Tea time in Halifax

Eastern Tea Bar & Friends invites residents to sip on tea and shop sustainably

A tea house is bringing ethically sourced artisanal teas to Halifax while providing a space for local vendors and artists.

Now located in a new space on Gottingen Street, Eastern Tea Bar & Friends serves up a variety of high-quality loose-leaf tea drinks and houses a vintage fashion boutique, an antique home decor shop, a kitchenware shop and an art gallery.

“We really wanted to have a big and eclectic variety here so that it wasn’t just tea, and it wasn’t just a shop – you could do both,” says Adam Scott, owner of Eastern Tea Bar.

STEEPED IN HISTORY

Eastern Tea Bar specializes in Chinese teas and offers an array of options including oolong, green and black teas served hot or cold. Customers can enjoy their tea while browsing the curated selection of local goods.

The teahouse also offers individualized tea tastings every week, allowing people to explore the different types of tea and learn about their histories and processing methods. Tastings last an hour and a half and include up to five teas, which are selected based on flavour profiles and the taster’s tea preference.

“We’re just really trying to show that, similar to wine, there are differences in the processing of the leaf, and by using different processing methods, you get vastly different teas,” says Scott.

The teahouse puts an emphasis on being sustainable, using environmentally friendly packaging and ensuring that all teas are ethically sourced.

“Our farmers don’t use pesticides, herbicides or any of those chemicals,” says Scott. “I also have recently switched to completely compostable packaging, and some of the vendors here are vintage vendors, and they reuse items. We even have an artist who reuses newspapers and magazines for their art.”

A SPACE FOR LOCAL VENDORS

When Scott was in school, he didn’t have much money to start a business and knew other small businesses were in a similar situation. So, in 2022, he opened a space for himself and others to share.

“I wanted to help out small vendors that were in a similar situation to me, and I really wanted just to give those smaller vendors a leg up, so they can use my shop and then get bigger and move onto their own shop,” explains Scott.

One vendor in the market is Vivian Moderna, a vintage fashion boutique owned by Karen Scott that specializes in styles from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s.

“It’s nice to be part of a collective of like-minded, small businesses focused on our customers, the environment and our community,” she says.

The boutique offers vintage clothing for both men and women as well as other products including skincare and new eco-friendly items like bamboo t-shirts.

“The unique part of the market is it gives customers a place to come where they can shop sustainably and learn about local vendors and artisans,” says Karen Scott. “It’s really an experience where customers can linger with a cup of tea, support local and just enjoy the atmosphere.”

For more information on Eastern Tea Bar & Friends, please visit easternteabar.com. To learn more about Vivian Moderna and browse its collection, visit vivianmoderna.ca.