TEAMANIA

Step inside the unique spot that’s changing the way Vancouverites enjoy tea. After migrating from China, tea aficionado Pedro Villalón knew Vancouver needed a tea bar that blended today’s culture with the traditions of the time-honored drink. He launched O5 Tea Bar in 2012, creating a space where people from all walks of life can experience a delicious beverage and try an ever-changing variety of tea flavors and styles. Each tea is thoughtfully sourced from tea leaf farmers around the world to deliver the most authentic taste and experience to everyone who walks in the door, from first-timers to seasoned tea...

Fascination with fermentation!   We discovered Awa Bancha almost three years ago; this summer, after a long Japanese travel hiatus, we were thrilled to experience part of it’s production process this summer.  This box contains two lots of Kamikatsu Awa Bancha and one of Naka Awa Bancha (25g of each).  All three have a sweet and tangy mouthfeel, but display very different notes of cedar, flowers and tropical wood.  We’ve barely started exploring the Kamikatsu batches, as we only had a few sips at origin last week.

A lot of people consume tea on a daily basis, but not everyone knows the basics of tea. Just like wine, tea has very variations and cultivars, require specific conditions, and has a lot of history and science behind it. In this series, we are trying to make tea knowledge approachable, so you know the basics whenever you intend to buy your tea. Knowledge is key, and knowledge pertaining to tea carries along centuries upon centuries of history that commonly, Westerners (such as myself) completely disregard. Come with us into this journey of discovery, for I am learning as much...

The Someiyoshino cherry blossom season is over, but the nice weather continues.  During one week at Arashiyama, we are introducing high quality and rare Japanese teas to visitors to Kyoto from all over the world.  Please come to visit and enjoy a cup of rare tea delivered specially for you from remote rural localities of Japan!