In the Spotlight: Westholme Tea Company
starring founder Victor Vesely
Describe your products in three words?
Innovative, Artisanal, Pure
What inspired the creation of Westholme Tea?
Passion for tea and excitement for the adventure of what might be possible. No one was growing tea on a commercial scale when I planted the first seedling in 2010.
Scene Stealers
Which product is your personal favourite, and what’s the perfect way to enjoy it?
Masala Chai with its warming spices and rich and flavourful black Assam tea. The perfect way to enjoy Masala Chai is to cook it on the stovetop with just the right amount of milk and honey to taste.
What makes Westholme Tea “uniquely BC”?
At Westholme Tea Company, we are true to nature using only pure organic ingredients and do not use any synthetic essences or flavourings. As the only tea farm in Canada, our limited harvest farm grown teas convey the essence of our unique BC terroir with every sip.
Behind the Label
What’s one thing people may not know about how it’s made?
We planted our first tea bushes in 2010, adding to our business of importing fine organic teas and blending original recipe teas and tisanes. I am self taught as a tea grower and tea maker. I learned through experimentation (mostly failure emerging into some success) as I didn’t study with others somewhere else. There being no benchmark in Canada to follow, I paved my own way. Mentoring came to the farm in the form of curious and interested growers from around the world who shared constructive critique, advice and support.
Enjoy a variety of Westholme Tea Company’s fragrant blends at ShowCanada’s Closing Night Dinner on May 29th.