This is a very small shop at the start of Oak Bay, though not quite in the main part of “the village” section. The primary focus here is, if you couldn’t tell from the name, matcha. There is a tea bar where you can get several matcha creations, with varying grades/qualities of matcha, along with a fairly large selection of matcha for purchase and tools and utensils for making it. There is also pottery, made locally, for sale in the form of bowls and cups. Very nice. There is also local food made by one of the staff, so they really do try to pull in local stuff from the community. Interestingly, they have lots of matcha foods there, including yummy candies.
Kip, one of the owners, is incredibly helpful and friendly, and he will do demos in store or pretty much whatever you want in terms of learning to work with matcha better. I have not been with the other staff that much, but the few times I have, they have always been kind and helpful. They have a nice facebook page, with periodic contests, so that is super nice for keeping connected. There is, as of the last time I was in, a loyalty card program, which is awesome for a free drink. Considering how new the place is, I think it is doing pretty well…it is far enough away from downtown where Jaga Silk is in terms of competition, though while they are both matcha bars, there is not that much overlap, and the two places are not the same. I also think they play off of each other well.
I would say that you should definitely check them out if you are heading to the “Tweed Curtain” anytime.
