The Tea Girl Story

Sarah “Teagirl” was introduced to tea by her grandmother, who was known to always have a steeping pot of Twinings Earl Grey on the stove.

It was during college where Sarah began to understand the complexity of the world of tea and was even known for having a stash of loose-leaf tea and a steeping ball ready for a spot during breaks. “Teagirl” naturally fit from then on.

Sarah had a dream of establishing herself in the tea industry, so after college she pursued hands-on education opportunities and field experience to help her achieve her goals.

In 2003, Sarah began by working Steeps Mount Royal Village in Calgary. She then helped established and develop the Oolong Tea House brand and later the Steeps brand from 2004 to 2010. During this time Sarah also took over managing the wholesale warehouse of Steeps, and design and establishment of a second Oolong Tea House location. In 2011, Sarah successfully achieved her Tea Sommelier certification and taught the certificate class at Bow Valley College. She has traveled both to Sri Lanka and China to learn first hand about tea production and understand more about the tea industry.

In 2010, Sarah took over as an independent owner and operator of the 124th Street Steeps in Edmonton.

Three years after growing the stores community support, Sarah rebranded the location to The Tea Girl, to reflect the vision of her independent tea house. She established a strong online tea business as well as strengthening her in-store tea sales.

The store was expanded in 2016 into a large welcoming bright space with more seating and a full kitchen for fresh store baked treats.

In 2018, The Tea Girl took on the challenge of becoming the only local tea blender in Edmonton of her own flavoured tea line, and is working on establishing relationships around the city with other businesses in supplying locally independent unique teas. The Tea Girl brick and mortar store closed its doors December 29th 2018, but continues the tea journey by selling tea online and throughout other wholesale locations.

Sarah has built a strong tea community and continues to expand her tea network locally and throughout Alberta, and is looking forward to more ways to have customers enjoy tea from The Tea Girl.