Montreal has a ridiculous number of cafés per capita. From the ubiquitous Second Cup or Java U to quirkier places like Pikolo or Shaika, there are plenty of places to choose from. When your roommates are in a talkative mood or you can’t face the bleak post-Reading Week despair floating around the library, these places are a godsend. But if your tea addiction is as entrenched as mine, you’ll quickly find yourself looking for a way to turn your apartment into an — less exorbitantly priced—amateur café. The world of tea can seem like a closed one: devotees speak in terms as technical as wine experts. Here is a beginning guide for the perplexed.
There are five main types of tea. Technically, only those produced from the plant Camellia sinensis (a name familiar to many Montrealers!) are real tea, but tisanes, made from other herbs and fruits, usually come under the same heading.
Black Tea has the highest caffeine content of the different kinds of tea, so it’s usually enjoyed in the morning or afternoon rather than the evening. Many people like to add milk and/or sugar. Some common types of black tea include Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Darjeeling and Masala Chai. The different varieties have different additives: Earl Grey, for instance, is made with bergamot oil. One of my current favourites in this category is Lady Grey, which is Earl Grey with lemon peel and orange peel added to it.
Green Tea, though not caffeine-free, is much gentler than black tea. It’s usually prepared with water a bit off the boil. I especially love some of the Japanese varieties —sencha, genmaicha, matcha.
Oolong Tea is similar to green tea, but undergoes a slightly different processing. It’s also steeped at a temperature below boiling, but, in contrast to other teas, is better on the second brewing.
White Tea isn’t heated or oxidized before being dried, which sets it apart from the other kinds of teas. There are many different varieties, but the most common are Silver Needle and White Peony.
Tisanes are anything not made from Camellia sinensis but are brewed the same way as tea—chamomile, apple cinnamon, hibiscus, liquorice, you name it.
The first thing you need is to acquire some tea. At its simplest, this can be in the form of teabags from the grocery store — grab a bag of Earl Grey, boil some water, and there you are. For the more adventurous, looseleaf is an option. You can either put these in bags on your own (David’s Tea sells them) or use a tea ball or strainer. Just be careful how much you put in: the first time I made looseleaf tea, I added enough tea leaves for about eight very strong cups!
Once you venture beyond the tea aisle at Provigo, you can start to explore some of the more dedicated tea stores. A great place to start is one of your favourite cafés: many Montreal tea havens sell their teas in bulk. If you know you like a certain kind of tea at Nocochi or the Chai Lounge, you can get it and make it at home. There are also many stores whose main line of business is selling tea in bulk. The most famous of these is David’s Tea, but there are also many others throughout the city. Look for puns on thé and te!