Meet Your Neighbour: Blue Mountain Tea Company
Seven years ago, during a ski trip out west, Katherine Maxwell and her step-daughter ventured into a tea shop in Banff where the two both found the perfect assortment of teas and herbs to satisfy their divergent needs. That night Katherine, with no entrepreneurial background, and fully enmeshed in a corporate career, woke with a start and began working on a business plan to create a similar experience back home in Collingwood.
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The doors opened in December of 2015 in Collingwood Downtown in their original location and expanded to their new home in November 2020. Now in their 7th year of business, Blue Mountain Tea Company is a loose leaf tea emporium inspired by the desire to bring joy and wellness to the community, one cup at a time. They carry a wide variety of organics, herbals, single estate, fermented and blended teas to soothe, heal and inspire you as well as a lovely selection of tea ware. You can also find Collingwood Kombucha on tap at the Blue Mountain Tea Company and if you’re out and about in Collingwood Downtown you can find Blue Mountain Tea available on pour at Gibson & Co. and Summit Social House.
“When you come in the door, our goal is to help you get exactly what you need to get through your day. We want people to feel better. Our staff is very knowledgeable and love helping people learn about tea and herbs.” says Katherine.
Katherine is very much looking forward to getting back into the community and planning face to face events. She offers “Tea Talks” which are a specific dive into the health and wellness benefits of tea and can range from 1 – 3 hours in length. She’s also focusing on her website, working to replicate the custom experience you have in the store, online. They are close to launching a “tea oracle” quiz that will help you narrow down the options to meet your specific desires.
Fun facts: Most people assume that white, green, oolong, black and puerh teas come from different varieties of a plant (in the way wine comes from different grapes) , but in reality, they all stem from the same plant, camellia sinensis, and it is how the leaf is processed that determines what it becomes . After water, tea is the most popular beverage in the world.
Katherine, who grew up in Ottawa, moved to Collingwood 17 years ago, after falling in love with the four season lifestyle, experiencing it through the eyes of her partner whose family has been in the area since the 1800s. . A huge fan of everything outdoors, she enjoys an hour of skiing first thing every morning in the winter and during the warmer months is either out riding her horse, her mountain bike or enjoying all that Georgian Bay has to offer before she starts her workday.
If you find yourself in need of a bit of a pick me up, are feeling anxious or stressed or just want to discover more about tea, then a visit the Blue Mountain Tea Company is exactly what you need.
Visit the Blue Mountain Tea Company at 167 Hurontario Street or on line at bluemountainteaco.com. They offer free shipping in Canada on orders over $65. www.facebook.com/bluemountainteaco or Instagram www.instagram.com/bluemountainteaco/ @bluemountainteaco