Judging by the amount of happening on the site lately, it's fair to say that a lot of V.I.A.'ers are all about this healthy drinking alternative to Venti-sized coffees and cans of Coke Zero.
Last week I happened across a new tea spot in town -- on the Kitsilano side of the bridge -- called , the Toronto company's first Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»outpost. Welcome to the left coast, DT!
This place -- which greets you with a Tea of the Day sample upon entrance -- has over 99 loose leaf tea concoctions, kept in silver tin cans lining the left wall and divided by category with the help of color-coded labels. The teas come in black, green, white, rooibos, mate, oolong, herbal, pu'erh and ayurvedic (for balancing out your earth, fire and air dosha elements), and they even come in fun flavours like Nutty Monkey, Gunpowder Taffy, Chocolate Mint Mate (After Eight fans, this one's for  you) and Bourbon Street Vanilla! But if you're into the traditional stuff, David has Earl Grey on hand, too.
The staff is super friendly and knowledgeable, so ask anything you like. And the loose leaves look as good (lots of bright colors) as they smell and taste. Tea-related paraphernalia -- think travel presses and cool-looking steepers -- are also up for sale, as well as raw vegan goodies from local company .
And tea from here is a great way to wash down that from across the street with...
