Living in Toronto, you develop a thick skin when it comes to beloved institutions. It seems like just yesterday when a trip to Toronto would involve a Jays game at the Skydome (not the Rogers Centre), some music shopping at Sam The Record Man, and maybe a bite at Boba (all places that have since changed or disappeared). If you were part of the so-called intellectual elite, you would avoid all of this and opt instead for a bottomless cup of coffee and some enlightened conversation at Dooney's Café, a veritable Bloor Street institution. The cozy 21-year-old café was remarkable for its ability to survive despite the mature (read: old) clientele in an increasingly young and trendy Annex neighbourhood.

When owner Graziano Marchese finally sold the café in 2008 and moved full time to his new restaurant/jazz bar, The Annex Live, it signaled the end of an era. New owner Marnie Goldlust kept the name for a while, but a new menu, focus, and deliberate attempt to pander to a younger clientele, many saw this as heresy. Wisely, she eventually closed up shop and reopened a month later with a brand new name, gimmick, and menu. Now called the T Café, the shop is a shrine to all things tea (although, should not be confused with the nearby All Things Tea). The sidewalk may still bear a scribbled "Save Dooney's", but the old café is but a memory.

Where Dooney's was impressively staunch in its traditionalism and refusal to change with the fads, the people behind T Café see themselves as part of a changing Toronto landscape. "We want to be at the forefront of the tea revolution," declares Daniel the manager, although he doesn't consider it a novel concept. "Tea is embedded in tradition. In other areas of the world like India and the UK, it's actually more popular than coffee, but it's only now catching on in North America. Starbucks is closing all over the place. Coffee has plateaued." Well, that's not necessarily the case, but there is a lot of room for the new tea niche.

T Café treats the tea leaf with the respect it deserves. Those reared on Orange Pekoe and English Breakfast will be flabbergasted by the sheer breadth of options. Over 50 loose-leaf teas are available from all five major tea regions: Japan, China, India, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan (pay attention; there'll be a test later). Every day, three teas are featured as "teas of the day". Where a coffee is usually single-serving, teas at T Café come in individual teapots that provide a couple of cups per pot. They'll even be happy to provide you with extra hot water for the leftover tea leaves (although you didn't hear that from me). The loose-leaf teas are all available iced, or in 50 and 100 gram tins to take home.

But they don't stop there. There's also a full tapas-style menu (that's one Toronto trend they've missed by a mile), with tea infused into almost every dish. Selections like Fried Onions with Green Tea Batter, BBQ Back Ribs with Black Tea Sauce, and Rice Paper Green Tea Gravlax may seam a bit odd, but they're all meant to fully showcase the leaf in all its glory. Dishes are all under ten dollars, and there are two tasting options ($22.50 and $30) if you want to try a bit of everything.