Try Glass Vacuum-Brewed Chinese Teas served with Local Goodies in Yaletown

by Catherine Dunwoody

Tea time in Yaletown just got much more interesting, and authentic.

Cha Le (pronounced chah•luh), which translates to Happy Tea) features more than 20 high-quality, handpicked teas for take home in large tins and small boxes, beautifully designed by Vancouver-based branding firm Glasfurd & Walker, as well as a full-service tea cafe serving a rotating list of proprietary teas, blends, tea lattes, herbal infusions and a small bites menu.

The new Yaletown Cafe is not your typical Chinese teahouse – think a state-of-the-art, computer-controlled glass vacuum brewing system that customizes temperature and brewing times for each individual tea to ensure optimal results. But don’t think you’ll be sitting around waiting for a good steep. Most teas can be ready within 90 seconds, less than the time it takes to make an espresso latte. Whaa? We know right?

Now let’s chat about food, shall we? Not only does this husband and wife owned business feature exquisite teas, but they bring it home by including locally-sourced Canadian West Coast ingredients, like Olivier’s Breads from Port Coquitlam, proscuitto from Oyama Sausage Co., seafood from Organic Ocean Seafood Inc. and Ocean Wise, plus chocolate from Beta 5.