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A tea shop named desire: Sicamous entrepreneurs open new storefront

Heidi and Tony Aupers have been in the tea business since 2005
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Heidi Aupers smiles as she browses a selection of teas at Tea Desire’s storefront at the Parkland Shopping Centre in Sicamous on Oct. 1. (Zachary Roman - Eagle Valley News)

For Tony and Heidi Aupers, Tea Desire is their company and their passion.

Tea Desire has been around since 2005, when the Aupers opened their first store in Vernon.

They’ve been selling loose-leaf tea in stores and online ever since.

Heidi said a few years ago, they unfortunately had to close their remaining storefronts.

However, tea is the Auper’s passion, and they kept their business alive through the online store.

Then, another curveball was thrown their way. They had to move out of the Sicamous building they were using as the warehouse for their imported teas.

However, the curveball turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

As the Aupers looked through the limited options for warehouse space, they saw a location at the Parkland Shopping Centre come up. The unit at Parkland had enough space to be a warehouse, and still have some left for a storefront.

So, the Aupers moved their business there.

Heidi said she likes the big windows of the new storefront, as she can show off the over 200 kinds of tea she and her husband have in store, as well as the wide variety of teaware.

“My passion is to interact with customers and find the right tea for them,” said Heidi.

“I think people appreciate that we’re here and they can come pick up whatever tea they’re looking for.”

What Sicamous residents might also appreciate, is that locals get a 10 per cent discount automatically when they come into the store, said Heidi.

The Aupers have lived in Sicamous since 1997, and used to own a diner on Main Street.

Heidi said she’d love to have people explore Tea Desire’s teas, and there’s new ones available to sample each day.

Read more: Vanishing volunteers: Shuswap non-profits struggle to find help since pandemic hit

Read more: ‘Aroy Maak means very tasty’: 3 Sicamous women combine talents and open Thai restaurant


Do you have something else we should report on? Email: zachary.roman@saobserver.net
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