David’s Tea

If you like tea, you probably already know about this place. If you don’t, you should! There must be over a hundred types of tea available for purchase by the ounce or by the hot cup in this little shop – everything from fruity to herbal to spicy to decadent. The employees are super-​knowledgeable about their teas and can tell you all about the ingredients and types of leaves used. For instance, let’s say you love bergamot but don’t want the caffeine that comes with black tea. Lucky for you, David’s has an earl grey rooibos that has the perfumey flavor you love without the buzz (rooibos is naturally sans caf). I tried the birthday cake tea, which was sooo dessert-​y it actually satisfied my sweet tooth for the afternoon (a huge feat for me, particularly since I didn’t have to add sugar to it).
In store, they offer free samples of a few brewed teas (the coconut cream pie was so yummy), free sniffs of any loose leaf before you buy, and tea kits for special occasions (hangovers, colds, stress) that seem like they’d make great gifts. The only thing they don’t have is tea in bags for steeping, so an infuser would be a smart investment.
I would 100% come back here the next time I’m in Whistler.

I know DAVIDsTEA is a chain, but their tea is hit-​or-​miss. The staff member doing sampling handed us little Dixie cups with something rooibos and with anise – both which I’m not a fan. She didn’t even inquire if we wanted a sample, or tell us what type of tea it was until I prompted her.
Half of the teas on display (within easy reach) are their Special Collections and full of sweet flavourings and bits of chocolate. I may be a tea snob… I fully admit that. But I’m not necessarily a purist, I like my French Blend from Granville Island Tea Co. with rose hips and a dash of vanilla. But I do not want «Banana Cream Pie» tea, nor do I want «Cookie Dough» tea. Blegh.
I know from their website and Tea Menu pamphlet that they have proper teas (read: quality and more tea leaves than additives). Other reviews mention «no pressure to buy» …but I found there wasn’t any help whatsoever. They were understaffed here in the Whistler store (a Saturday afternoon in February) and I couldn’t be bothered to wait around to smell some of the teas I would actually want to drink.

Santa’s Secrete is back for the holidays, yum!

Although it is a chain tea store, the tea was reasonable and good.
+ Lots of varieties
+ No pressure to buy expensive teas (unlike Teavana in the US)
+ Unique blends of teas
+ Yummy tea after snowboarding is awesome. :)
~ Not sure if the prices were higher because it is in Whistler