Shaktea is Open!

[Zucchini Mama]

On a miserable blustery, rainy day I noticed that the brown paper is finally off the windows and Shaktea is open for business at 3702 Main Street (across from Liberty Bakery). I dropped in for a scone and tea before picking my son up from school and ended up meeting the two women who have created Shaktea. These two women are just bubbling with energy and excitement and they are eager to create a niche in the neighborhood. I am so happy that there is a place open during the day that is serious about bringing top quality tea to us in a warm and inviting room.

I googled the word "Shakti" which seems to have several definitions, one of which is "divine female energy". I'll go with that! I find that coffee makes me hyper and jittery, while tea calms me and then some teas do give me a real energy boost that lasts longer than coffee and doesn't give me the caffeine crash or symptoms of withdrawal. I love the ritual of tea and sweets in the afternoon.

Now in order for this place to be successful I think it needs to offer things unique to Vancouver. The owners are using their friends as test customers and are starting out with a small selection of sweets to see what people like. I had a lovely toasted raisin with Saskatoon berry jam (be still my prairie heart!) and unsweetened chai made with whole spices (yay!). They are perfecting their masala chai recipe and we agreed that with a touch more spice it would be perfect. (A friend recently told me he found a good masala chai recipe in an Ayurvedic cookbook). So of course I tell them to check out the tea forum on eGullet and egadz my identity is revealed and...these women are so sweet they treated me and I know Chambar is very nice with their offer of beer to eG'ers, but I'm afraid the way into my heart is not through the bitterness of hops, but through the bittersweetness of tea and scones! Needless to say I hope they do well.

They are starting small, with a selection of desserts made by a local baker who uses "real" ingredients. My son and I will be in soon to try the lemon tart. The owners are thinking about other items they may carry in the future. I'm thinking out loud here about some ideas for possible products I'd love to consume: Bad Girl Chocolates, desserts flavored with tea, and perhaps a ploughman's platter with local cheese, hazelnuts, and paté. What would you cross town for to enjoy in a tea shop on Main?

Speaking of which, I'm excited I don't have to go all across town for a decent scone and tea at "T". By the way, "T" has stopped serving clotted cream with their scones because their supplier discontinued it. Quel Horror! Anyone out there know of a dairy where these tearooms can source their clotted cream?

Namaste

Zuke

[Little Frog]

Thank you for the heads up on what sounds like a great new place!

What does the tea selection look like? I know a certain someone who would drop everything he is doing and rush over if he could find some Silver Needle tea (we were precisely talking about that yesterday over dinner!), but very few shops carry it...

Good scones would definitely be a big draw for me, as would a green tea cheesecake

[fud]

Do they SELL tea as well? OMG access to a good rooibos only a few blocks up from me would make me super happy!

Edited November 4, 2005 by fud (log)

[Veghead]

Do they SELL tea as well?  OMG access to a good rooibos only a few blocks up from me would make me super happy!

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I believe Sweet Revenge just up at 25th & Main sells rooibos. I know they serve it, but I seem to recall that you can buy the tea from them too.

[canucklehead]

I googled the word "Shakti" which seems to have several definitions, one of which is "divine female energy".

Namaste

Zuke

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Your karma ran over my dogma.

[Zucchini Mama]

Shaktea 2

Dropped by Shaktea again with the Zucchini Family this afternoon. You must try the chocolate pumpkin tart with a shortbread crust and topped with pecans. Dark, rich, and moist. Yes, they do sell tea leaves to take home. "U" loved their Serengetti Rooibus served to him in a miniature porcelain tea set. He was in his element, sipping away like a little old tea granny. He also raved about his piece of Chocolate Decadence because it tasted "like chocolate ice cream".

CH, let sleeping dogmas lie.

Zuke