Profiles on new Irish immigrants to Vancouver
 SUSAN BERGIN being interviewed by Michéal Donnellan at Malone’s pub.
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VANCOUVER – As part of a continuing series of profiles, The Celtic Connection presents the third interview by Michéal Donnellan on some of the new Irish immigrants arriving in western Canada.
Susan Bergin: Owner of
SAFA Himalaya Tea Company and set up Facebook group Irish in Vancouver.
Tell us a bit about yourself, Susan.
I'm from Dublin, but after graduating from Trinity College in 2005 I headed over to the University of London to do a Masters, where I met Mark, an ice-hockey player from Edmonton, Alberta.
We lived together in Ireland for a year before we caught the travel bug and set off towards Asia, stopping in India, Hong Kong, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.
A chance meeting with a fellow Irishman in Kathmandu led to an offer of an internship with the UN that involved trekking to remote and unexplored villages at the foot of Mount Everest – a dream come true!
We went on to work for the United Nations International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Nepal, where we stayed for almost two years. It really was the opportunity of a lifetime. We made it to both Annapurna Base Camp and Everest Base Camp at 5,545 metres.
And it was here you became interested in tea?
Yes, we encountered the tea growers of remote rural Nepal, living at altitudes above 3,000 metres, higher than Mont Blanc. The houses were made of stone with no toilets and no running water, like Ireland 150 years ago!
Our work involved regular visits to tea gardens, so we had the opportunity to taste extraordinary teas. The areas in which tea is produced are some of the most beautiful in the world, but I have to admit I felt an overwhelming guilt every time I had a cup because I now know the hardship behind its production.
And so, at the request of the small farmers we had befriended, we pooled every single skill we had learned – business, science, humanitarian aid, tea cultivation – and decided to bring back the finest tea we could find! The SAFA Himalaya Tea Company was born!
Why tea?
There is a whole world of teas out there that are just not getting the attention they deserve. Just like wine, fine tea offers complex fragrances that are typically fruity and floral, that vary depending on the variety of tea leaves and the way they are harvested and processed.
Being able to tell the story of our relationship with small gardens really adds to our credibility, creating the mystique of real tea experts.
What does SAFA mean?
In Nepali SAFA means pure. I like to think of it as more than just a name, but the overall feeling you get as it rolls off your tongue (cheesy, I know!). Say it slowly... SAFA, picture the carpet of tea that covers every slope as far as the eye can see, and feel the crisp breeze of the mountain air.
We have also set up the SAFA Foundation in Nepal with a mission to educate tea lovers and adventurers about the needs of remote mountainous communities living in those regions. We are planning to organize a 'Charity Challenge' trek to Everest Base Camp in 2011, so if anyone is interested let me know!
What do you drink, Lyons, Barry's or Bewleys?
Growing up when I thought of tea, I always thought of Lyons Gold Blend in a crushed cardboard container stashed in the back of the cupboard at the ready for births, deaths, break-ups, and cold winter nights tucked up in front of the fire with a few digestives to dunk.
For such a small nation, we Irish drink a phenomenal amount of tea, over three kilograms per head each year. Most of us more than four cups a day. That’s over one billion cups of tea in Ireland each year!
And are there many health benefits to drinking different types of tea?
Well, tea is a natural source of antioxidants, it deceases your free radicals and stops your teeth from falling out. It also helps against prostrate and bowel cancer and oolong tea can decrease the fat in your metabolism – Victoria Beckham drinks it!
There are more advantages to drinking SAFA because we use the full leaf! This also means you get the full flavour, better quality, nicer colour and it smells nicer, like the difference between wine out of a box compared to the best wine there is!
And if I wanted to buy a cup, now, if I was walking down the street and entered a coffee shop and asked for SAFA, how much would I pay?
About four dollars a cup. Which is a good price for quality I think considering the price of a drink in a bar, and we also have the SAFA foundation which means 25 percent of our proceeds go to small scale projects in the tea gardens in Nepal. Things like clean water, toilets and schools.
Great, and where can I buy it in Vancouver?
SAFA's Pure Himalayan Teas are available online at: www.safahimalaya.com. You can also find it at New Apple Farm Market at 2011 Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver and
Queensdale Market at 3030 Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver. We can also be found on the last Sunday of each month at Vancouver's exclusive Portobello West Market located at 1755 Cottrell Street in Vancouver (off Terminal Avenue).
And are the people in Nepal getting a good deal? Do you pay them well for the product?
Absolutely, they can pretty much name their price, and often we pay up to 200 percent more than you would under a Fair Trade agreement. It’s all very fair, no exploitation or anything like that. We could pay up to $40 a kilo, compared to some of the bag companies that pay $1.10.
What about trying to get Irish people in Vancouver to drink SAFA?
Yeah, we’d like to get the Irish to drink it here, and then maybe they can start bringing it home! Considering it could cost $10 a box of Barry’s here, I don’t see why they wouldn’t be more adventurous, it’s certainly worth it, our aim is to end the tyranny of the teabag!
So if the Irish love tea so much why did you come to Canada?
Naturally, Ireland was the first choice to launch our new tea (ad)venture – but the economic slowdown has forced tea drinkers to opt for cheaper alternatives. More importantly, there was no hope for a start-up like us to take on the giants of Irish tea – Barry's, Bewley's and Lyons!
We swiftly kicked Plan B into action and decided to give Canada another go. My first visit to Edmonton in 2008 ended in disaster when I was chased away by record lows of -58!
The tea industry in Canada looked promising with growth at 11 percent over the past three years, and 91 percent overall in the last decade.
Without wasting any time, I applied for permanent residency in July 2009 and after a long wait, I returned to Vancouver in January 2010 as an Olympic 'Blue Jacket' volunteer and to focus on launching SAFA Himalaya. I got to meet John Furlong a few times!
How has it been as a newcomer setting up a business in Canada?
There are lots of resources available for newcomers to BC. Small Business BC and the Women's Enterprise Centre provide useful guides and advice to newcomers.
For those looking for financing to start a business the Canada Youth Business Foundation offers loans of up to $15,000 to Newcomer Entrepreneurs. All you need is references and a letter from your bank at home.
There are also Irish networks like VIBE Vancouver and the Irish Women's Network of BC.
And of course The Celtic Connection is a wonderful resource and the 'Irish in Vancouver' Facebook page is a great way to get plugged into the local Irish scene.
I hear it was you who set up the 'Irish in Vancouver' on Facebook?
Yeah – at was me! It started off as a joke in Malone's during the first Ireland v France game in October. A group of us thought a Facebook group would be a great way of keeping in touch.
So I set up a Facebook page there and then on the I-Phone. When I checked back a few weeks later there were over 200 fans.
The page has really taken on a life of its own. Last time I checked, there were over 400 people – unbelievable! I've since added The Celtic Connection, Ireland-Canada monument, ISSC, Moving to Vancouver blog and more, as administrators to post news and events for the Irish in Vancouver. I'm quite proud of the page even though I haven’t met many of the people in 'real' life!
That’s great, you sound like a natural entrepreneur, any last words for our readers?
Join the 'Irish in Vancouver' on Facebook and try tea from the top of the world at www.safahimalaya.com. Get high! Taste the Himalaya!
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