One of my coworkers slipped me a baggie with 3 servings of this as I walked in this morning, so I obviously had no choice in the matter but to try it. It’s just me, the new Florence and the Machine album, and tea. Obviously the key ingredients for a great morning for this graphic designer.
The first thing I noticed about the tea was how strong it smelled. I could suss out that creamy maple through a Ziplock bag held at arm’s length. MAMA LIKEY.
Second, I noticed how ogle-worthy the tea looks. It has pieces in it (likely the apple) and red leaves (safflower) to give off that Canadian feel. Bless those Canadians and their charming accents and dreamy prime minster. What a great bunch of folks.
But what about the taste? Delicious, guys.
When it’s on the tongue, you get spices. It’s like a cider-chai. But then, when you swallow, ahhhhhhhh, syrup. Apples, spices, and maple for DAYS.
BOOM. Suddenly you’re Justin Trudeau’s best friend. He calls you with hot gossip. He invites you on hikes that are exactly at your exercise level. You’re going horseback riding with his mountie friends next week. Also: there’s a sale on flannel at your favorite store, and you will never be cold again.
Thanks, Canada!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Canadian Breakfast from Blue Hour. . . .
Being Canadian, I was excited to try this tea! I wanted to know what ‘Canadian Breakfast’ blend would taste like.
The dry blend smelled sweet and nutty – a good start in my books! I was surprised when the wet leaves smelled mildly earthy. The golden yellow liquor was very smooth, with roasted notes and mild astringency.
Personally, if I were to steep this again, I would let it steep for 4 minutes rather than the 5-minute max. recommendation. That may tone down some of the astringency.
I admit, I always think of maple syrup as one of the foods that are quintessential to Canadian culture, so I was hoping for a sweeter tea. That being said, the tea lived up to the ‘breakfast’ part of its name and would be great at breakfast – a burst of boldness to wake you up in the morning!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Blue Hour
Description
This is our take on the classic English Breakfast tea. Canadian Breakfast is a delicious and full bodied blend of Indian, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Chinese black teas with a few Calendula flowers for colour. This breakfast blend has a balanced flavour and is excellent with milk but is also enjoyable without any additions. It makes a great tea for breakfast and also works well when paired with scones and finger sandwiches.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Maple Forest from 52 Teas. . . . . .
Well, today has been such a rough day. Mila has been so fussy lately, I think she is cutting another tooth. I literally haven’t had a moment to myself all day. Thankfully, her daddy came to my rescue and got her settled while I took a hot shower and relaxed for a minute. Afterwards I, of course, needed to make a cup of tea. What better way to relax than a warm cup of tea, and maple tea to boot!
Maple Forest was one of the teas of the week this month at 52Teas. Unfortunately it is no longer available, but hopefully it will make its return sometime soon because I am now OBSESSED. The tea’s base is very similar to my other favorite, Toasted Marshmallow. It consists of Houjicha (a roasted green tea) and Shou Mei (white tea). The result is a roast-y, toast-y, and smooth drinking tea. Unlike Toasted Marshmallow, this tea contains maple and boy is it DELICIOUS. Because of the toast-yness of the Houjicha/Shou Mei mix, this tea is reminding me an awful lot of Sunday morning pancakes. Delectable! This would be a great cup to have with breakfast.
I certainly made space on my countertop for this blend and it will be happily enjoyed by me daily. I am sad that this tea is gone and glad that I stocked up, but I’m sure it will make another appearance in the future. So keep your eyes peeled if you are interested in trying it!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for the teas that are.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Oh Canada from DAVIDsTea. . . .
This rooibos “taste of Canada” tastes so much like maple syrup you could probably dunk waffles in it. And if I hadn’t given up processed carbs for Lent, I would absolutely do this and get back to you with how it went. Because I think this would work.
It’s a super-rich, super-realistic flavor with lots of rooibos sweetness layered with it. There are also hilarious maple leaf sprinkles. They’re like Canadian fruity pebbles of overbearing Great White North patriotism.
You’d drink this tea in a giant flannel before going out to construct log cabins by hand. You’d shave in the morning and a have collarbone-length beard by mid-afternoon. You’d ride a moose to your neighbor’s house, eat elk-meat burgers, and come home to sleep the 10 hours necessary to maintain all that Canadian ruggedness.
However, the best part of this tea (maple syrup!!!!) is also the tea’s main drawback (maple syrup????). As much as I love maple syrup, I don’t know if I want to drink a huge mug of it, you know?
If Oh Canada were an outfit, Tim Gunn would describe it as “a lot of look.”
I think of this blend almost as a “concept album.” Like that time Christina Aguilera released her sci-fi album, “Bionic“: Or The Flaming Lips’ “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.” Or that time Garth Brooks was Chris Gaines for a while.
David’s Tea wanted to explore what Peak Canada could possibly be. This is their result.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: DAVIDsTea
Description
This super patriotic rooibos blend tastes just like maple syrup. Sweet!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Maple Cheesecake Tie Guan Yin from 52Teas . . . . .
This tea makes me want to use hip words like “yaaaaaaaaaaassss” and “slaaaay, queen.” It makes me want to actually USE my SnapChat account so I can post a picture of my mug and put, like, an overjoyed smiley on it and some sort of catchy phrase underneath. Maybe “tea on fleek”?
This tea comes in cute rolled-up little balls that remind me of hedgehogs when they’re all snuggled in. When you get them in the water, they majestically unfurl into pretty leaves.
The resulting taste is a vegetal, sweet, syruppy, ever-so-slightly nutty flavor. I’m not really getting cheesecake from it, but I’m definitely getting maple.
The tea’s gestalt is like maple dressing on a really tasty salad. And if maple salad dressing does not exist, I would like to claim credit for the idea and become a zillionaire off it.
(leaves) (returns) I just used Google. Someone’s already thought of it.
That’s okay. It was a good moment of optimism. I’ll just have to keep hoping my million-dollar idea is out there. Until then, I’ll happily sip down what remains of this sample.
Though this tea is not available on 52Teas’ site at the moment, you can achieve something similar here.
Happy healthy eating, Internet!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Description
This tea is no longer available but click below for blends that are.