very popular and has been getting great buzz. http://www.gryphondor.com/
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Salon de Thé Cardinal : You looked at Griffon Tea Room and you think its a little bit out of the way. Salon de Thé Cardinal is more centrally located (not far from the plateau) and has plenty of vintage charm to boot. They offer afternoon tea too. http://www.thecardinaltea.com/
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La maison tricotée : What? A place to knit AND drink tea? But they go so well together! I don’t knit myself but if I were to do so I’d give la maison tricotée a shot. http://www.yelp.ca/biz/la-maison-tricotée-montréal