Cha Guan is a beautiful shop and tea room in the Monkland Village area of Montreal. The atmosphere is serene and beautiful, and the teas are sumptuous and delicious. This store is small, but a complete gem. All the teas I smelled were rich, complex, and deliciously perfumed. Their selection of teapots, gaiwan, and normal cups were beautiful works of art, and the store itself has a wonderful relaxing atmosphere. It’s definitely worth a trip if you appreciate traditional Chinese teas and are in the area.
I caved in and bought some of their Premium Jasmine Dragon Pearl green tea after falling in love with the smell of it in the shop. The Dragon Pearl tea is small, tightly-wrapped balls, or “pearls” of young green tea leaves. The smell is clean, soft, and slightly flowery without being overpowering. It’s a wonderful relaxing tea to have with dinner or unwinding in the evening.
The flavour is subtle and smooth. If brewed properly (Cha Guan will give you specific brewing and steeping instructions for each tea when you purchase it), it has no trace of bitterness that some green teas can have, and no soapy feel from the flowers. It’s definitely a tea best enjoyed with no additions, but a tiny bit of honey might complement it well if you absolutely need a touch of sweetness.
You can purchase it online here: Cha Guan Online Tea Shop, and please rest assured I receive no remuneration nor am I affiliated with this shop (or any other tea I may review in the future). I am just sharing things I enjoy with you all.
Bebe Taian
CHOKO Blog
Silk & Bones
Gion Kobu
Hi Kimono Tsuki
I am a hugh fan of your blog. I am really enjoying your posts, especially this post about gaiwan: http://moonblossom.net/blog/2011/04/tea-time-cha-guan-premium-jasmine-dragon-pearl/
Very detailed and valuable information. It helps me a lot.
For those people who love to drink tea for a long time, only know something about tea ware, he could make a cup of good tea. Maybe gaiwan would do that.
I know you’re busy, so I won’t waste your time. I’m reaching out because I have an idea share to you. I am doing a research about gaiwan and planing to write a post about gaiwan, can you kindly jsut provide me few tips and guidances in gaiwan? By the way, I am the owner of Umi Tea Sets Store. I am Chinese. Our store have some exquisite gaiwans, I have picked a handmade genuine gaiwan and sent to you as gift, it come with a gift box. It is totally free, hope you can accept my first gift, and hope we can become friend. so we can talk more about gaiwan next.
Thanks for your time and consideration! Looking forward your reply. I will sent you the photos of the gaiwan gift then.
Cheers,
Umi Tea Sets