What Banff Tea Co. is known for

Founded in 2007 by Susanne Gillies-Smith, who grew up at Lake Louise's Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse, Banff Tea Co. sells over 180 loose teas and herbals — including 40-plus exclusive mountain-themed blends — from its Caribou Street shop.

Banff Tea Co. opened in June 2007, founded by Susanne Gillies-Smith after a personal loss, drawing on childhood summers spent at the Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse near Lake Louise, where her family had a connection to the historic mountain teahouse. The shop is now owned by Siona Gartshore, its longtime manager and Gillies-Smith's friend, who took over the business while keeping its original character intact.

Tucked along Caribou Street in downtown Banff, the shop stocks more than 180 varieties of loose tea and herbal infusions, including over 40 blends mixed exclusively in-house with names and flavors keyed to the surrounding Rocky Mountains. Alongside the tea itself, the shop sells brewing equipment and tea-related gifts, and gives twenty-five percent of its profits to charity — a detail baked into the business rather than an occasional promotion.

For visitors passing through Banff, it's a low-key but well-stocked stop: a genuinely independent tea specialist, not a tourist-souvenir shop that happens to sell tea, with a range deep enough to reward regulars as well as one-time visitors picking up a mountain-themed blend to take home.