Tao Tea Leaf

Tao Wu, a second-generation tea exporter raised in Wu Yi Shan — a landscape long associated with oolong and black tea production in Fujian province — founded Tao Tea Leaf in Toronto in 2009 with Mingzhu Gao, a fellow certified tea sommelier who came to the business from an accounting background. The shop on Yonge Street sources traditional, handmade teas directly from growers and tea masters, building a collection that has grown to roughly 180 teas and blends, including more than fifty certified organic.

The company won First Place at the North American Tea Championship, and in 2013 Wu and Gao founded what has since grown into Canada's largest tea festival, now drawing more than 2,500 attendees annually in Toronto. Tao Tea Leaf also runs in-store tastings and workshops with partners including the Toronto Public Library and the Park Hyatt.

A second-generation tea exporter's family trade, transplanted to Yonge Street and grown into both a nationally competitive tea shop and the anchor of Canada's largest annual tea festival.