On March 7 – 8, Vancouver Tea Society hosted their annual Vancouver Tea Festival at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre. See the incredible vendors and their stories about tea down below!

kyth + kyn

Vivian is the owner behind kyth + kyn and her brand is about modernizing the approach of Chinese medicinal herbs and soups that she grew up drinking. Her products are teas that I drank growing up such as a chrysanthemum iced tea and a soup great for female’s menstrual cycle.

I highly recommend Glow and Refresh!

Shop here for all her products

Tea Horse

Denise and Marc are the owners of Tea Horse, the first to bring Roasted Canadian Wild Rice Tea to the market. Wild Rice is North America’s “original” superfood and Tea Horse works with traditional indigenous communities from all around the world to create teas that focus on health and wellness.

I recommend the Manoomin Cha – Dark Roasted Wild Rice because it is earthy, smoky and a great topping for rice or salad after steeping. It is 100% caffeine free !

Shop here for all their teas.

Whisk Matcha

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Kimmy, the Matcha Queen of Vancouver is the owner of Whisk Premium Matcha. She sources matcha from Kyoto farmers and has a variety of matcha (ex. organic competition grade), hojicha, chasen and Japan-made cermonial teawares for sale.

Besides creating beautiful drinks, Kimmy hosted a Matcha 101 class. For more information, read about what I learned here.

She is working on opening a plant-based matcha cafe so go support her kickstarter campaign and stay tuned because it is an exciting year for all matcha fans in Vancouver.

Shop all things Matcha here

Teakan • 茶間

Teakan is a passion project started by Claudia and Jan who are working on bringing a simple, aesthetic and fun approach to Chinese Teas. They are passionate tea avids who draw you into all things tea.

They created a tea exploration kit with 5 single origin teas from China. My favourite was the Laoshan Green because it was calming and delicate in taste.

Follow their journey as they expand to do greater and more tea-riffic things!

Vancha

Vancha has brought a luxurious tea offering, the Mandarin Zest Pu Er Tea, aged for 3 years to the event! If you have never tried this tea, you are in for a treat! The Pu Er is stuffed inside a mandarin orange peel and aged for 3 or more years. The aromatic mandarin orange flavour will marinate with the tea and you have a rich and sensational tea flavour.

Dried mandarin orange is a pricy and luxurious item because you have to carefully skin the orange and dry it for 3 years in order for it to be a chenpi

For more information and to shop their tea collection: click here

Wild Orchard Tea/ 8 Corner’s Canada

8 Corner’s Canada presented Wild Orchard’s green tea from Jeju island, South Korea. Their teas such as Banana Fly and Cotton Candy may sound strange but the tea itself was naturally sweetened and best served in cold brew form. So, don’t shy away from their names.

My favourite was the Mid (naturally sweeter than the late spring) and Late Spring green tea! I didn’t get to try Wild Orchard’s Early Spring Green Tea that received bronze at 2019 Global Tea Championship

Shop for Korean Green Tea here

Drunken Chocolatier

Carina is the chocolatier behind Drunken Chocolatier. Her business began when she wanted to share her locally collected speciality spirits and liquor. Fused with chocolate, she experiments with tea as well.

You have to try her Earl Grey Chocolate that has pulverized caramelized tea leaves which give an extra crunch and allows for easy digestion (because no one wants to eat whole tea leaves).

She is hosting a chocolate making class on March 14th! Go check out her whimsical creations and classes here

Wize Monkey Coffee Leaf Tea

Wize Monkey helped over a thousand farmers sustain a year round income by utilizing coffee plant’s leaves to make tea. They were able to create a sustainable supply chain within the coffee supply chain and that always impresses me!

My favourite is the Earl Grey Tea! Shop here for delicious teas and to to help tea farmers support their family and future generations.

Overall Experience

I was completely enriched with information about tea and of course, the tea itself. The Vancouver Tea Society has created a warming and enthusiastic environment where all types of tea lovers can come together to learn about all the amazing styles and blends of tea. I truly appreciate all the amazing exhibitors who took the time to tell me their story and how they became connected with tea. I highly recommend individuals who want to explore more about tea and learn how their health and wellness can be rejuninated just from a single cup of tea.

P.S. Don’t underestimate how long you will spend here because a hand full of 30 exhibitors took me almost more than 2 hours. Say yes to tea!

Follow @vanteasociety for more exciting news about Vancouver’s tea scene

Stay tuned for next year’s Tea Festival here