TeaChat

Yo - has anyone bought from this shop - Lam Kie Yuen in HK / Canada before? They have some great prices but not sure about if it's a quality product or not - geeze... sounds like were gonna get busted by the feds...

Bubba_tea wrote:Yo - has anyone bought from this shop - Lam Kie Yuen in HK / Canada before? They have some great prices but not sure about if it's a quality product or not - geeze... sounds like were gonna get busted by the feds...

I wanted to visit when I was in Vancouver recently, but never made it over (ended up just hanging out at Best Tea House in Richmond for both days). BTH is also a Canadian branch of a HK tea shop, and is worth checking out. No ordering from their website, but you can call them @ 604-232-1681. Their oolongs (esp. TGY, dan cong, and yan cha) are pretty good for the price IMO, and they have a style that's not easy to get these days.




Yours truly posing for a photo op:

Oh no... look at that!

You know we'll be going home for Christmas this year and staying with my in-laws in Poco.. if we can find tickets that don't require selling my kids... I think dim sum in Richmond followed by a trip to BTH are in order! How the heck am I going to pack those nice yi xings and gai wans without breaking???

wyardley wrote: ended up just hanging out at Best Tea House in Richmond

Wonderful photos, Wyardley. Thanks. I love the motion blur in the one of the gentleman making tea. It gives the impression of activity and serentity. And the one of you in your element is too darling for words!

OMG I could spend hours in that place! I would indeed be a broke man!

wyardley wrote: ended up just hanging out at Best Tea House in Richmond

OK, found the address on the Best Tea House Co. Ltd. website. At least, I'm pretty sure it's the same... the phone number is identical to the one mentioned above:

Canada： 1270 Empire Centre, 4540 No.3 Rd, B.C., Canada V6X E4E
TEL： 604-232-1681

The city is of course Richmond. Google Map here.

Ack!! Lovely gaiwans on both those sites.

Must stop ... buying ... teaware ...

Victoria wrote:Ack!! Lovely gaiwans on both those sites.

Must stop ... buying ... teaware ...

Yes. There's some really great teaware at the shop. Supposedly, some of it comes from old orders from Yixing Factory #1 when BTH first opened in the late 80s / early 90s. I can't attest to the veracity of this claim one way or another.

Ok - one more image.... should have gotten some more close-ups of some of the teaware.


I got this tea boat:


as well as a pretty cow-nose lid pot.

OK - that's it. You work for them, don't you?? Geeze, I'd be broke if there was a shop in my town like that!

Will, just how many teashops have you documented in photos? These are wonderful.

Salsero wrote:Will, just how many teashops have you documented in photos? These are wonderful.

I took some photos at all of the 4 shops I visited in my recent trip across the Pac NW. There were several more I didn't manage to make it to. I am hoping to write up some more blurbs about the trip, but I don't know when I'll get a chance.

Unfortunately, I got so engrossed in conversation with Josh @ J-Tea (in Eugene) and Shiuwen (and her adorable 8 month old son) @ Floating Leaves (in Seattle) that I didn't take too many pictures.

Since I guess they're still on-topic in the "oolong" thread (loosely), I'll post a couple here:

Comparing 3 roasted Taiwan grown Mu Zha Tieguanyins in competition cups (this photo doesn't really do justice to Josh's normal shop setup, which is very tasteful and minimalist):


Shiuwen / Floating Leaves:


Kōnghǎi - yes, he already drinks tea:

Sweet, thanks!

Love that square pot over your boat!

Thanks for the pics! Love FLoating Leaves, one of my top five.

Looking forward to my yearly BC/Vancover trip now... thanks wyardley.

Whoa!
That Si Fang Hu(square yixing) is adorable!