'Warm and cozy' Penticton tea shop starting new chapter

Claire Keys is about to make like a tea tree and leave.

Teas and Weaves has been a staple of downtown Penticton since the doors opened in 2005. But as the founder gets ready to dip out, local tea lovers aren’t getting hung out to dry – thanks to some fresh blood coming into the mix.

Before Janice Poncé – the new owner – considered taking over the business, she assumed tea was mostly popular among older folks. But she’s come to realize how many younger adults are among her new clientele.

“The younger generation, 20s to 40s, they know exactly what kind of tea they want,” Poncé said, adding that many teas are popularized through online trends. “They get ahold of some article and go, ‘Huh let’s grab onto this.’”

Matcha tea from Japan is especially trendy among the younger crowd at the moment.

“Making it requires a little ceremony, you have the bowl, and you have to whisk it and you drink it from the bowl,” said Poncé.

Their giant assortment of teas has been fine-tuned to meet the demands of what’s most popular locally. For some locally crafted flavours, try their specialty blends Penticton Fruit Bowl or the Okanagan Wine Down.

As the owner of a mom-and-pop shop, it’s always been important for Keys to offer excellent customer service and create a friendly environment. Lots of locals wander into the store just for a chit-chat.

But after years of building those relationships and their brand, David’s Tea – an international corporation – thought it was a good idea to enter the Penticton market and opened a shop in Cherry Lane Shopping Centre.

“You get that sort of horrible pit in your stomach thinking, ‘Oh my god, now we’re in competition,’” Keys said.

However, it was only three months or so before Keys realized a franchise in the mall wasn’t serious competition. Customers admitted they were impressed by the packaging at David’s Tea, but not as much by the actual tea.

Keys describes her shop as a global village, as numerous products are sourced from around the world in addition to the tea. It’s a way of escaping to exotic lands from Penticton’s Main Street, she says.

For anybody who’s entered their Rug Cave, it’s easy to see “Weaves” is part of the business’s name.

“All you have to do is go in there and you feel warm and cozy.”

Every wall of the cave is covered by rugs from Afghanistan, India, Iran and Turkey. They’re imported by Keys’ husband Fritz Hovenbach, and despite his high standards for beauty and quality, she says customers are most impressed by the prices. And Hovenbach will continue importing rugs for Teas and Weaves after the transition.

It’s still the transition period, however, so Keys and Poncé are both running the shop right now, but Keys will be leaving after the holidays are over. Pop into 265 Main St. to see what they’re all about.