– by Deborah Rogers –
This is the second in a four-part series on some of the unique and local shops the Saanich Peninsula has to offer.
Jan Thompson is more enthusiastic about tea than I thought was possible, and I consider myself a big tea drinker. Stepping off Beacon Avenue on a miserable wet day and entering Janet’s Special Teas is the shopping equivalent of snuggling down under your covers on a cold morning. It smells heavenly: exotic and fruity and spicy all at once. Then there’s Jan herself, ready to help you find the tea that’s going to be just right for you.
Tea is big business for Jan. She started working at the store (then just Special Teas) part-time and quickly fell in love with the venue and its customers. In 2005 Janet bought the store from its original owners and has run it single-handed ever since. The quality of the tea has remained the same, but from the 99 varieties on sale then Janet has expanded to an enormous range of 175 different types and blends. The store has undergone other subtle changes, becoming the bright and quirky venue that it is today.
To really appreciate the volume of tea that Jan handles, you have to see the canisters that line the store’s walls. They fall into categories such as Assam’s; Darjeelings; Green Teas and Black blends. It could be an overwhelming selection if it weren’t for Jan’s expertise. She explained to me (over a delicious cup of Black apricot-peach) that when she first worked at the store she didn’t know the differences herself. She would select one tea a week and drink it each shift, gradually working her way along the rows, developing a sense of the subtleties and contrasts between them. When she reached Chinese Black tea she’d found the one for her.
“Tea is the most relaxing thing,” Jan explained. “It was what I grew up with and was the cure for all, if I said ‘mum I have a headache’ she’d say ‘have a cup of tea!’ ” That sense of comfort comes through in small ways, like being able to buy just a sample of a new tea to decide if you like it, and the unintimidating manner with which Jan throws open a lid and lets you inhale the fragrance of as many teas as you like before you come to a decision.
In-store trade is thriving, but so is the mail-order business. Jan has sold peppermint to Scotland and tea cosies to Bermuda; she’s even sent tea to Dubai. It comes to Sidney from all over the world (of course tea doesn’t grow in North America) and will often travel again to homes across America and beyond. With the store’s 10th anniversary, opening will increase to seven days a week to keep up with customer demand.
For more information visit www.janetsspecialteas.ca.
