Tea Desire: celebrating flavor

Tea Desire was started in 2005 by Tony and Heidi Aupers, two Europeans with a lifelong love of tea. Citing the difficulty in procuring a good cup of tea in their area, as well as their belief that the time was right for a specialty tea store, they took the plunge and opened the first store in Vernon. Since then, outlets have been opened in Burnaby, Coquitlam and Nanaimo.

Tea Desire offers an impressive variety of traditional teas, running the gamut from black to white to green to oolong to herbals and tisanes. The only notable omission from their menu are Pu-Erh teas, presumably because the market in North America for such teas is small.

While the teas on offer are definitely good, and they do sell some grand cru teas from famous estates, on the whole their selection is not quite on par with what is available from places like David's Tea or Upton Tea Imports. That said, the comparison is hardly fair because Tea Desire is a different type of business--a retail store as opposed to a mail-order business, which can achieve economies of scale and reduce overhead by selling direct on the Internet. Tea Desire has several significant strengths which make it worth a visit.

First, the aesthetic of its retail locations is very refined. The Lougheed Mall store follows an open plan, with everything clearly visible and logically organized. Teas are attractively laid out in large tins behind the counter, similar to Teavana, a large tea retailer in the United States, categorized by type (black, green, oolong, herbal, etc) and color-coded for convenience. It is a friendly and inviting atmosphere for first-timers, but tea lovers will feel like everything is at their fingertips. The cool colors and open spaces of the retail location will make you feel at ease. The store also features a distinguished selection of fine teaware which is truly commendable. They carry everything from unglazed clay imitation yixing teapots to English-style ceramics and everything in between, as well as infusers, tea balls, thermal mugs, and the like. The selection of teaware was truly impressive when compared to similar stores, particularly in its variety. Most stores only offer one type of teaware, or else the selections are either uniformly too expensive or low-quality and cheap. Tea Desire has a good mix.

Second, the staff are highly knowledgeable about tea. Tea is a complex subject; science, history and aesthetics all bring their particular focus to bear on your drinking experience, whether you realize it or not. Pu Erh teas, for example, may seem bizarre and off-putting until you understand how they are made, and the cultural significance they have in traditional Chinese society. Strong, heavily caffeinated reddish-coloured black tea from bags may seem the norm until you realize that such teas are actually a relatively new development. There are many facets to knowing tea, and a holistic approach allows one to fully appreciate tea in all of its disparate, fascinating guises. Many tea stores in Vancouver are staffed with people for whom their stint in the store is just a day job; their tea knowledge is superficial at best. This is not the case at Tea Desire; here, the staff know their tea. They can explain how to properly prepare the tea, what temperature to use, how long to steep it, and, if you're a relative newcomer, what teas might please your palate; as well, connoisseurs will find that all their questions regarding taste, colour, aroma, etc. will be answered competently. Perhaps most importantly, you are free to browse the wide-open, inviting retail location without being bothered--the staff are not pushy.

Third, price. Price is always a consideration when buying tea. Tea Desire offers incredible value for money. Most of their teas are around $10/100g, which is quite competitive. The stores also offer discounts which gradually rise in proportion to the amount purchased. The more you buy, the more you save. This is especially attractive considering how low their regular prices already are. If you are looking for a moderate to good cup--perhaps to stock up on the "daily brew" that you drink every day rather than that extra special tea you bring out when you have guests, this would be an excellent place to look.

Fourth and finally, Tea Desire has an amazing variety of herbal teas and tisanes. The owners' European sensibilities show through in the truly wide variety of herbal teas and tisanes they offer (herbal teas and tisanes are quite popular in some parts of Europe, particularly Germany). Their brochure offers 26 different varieties of rooibos alone, some with exotic flavourings such as praline, latte macchiato, colada, and guava, and 31 flavoured black teas including such unique blends as amaretto, maple, walnut truffle and "strawberry and guava romance." Also on offer are honeybush, maté, pure fruit infusions such as goji berry, passionfruit and wildberry cocktail; herbals such as peppermint, lemongrass, and sage; and a variety of custom in-house specials with names like "Relaxation Organic" and "Tummy Organic."

If you live in the Tri-Cities area and you enjoy flavoured tea, are new to tea and interested in learning more, or just want a great price on a quantity of everyday tea, Tea Desire comes highly recommended.