RESIDENT EXPERT
& Expert EXPERT
Brewing a Tea Cocktail Revolution FROM EUROPE TO WINNIPEG, REDEFINING COCKTAILS WITH TEA
M ark Turner, owner of the Amsterdam Tea er in his home village of Rhu in Scotland. In 2000, he landed a cocktail bartending job in Glasgow’s first high volume cocktail bar for the Scotsman Group. He stayed with the company for the next 14 years and fell in love with bar culture — and, specifically, cocktail culture. With an international interest, he worked in bars around the world with stints in France, Austria, Australia and New York. Finally in 2018, he decided to open his own cocktail bar here in Winnipeg. Why Winnipeg? He has strong family ties and a love for Manitoban people Room cocktail bar, has been in the hospitality industry since 1996. He started as a dishwash-
and weather after spending many family holidays here while growing up. Based on his experience, Mark wanted to bring a piece of old school European bar culture to Winnipeg and could think of no better area than the historic Exchange District. He opened the Amsterdam Tea Room cocktail bar and hasn’t looked back since. Over the years, he has always maintained a love for tea, specifically its versatility as an ingredient in food and beverages. To share this passion, Mark created a cocktail menu designed around tea rather than just classic cocktail types. He very much applies a chef’s approach to flavour and drinks, including both alcoholic and non- alcoholic tea cocktails. While Mark will be the first to admit he did not invent the concept of tea cocktails, there are very few (if any) exclusive tea cocktail menus out there globally — and he is very proud of the tea cocktail culture influence he has brought to Winnipeg. Before he moved here in 2014, you’d be hard-pressed to find tea cocktails on any local bar menus. Now, tea cocktails have become a staple at all the best cocktail bars in Winnipeg. At the same time, Mark supplies wholesale tea to many other bars, cafés, hotels and restaurants in the city and across Canada. With that service, he also loves sharing his expertise, knowledge and recipes with anyone who is interested. His goal is to make cocktails approachable and unintimidating. Mark and his team are always happy to educate and share their expertise. Everyone has the potential to be a great home mixologist — and with the right guidance and the right teas, it’s easy!
MARK TURNER, OWNER OF AMSTERDAM TEA ROOM SOCIALS: AMSTERDAMTEAROOM.COM @AMSTERDAMTEAROOMANDBAR
SAVOUR MANITOBA | SUMMER 2026 | 5
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