Text by James Norwood Pratt • Photography Courtesy of Camellia Sinensis
Re-creating a tea lover’s community in Montreal
Let the word go forth: Montreal’s Camellia Sinensis has just opened North America’s premier tea emporium, a Canadian Mariage Frères or Fortnum & Mason. Such recognition is sure to follow, but the company’s reputation is already securely established. For quality and fair pricing, few tea concerns can equal this 25-year- young partnership, a bilingual “band of brothers,” each specializing in a single tea area. Each one procures the year’s top teas from producers they’ve known and worked with for over two decades. Their business model is based on that ancient code of the tea trade, respect— respect for the tea plant itself but also for the growers and producers, and ultimately, the customer, to guarantee each receives a fair price for a fantastic product. Altogether, they maintain a collection of approximately 200 different teas, which are available either wholesale or retail online or in one of their stores, including at their newly reconstructed tea shop at 351 Emery Street in Montreal’s Latin Quarter, which is just a short walk from Notre-Dame Basilica. This Camellia…
