The Cowichan Valley is now home to Canada’s first tea farm - the latest addition to the district’s booming agriculture tourism industry.

The region is already known for its wineries and the country’s first water buffalo farm.

"Here in the valley we have an amazing number of micro-climates in a condensed area. In a short period of time, you can see so many different things,” Janet Docherty, president of the Tourism Cowichan Society, said.

After six years and with more than 800 plants, Teafarm has officially opened for business.

“It’s about how it’s evolved from year one, which is leaves and boiling water, to what we feel is one of the finest teas that I’ve ever drank,” Teafarm co-owner Victor Vesely said. “Not only is it fine but it’s also very unique, very different, nothing like I’ve ever tasted before and I drink a lot of tea.”

According to Vesely, all tea comes from the same plant called the Camellia - various elevations and soil types create the different flavours.

"That’s why this is so fabulously unique, because no one's really tasted Cowichan tea or Vancouver Island tea in its pure form," Vesely told CTV News.

Visitors can sample more than 100 teas at the tasting bar and enjoy tea inspired treats as well.

“We do a lot of tasting, we also import teas – organic and biodynamic tea estates - so we spend a lot of time refining palates and offering our customers high quality tea,” Vesely added.

The island’s warming climate is also having a positive effect on the farm’s production.

"It's freshly harvested, steamed right away, then dried, manipulated and rolled and then finished,” Vesely said. “It happens in a quick fresh and amazingly capturing all the flavours.”

On Canada Day Teafarm will launch their very own Canadian tea called ‘Tree Frog Green’ in honour of the tree frog coming into the valley.

“There’s very little to no astringency in the tea for some wonderful reason, so there’s no bitterness,” Vesely said. “What’s lovely about it, it almost has a little citrus overtone, kind of vegetal. It’s just rich and deep.”

Following the launch of the green tea, Teafarm will work on producing Oolong style tea, white tea and a maple-smoked tea.

You can find more information on Teafarm here.