Edible Notables: Westholme Tea Farm

By Heather Maxwell Hall / Photography By Danika McDowell | December 29, 2018

Quw’utsun’, or Cowichan, is an indigenous word meaning The Warm Land, and the Cowichan Valley–with its winding country roads, sun-warmed pines and salty sea air–is sometimes called Canada’s Provence. Just an hour north of Victoria and with a maritime Mediterranean climate, it’s the ideal place for a rare plantation—the Westholme Tea Farm.

Tea lovers and food adventurers alike visit this serene 11-acre spot just south of Chemainus, where the husband-and-wife team of Victor Vesely and Margit Nellemann blend ancient tea traditions with modern organic production. They’ve spent over a decade tapping into the unique terroir of the valley to produce Canada’s first Camellia sinensis–the same plant used to make black tea, green tea, and oolong. Observes Nelleman: “Many people don’t know that all tea comes from the same plant. The differences are all in how you process it.”

All Westholme teas are organic, hand-plucked, hand-blended and hand-packed right on the farm. After a decade of cultivation, the farm’s estate-grown teas include a variety of popular blends available for tasting and purchase on site. A converted barn now serves as tea shop, tea room, and a gallery featuring beautiful ceramics by Nellemann.

More than 800 densely planted tea bushes line the farm’s gently sloping hills. Westholme adopted an ancient Chinese tradition of naming teas after the qualities of the place where they are grown—their Tree Frog Green tea, for example, was inspired by the pocket-sized amphibians that hop around the wetlands bordering the tea bushes during harvest time.

“We want to be a home for celebrating tea culture in Canada and to provide a bit of education, too,” says Nelleman. “We get tea geeks galore from all over the world here. We talk about terroir. It’s kind of like wine geeks; they want to know what tea from here tastes like. What’s the flavour from this region, this land.”

It’s all part of what Nelleman refers to as “our 100-year-plan. We want this farm and these tea plants to be around long after we’re gone. To be cultivated and cared for. They’re like grape vines in that sense—they get better with time.”

Don’t miss Westholme's gift shop either, where you'll find curated giftsets, handbuilt ceramic teaware, fine tea tools and accessories. Visit the Westholme Tea website to order teas, plan a visit during one of their in-house tea experiences, or sign up for a fascinating farm tour. The farm also hosts fun tea celebrations and other special events throughout the year, so it’s a good idea to call or email ahead if you are planning a visit. You’ll want to savour your time here—just like a perfectly brewed cup of tea.

The Edible Notables Series is proudly sponsored by Beacon Law Centre