Vancouver, BC

Bayswater tea company is out there as well as Steam (though it’s a tiny store). you can likely stay away from teaja – their teas are overpriced and not all that fabulous from the few i tried out. If you want to go across to north van, there are a couple of shops out there that are interesting – blue tea pot at lonqdale quay and then uh…tea time? i think it was just a little further up the hill from the quay. There’s also Murchie’s over there, though i find i’m not crazy about their teas unless you’re looking for teas that are good with milk.

There are also a couple across on the island as well if you’re going over there for the day – janet’s tea and silk road teas.

I’d hit bayswater though if you only have time for one place – if you’re a fan of the flavoured teas….sort of depends on what you’re after mostly :)

Hi Lindsay, Stanley Park is always on the “must see” list for visitors – unfortunately likely to rain a lot this week, and if you visit, wear good walking shoes. There is a fancy tea shoppe close to Stanley Park – Urban Tea Merchant, on Georgia street, (or that area) very pretty, high end shop, in a fancy shopping area – that said, I didn’t really love their tea!

You could go for lunch at Granville Island – a public market on the water with lots of great food and cute shops to snoop thru. They also have a big tea shop in the center of the market – Granville Island Tea.

If you are a fan of the show “once upon a time” you could head out to Steveston in Richmond (near the airport). Steveston is where the show “once upon a time” is filmed – they are filming now! There is a shop in Steveston “nikkaido” that sells a lot of quite nice tea, and the area has a quaint, village feel. You could go for high tea at “adoreable” tea shoppe in steveston (they also sell tea) or go for a whale watch ( great reviews but $$ pricey). If you want a treat to go with your tea, go to “sweet spot” in steveston (open wed – Sunday) – great french patisserie.

Hope you have a great visit!!

Vancouver has a really nice Chinatown, I recommend a visit if you are into that. There’s awesome shops for dishes/teaware, jewelry, shop that only sells bamboo stuff and lots of food/bakeries. Chinatown borders some sketchy areas (Hastings Street) so be on the watch. I used to work in the shelters in the bad areas, so it isn’t too bad but scary if you are new.

For malls, Metrotown (say 15 mins on train from downtown Van) is a giant mall. One could spend all day at that mall.
If you want something more unique, hit Aberdeen Mall in Richmond (few stops from the Airport) for an asian mall, DAISO and food court. There is also a small asian mall on the way to Chinatown next to Stadium Station. Great bubble tea there (if the shop I’m thinking about is still there).

Vancouver has many many DavidsTeas btw. You are bound to stumble upon at least 2.

Seconding the Granville Island Tea Co – actually I’m seconding Granville Island in general – they’re a great place to go if you enjoy the arts in all their forms (there’s theaters, art galleries, studios for metalwork, fabric work, painting, just about anything you could think of and so many fantastic little shops.) It’s also a foodie’s paradise – I always go to the Public Market with a shopping list because I know I can always find the more eclectic ingredients there that I can never get in my little town. And the beer they make at the Granville Island Brewery is top-notch.

Murchie’s on West Hastings is another good tea shop, though they specialize in traditional, British-style teas.

Urban Tea Merchant on Georgia St is a classy, high-end, more expensive place that’s a combined tea room and shop. The brands they carry tend to be very hard to find otherwise in Canada so it’s worth a look just for that.

Chinatown is another good place to visit (just don’t stray into the Downtown Eastside) and they have several tea shops there – the most prominent being Ten Ren.

There’s also a Davids Tea in just about every mall and one or two Teavanas (meh). And there’s lots of places that make good bubble tea.

Another good place to visit (especially if the weather is being awful) is the Museum of Anthropology in UBC as well as their botanical gardens.

Although I keep passing it up, there’s also Neverland tea salon just a couple doors down from Bayswater.

If you like pu erh and Chinese tea, then The Chinese Tea Shop is an excellent place to visit. I’ve been there twice and they have some amazing aged pu erh along with other fine Chinese tea!

Seconding TheChinese Tea Shop, and Murchie’s (if you want a bit of Canadian history).

Adding:
O5 is a must-visit
Soko Tea House in Port Moody
Great Wall Tea Co in New Westminster
Treasure Green, also in Chinatown (near Chinese Tea Shop)

If you’re planning on coming back late November, check out the store: West End General Popup, on Nicola (off Robson). They’re only open for a few weeks at a time, but they carry Oollo Tea, a local company owned by one young woman (I got to have a nice long talk with her) that hand-sources Taiwanese teas. They’re great.

Unfortunately, a few other shops I really liked ended up shutting down.

If you go to Chinatown, don’t do what I did and go to the weed cafe first. Finding my hotel after that took me three hours.

Hey Lindsay, if you’re in town this Friday, we’re hosting a tea tasting for coffee leaf tea. It’s going to have a photo/video gallery, bread and cheeses, door prizes, and the first ever coffee leaf tea in Canada.

Here are the event details:
https://www.facebook.com/events/360587470773225

Let me know if you can make it out :)

Cheers,
Max

I should mention, I have a map. It might not have every place on it, but it’s a pretty good start!
http://goo.gl/maps/gXsKK