It's no secret; tea houses are fast replacing cafés - owed perhaps to the trend towards health consciousness or, possibly, to just being sick of coffee breath. At any rate, tea shops like Tealish, All Things Tea, and T Cafe have been infiltrating Hog-town, a fast paced city that, to say the least, needs its caffeine. Even if you don’t believe that tea has as much caffeine as coffee, the leafy liquid has a quality even more coveted by the local Torontonian than that special, hopped-up feeling; that is, caché. For over five thousand years, tea has been healing, hydrating, slimming, curing, and relaxing varying cultures from the east to the west.

So the tea shops that have opened of late have been serving up a variety of unique teas, special blends and even tea pastries, but have they proffered up any of its history? Karin Min, owner of the brand new Rosedale tea shop, Xian, would answer, absolutely not. The eponymous shop, named for one of the most ancient and historically rich city's in China, Xian, is Min's attempt to recreate, in a small way, the storied city. Like Xian, the city, located in the heart of the booming business spot that was the silk route, Xian, the shop, hopes to better introduce the booming business spot that is Yonge St. to the treasures of the east.

Xian is not just a tea shop. Yes, it serves tea. But it is not a place that you go up to the counter, order an oversized beverage and call it a day. The staff of Xian underwent three months of training, tasted over 500 teas and are trained to serve patrons beverages that match their body condition, mood, weight, etc. For those prescribed the bai hao silver needle tea, that is plucked from a tiger's lair and is ripe for the picking under ten days a year, I hope you have a hefty pocket. The specialized green tea costs $41 per 50 grams. A less expensive, but still costly, rare tea on the menu is the Monkey Peak, the leaves grow too high for humans to reach so monkeys climb atop the ostensibly more evolved bipeds' shoulders and grab the rare leaves. This tea runs $15 per 50 grams.

But the over 40 varieties of tea, pastries, and bulgogi are not the only eastern treasures Min offers at her interesting store. The stately lady goes to Beijing four times a year to pick out unique furniture pieces that serve as décor in her shop only until they are sold to interested patrons. Min expects the furniture to move quickly, as every month a 20-foot container, stuffed with eastern curios, shows up at her narrow Yonge St. door step.

Xian is a perfect piece of authentic east, so much so that if you end up visiting the spot too much you might change your name to Donna Chang and have your friends berate you with the line: "you know, you're not Chinese." – E.H

Xian, 1252 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON