Avenue 18

This is a cool place for tea accessories. I was recommended this place. Very nice hand crafted tea pots. Moderately priced with awesome customer service.

They are the only distributor of Hario Products in Western Canada.
If you like pour over coffee, hand-​made tea pots or siphon coffee, you are in for a treat.
A pleasant unexpected surprise was that the prices for Hario products were lower than the best prices I could find in the U.S.
Highly Recommended.

I wondered what kind of tea store I would be going to. My GF kept telling me that I had to go there and there was this tea set that she really really wanted to buy. I was skeptic to say the least. A tea shop here in Richmond? You gotta be kidding.
Well, it was pretty fancy. Small, cozy and smelled wonderful. The aroma of all those different blends from green to black to redbush. Gunsmoke tea, infused fruity tea’s and more. Wall to wall tea and items that go with serving it.
And of course like the little princess that she is. She wanted the best that she could find. A Japanese glass tea set. Don’t ask me how much it cost, but it was enough, they all remembered me the next time I went in. «Oh! I remember you! You came in here with your girlfriend and bought the tea set and some tea cups.!»
Yes yes.yes. So now that fancy tea set sits on her fancy counter in the kitchen.
We will have to try the tea in it someday.
So this is to say that this place also has a wonderful collection of tea and china ware. If you like tea’s and love your tea parties. Drop on by and check out the wares. I’m sure you won’t be able to leave empty handed. I know I did.

* «German» tea in Richmond? *
This little shop was a very pleasant surprise. From the outside it doesn’t look like much, tucked into a small spot in a Chinese strip mall. But when I went inside I was greeted by a very pleasant person that immediately brought me a small tasting cup of cranberry tea imported from Germany.
Yes, Germany. All of the teas in this shop come from a wholesaler in Germany. Go figure.
They specialize in herbal and fruit blends and have an incredible variety. I’m not normally a fan of herbal or fruit teas, and cranberry tea would normally not be something I like. But this was delicious. It wasn’t overpowering at all, yet had distinct cranberry overtones.
Perhaps it also helps that they serve the samples in real tea cups that highlight the flavour instead of some sort of disposable cup that ruins the flavour.
They have a nice presentation of all of their teas, with small glass samplers for smelling in front of each larger tin.
The fruit teas are their largest selection, with some very interesting blends you don’t normally see. But they also have a selection of Honeybush teas, Rooibos, Green Rooibos, various Estate Teas, flavoured black teas, flavoured green teas, white teas, and even a small selection of Japanese and Taiwanese teas.
They apparently even stock some of the Taiwanese spring high mountain teas when they are in season.
A very impressive selection. I counted close to 100 teas available.
I found an earl gray that was made with green tea instead of black. It had a very pleasant aroma, and it was an interesting twist for me.
When I asked for 100 grams, the kind server said that it was on sale and gave a 25% discount. Go figure!
It came very nicely packed in an airtight package, which was placed inside of a larger box with two metal re-​sealers.
They also provide brewing instructions customized for each of their teas so you can get the best flavour.
This is a really nice place.
I’m still a little confused about why ALL the teas come through Germany — including the teas from Asia. But as long as the product quality is good I suppose they have a reason!!!