All I want is plain, ordinary green tea like we drank in the Tokyo office. Finally, I found a site, Canadian flag in the left upper corner, with basic green tea, not matcha, no flower petals added. I’m not linking because that flag is, erm, inaccurate. Looking further, the phone numbers are all in Colorado. Sure enough, an American wellness company, not Canadian.
Just flying the right flag is not enough. We need to be alert good old American misinformation, often hidden in an obscure corner.
Anyone know a Canadian source of run of the mill, not too bitter loose leaf green tea, Japanese rather than Chinese? There’s quite a difference between the two.
I’m equally upset at Canadian companies selling items that are not made in Canada, under a guise that it’s “all Canadian”.
Example: I want a folding coffee table. Found a Canadian company in Windsor, Ontario. Looks legit… Looking closer, the tables are made in Poland…
There DO exist companies that are through and through Canadian… too many are masking it though. It’s understandable for some things but it’s nuts for stuff like furniture, like above (QC has a lovely woodworking furniture industry)
Tea Trader is a wonderful shop based in Calgary. They love tea, are really nice people, and suck at marketing.
Take a look.
Canadian flag in the left upper corner
Are you sure that wasn’t a button to switch currencies?
Edit: btw, I hope you noticed me rattle my drawers while I was typing that.
Um, I hope you are talking kitchen, since the other drawers are more the business of Petulia, that one the Seamstresses think is an actual goddess. Bah! No one ever chanted “How can it close on the damned thing but not open with it? Who bought this? Do we ever use it?” in her name!
I’m able to find Itoen branded green tea bags (plain). They’re imported from Japan.
Sad to say, but Maxi sells green tea as well in bulk sometimes. Big flat green plastic bags. I forgot the brand, but I have some nice regular loose leaf green tea and a toasted rice and green tea (genmaicha) mix that’s delicious.
Loblaws owns T&T supermarkets now, so Asiain imports are easier to get.
Edit: here…
https://www.superwafer.ca/en/product/15509/uji-no-tsuyu-japanese-tea-tokuyo-genmaicha
The brand is Uji No Tsuya, and they also make a regular loose leaf. Now you can search for it!! :)
Thank you for going to all that trouble. I am definitely going to be tea shopping now!
I found interesting stuff at hokusan.ca but they seem like a wholesaler not a retailer. Maybe someone knows a retailer who sells it. I don’t remember seeing at my local Asian supermarket but I’ll keep an eye.
Good this page that lists resellers:
https://hokusan.ca/pages/where-you-can-find-nijuOh well, I couldn’t find online stores with all the hokusan products, but I found this other store that specializes in Japanese tea and seems based in Montreal:
https://ojapanesetea.ca/en/product-category/the/the-en-feuille/Thank you! It’s got exactly the kind of thing I have been searching for! May your (kitchen) drawers never give you grief and may you always be able to find that little silver nubbly thing that rolls under the couch!
Honestly, the silver lining with all this bullshit is I’ve been finding local products of a much much higher quality.
Like I haven’t found a replacement for everything just yet… but most things I’ve replaced are so much better I will never be going back.
