If you wander far enough down Chapel Street, Balaclava end, you will discover a tiny little tea shop that is definitely worth exploring.
Tea Harvest has only recently opened, with its minimalist interior of distressed bricks, and black industrial pipes holding up shelves stocked with a colourful diverse range of fine hand crafted teas and stocked up white paint tins filled with loose leaf tea blends. You can also purchase gourmet products, locally sourced honey, jams and fine chocolate.
Cathy started her tea company a few years ago and always knew she would eventually open up her own little tea shop. Having travelled to China and parts of Europe with her husband Ed, they continue to source traditional teas as well as herbal tisanes and blends. Adding to the collection of fine teas is the Australian Daintree, Daintree forest blend and Bush Billly. Eucalyptus leaves are added to the Australian Daintree black tea to create a bold, unique and flavoursome brew.
With such a wide range of loose-leaf teas, Cathy has developed a new tea blend that captures the essence of the local area. “The Balaclava Blend” is a loose leaf black tea with keemun and lapsang souchong for a cured and mellow smokey flavour with biscuity overtones. You can drink it black or add your choice of soy, almond or regular milk.
Find freshly brewed teas on display ready to sample, accompanied by tasting notes to give you information about the tea and it’s classification. You can also smell the tea blends in glass jars, which helps you decide which one to buy.
If you looove tea like I do, you can stock up your pantry with a range of fine teas, from fruit tisanes to herbal or green tea and matcha. Or if your looking for a gift, a new teapot, flask, matcha whisk or any other tea accessories, there is a great selection available in store.
Tea Harvest tea shop has been beautifully designed and crafted to maximise space. At this stage it is open from Wednesday through to Saturday. Sundays are dedicated to the farmers markets where Tea Harvest sets up in and around Melbourne.
So pop in for a tea taste testing or refill your pantry with some new and exciting tea blends. Whether it’s the health benefits or the secrets of brewing that perfect cup, Cathy is passionate about tea and in sharing her knowledge with you.
