Granville Island Tea Company Edit

As far as the interior design, this place is THE BEST. The staff is very friendly but the mood is something to be desired. It has a dark but earthy atmosphere, with accompanied red coloring to add the subtle flair or a comfy environment.

On to the Teas: There are many teas to choose from and I can say I have tried just about all of them. I also like some of their special house blends are readily available for order, so you can take and brew. However the environment prbably is the best one in the Vancouver area in my opinion.

I’ve found the staff to be generally fairly cheerful and helpful. Sadly it looks like most of their fruit tisanes have the same sour herbal base that is mostly hibiscus and rosehips. I really don’t care for that.

Unfortunately the ingredients on their website and on some of the teas in store are not complete. This is a huge let down for me, as being able to see the ingredients is extremely important due to multiple allergies and sensitivities in my household.

Otherwise, I’ve had a few teas from there and they’ve all been decent. Nothing spectacular (yet).

Lovely tea company!

It can be a bit busy and crowded given that it’s right in the middle of the Public Market, but their staff is knowledgeable and helpful without being pushy. Their selection is quite decent, particularly with their black teas (flavoured and unflavoured), and for the most part of very good quality – their Iron Goddess of Mercy is one of my favorite oolongs and top notch. I would like to to see them expand their pu-ehr and white tea offerings, in particular though.

All their teas are delicious.

The teas are, again, run of the mill. They blend their own from the same base teas as other tea rooms, just with different names. I find it a little pricey, but it’s fun to sit there and watch the world go past.

As busy as the Granville Island Public Market was, this place didn’t seem to be when we took a visit.

Unfortunately, the person that assisted us seemed to be distracted and impatient, and was not helpful at all.

Also, all the loose tea I bought was sub par at best, not enough flavor or just plain disappointing in what was expected.

Maybe we were spoiled with how helpful and knowledgeable Teavana places in Chicago are, as well as the outstanding tea Teavana actually sell, but this place certainly did not give the effort to help buy their tea.

It’s a little hard to say much about the place, as I decided to go on a Saturday which is usually the busiest day of the week ANYWHERE. But they made sure not to forget anyone despite how difficult it was to squeeze into the little area with all the people bustling in and out.

They’ve got a nice cabinet of pots and cups, and I would have liked to have gotten a pot to sit down and enjoy, but it was better that I hadn’t, because I ended up offering my seat up to an elderly lady and her friend.

I wish I could go back on a less busy day, but Saturday is really the only day I’m free. Perhaps on my next Reading Break… Still, I like the feel of the place.