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Tea's company, too >> Hot cups for cold afternoons by SARAH MUSGRAVE
Bleu Caramel Opened a few months ago, this teeny tiny restaurant tucked away on a Plateau side street is the place to go for afternoon tea, Japanese style. Its traditional floor seating, long wooden tables and deep blue walls provide a serene setting for much-needed Zen moments on a minus-30 day. In addition to a sushi menu, Bleu Caramel has about 40 different types of tea for your tasting pleasure. One favourite is jasmine: made with flower petals, it's relaxing and sweet, just like this place. 4517 de la Roche (near Mont-Royal), 526-0005 Camellia Sinensis This hardcore salon de thé in the Quartier Latin area takes its name from the evergreen bush that is the source of tea leaves. Inside, long hairs mix with squares over communal bongs of aromatized tabacco or warm their hands on unusual pottery teapots. Silver canisters gleam in the light as something akin to techno "Hare Hare" plays softly in the background. Hard-to-find teas can be purchased in bulk and helpful staff will fill you in other the finer aspects of steeping. The smoky flavour of Russian Caravan, which some might call the tea equivalent of patchouli, is best suited to this tea house. 351 Emery, near Berri metro 286-4002 Toman Pastry Shop Tucked away on a second floor near the downtown Concordia campus, this Czech pastry paradise really calls to mind Eastern Europe: floor-length windows hung with plants, oil paintings and well-worn blue- and gold-rimmed cup and saucers. To relieve winter misery, try the apple and cranberry strudel, served with or without real whipped cream. A piping hot pot of Twining's Earl Grey, flavoured with bergamot, is the ultimate accompaniment. 1421 Mackay; 844-1605 Salon de Thé O-Cha-I 
You'll be able to peer out over the snowdrifts from this new basement space on St-Denis, a welcome niche for those who miss the other tea houses that closed on the strip (La Chartreuse and Le Daphné). The very, very attentive family that runs the place sell and serve an enormous variety of tea from India, Africa, Japan and China, as well as a bubblegum tisane for kids. You can peruse all sorts of tea-related gifts or check out the local watercolours lining the brick walls. The name O-Cha-I comes from a mixture of Asian words for tea, but also conveniently calls to mind chai, that delectable spicy and sweet Indian beverage of hot milk, sugar, cardamom and cinnamon. 4517 St-Denis (near Mont-Royal metro), 982-9229 Fouquet's Sometimes you just want to say fouquet all, and treat yourself to an après-midi à la Marie Antoinette. In the 1600s, when dried tea was first imported to Europe, it was considered so valuable that tea caddies were locked with a key--something to consider when you get the bill at the local branch of this famed Parisian salon de thé/bar/resto. Behind the white bistro curtains lurk waiters in formal vests, framed photographs and all the trappings of the timelessly chic. Here I'd go for a classic Orange Pekoe, with cake of course, always with cake! 2180 de la Montagne, 284-2132 Restaurant Ambiance It's no longer called the Ambiance Tea Room, but those in search of caffeine and cake are always welcome. The place still knows how to do it right: loose tea only, and in style. This electic neighbourhood hideaway is perfect for refuelling stop after shopping in the antique shops in the area. The "ambiance" mingles well with a cup of Darjeeling, a delicate tea from eastern India. 1874 Notre-Dame W. (near Georges-Vanier metro), 939-2609
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