​Like Chaucer’s pilgrims, we “Longed to go on pilgrimage,” not to Canterbury, but to Canada, to marvel at the glorious autumn foliage in the eastern provinces. So last October, we made our way to Montreal to begin our explorations in the hospitable, French-speaking province of Quebec, the starting point of our adventure down the St. Lawrence River and beyond.
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​While viewing the fall foliage was our primary goal, we discovered many historic, natural, cultural and culinary delights along the way. Among these wonders was Montreal’s magnificent, neo-gothic Notre Dame Cathedral, with its huge organ, exquisite stained glass windows and elaborately decorated ceiling with stars and Fleur de Lis in very French blue.
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​Old Quebec City was another wonder.  We were transported to medieval France as we wandered on cobblestones among the lovely old brick and stone homes and copper roofed French style chateaux, including the massive Chateau Frontinac, now a Fairmont hotel.
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​Other highlights of Quebec included stops in the welcoming town of Saguenay, and the pristine beauty of the Farrillion National Park on the rugged Gaspe peninsula. In Saguenay, we were introduced to the food and culture of the local First Nation people, known as the Ilnu, and we witnessed the beauty of the boreal forest, a mixture of evergreens with deciduous maples, birch and mountain ash.
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​The Gaspe peninsula, in the Gulf of ST. Lawrence, is home to whales, seals and migrating sea birds as well as the luminous autumn colors in the surrounding hills that comprise the end of the Appalachian Trail. There was a seasonal chill in the air as we watched the sea birds, who had already begun their winter migration, and marveled at the mountain ash trees, covered with big clusters of huge red berries among the yellow birch leaves, red maples and deep green cedars and pines.
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These and many other treasures await the visitor to Quebec, a province rich in history and French culture going back to the 1500s, and the even older culture of the Iroquois, who lived in one of the most beautiful natural settings on earth. Though I cannot describe every detail of the kaleidoscope that comprised our time in Quebec, I will return to Montreal, where our journey began, and share a small, unique adventure that has remained a fond memory: our walking Tea Tour of Chinatown, Quartier Latin, The Plateau and Mile-End with tea connoisseur Mélissa Simard, founder of Round Table Tours. (www.roundtablefoodtours.com)
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​Mélissa led our small group on a lively English language hike over cobblestones and up and down hills and curving streets to five different tea-themed venues where we experienced first-hand the history and evolution of tea and tea culture.
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Logically enough, we started in Montreal’s Chinatown, as the tea plant, Camellia Sinensis, originated in China. Our first stop was My Cup of Tea, where we tasted two traditional Chinese teas, Blooming Flower, a green tea with osmanthus flowers, and ginseng oolong. This charming little shop offers a wide selection of Chinese teas for purchase. (www.mcot.ca)
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​​Next, we visited Camellia Sinensis Maison de Thé, one of the five top tea importers in North America. We removed our shoes as we entered this zen-style tea shop and school for tea sommeliers. Tea guru Kevin Gascoyne, co-author of the definitive Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties, is one of the four owners this interesting place, which offers tea from China, Japan, India and other tea growing regions for sale. We were invited to sit and enjoy a tea tasting, starting with Silver Needle, a white tea from China. White tea is lightly oxidized for a fresh, clean tea flavor. We also appreciated a taste of Pu-Erh, from 2006, an aged black fermented tea named for the city in Yunan province where this tea originated. Tea was first consumed in China for its medicinal properties, and Pu-Erh is reputed to aid in digestion. Camellia Sinensis Maison de Thé has an extensive website (www.camelliasinensismaisondethe) where on-line shoppers can purchase a wide variety of elegant tea cups, teapots and other tea ware as well as an impressive selection of books and magazines on various aspects of tea in both English and French.
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​​After a few pleasant sips of Dong Ding Mr. Chan oolong from Taiwan in the final moments of our respite at Camellia Sinensis, Mélissa, our intrepid tea mistress, hustled us off to Kusmi Tea (Maison de Thé since 1867.) This establishment, which started in St. Petersburg, now has 126 tea boutiques around the world. They specialize in perfumed, blended teas for unique aromas and flavors. From among Kusmi’s vast tea offerings from Sri Lanka, India, China and Japan, we were given several interesting tea blends to taste. Each blend has its own intriguing name, such as Anastasia, a very aromatic Earl Grey-style tea with orange and bergamot, Prince Vladimir, a spicy floral black tea flavored primarily with cloves and popular at Christmas time and St. Petersburg, a sweet, caramel flavored dessert tea. This large, airy shop, filled with big white tea canisters and imposing silver samovars, offers a tea blend for every imagination, including one called Be Cool, flavored with licorice, peppermint and verbena. The Kusmi boutique in Montreal is located at 3875 Saint Denis. The online boutique can be accessed at: kusmitea.com.
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​One of the high points of our entire sojourn in Quebec was our visit to Cha Do Raku. a Kyushu-style Japanese tea house and boutique. Here we celebrated a whimsical, updated Japanese tea ceremony hosted by the delightful female proprietor, Shiho Kanamaru. She told us that she hopes to make a playful version of chanoyu, or Japanese Tea Ceremony, advocated by Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591,) famous for establishing the elegant simplicity and spontaneous artistry of the traditional Japanese “way of tea.”
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​At Cha Do Raku, we sampled three Japanese teas and some lovely traditional yet innovative Japanese style food prepared by Ms. Kanamaru to harmonize with the tea. We started with a roasted green tea, then Goicha, a fermented tea from Shikoku, and finally, steamed Sencha, whole green tea leaves infused in hot water. To complement our tea tastings, we were offered Japanese style ceramic bowls of homemade multigrain rice flavored with miso, radish, gobo (burdock root,) eggplant and large black beans in a subtle peanut sauce. This dish, just freshly prepared, was perfect with the tea.
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​​For the sweet portion of the tea ceremony, we were offered tiny cups of coconut cardamom cream with an intense matcha (powdered green tea leaves) syrup poured over it for a sort of “green tea affogato.” Our hostess told me that the coconut cream contained coconut milk, palm sugar and ground cardamom cooked together for about forty minutes and strained. She said that the matcha “syrup” contained no sugar. When I made the coconut cream later at home following these instructions, my version did not resemble the light, ethereal taste of the dessert we had a Cha Do Raku, although it did produce a very flavorful coconut syrup that was quite delicious poured over ice cream.
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​Our unique experience there was something magical, fleeting and ephemeral in the mingling tastes, textures and colors of the tea and the simple, elegant food—like a dragonfly skimming along the surface of still water. I believe that Rikyu would have been pleased.
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​For our final stop on our Montreal walking tea tour, we visited Cardinal Tea Room for an experience that resembled a traditional English style Afternoon Tea. Mélissa told us that she had tried all of the traditional European style tea rooms in Montreal and chose the Cardinal for our tour because of the quality of the tea and the food. Although I have not visited every tea room in Montreal for comparison purposes, I was more than satisfied with Cardinal. The upstairs room has a charming retro ambience with nothing corny or cutsie—just an old fashioned tea room with no tablecloths but a nice collection of unmatched floral cups, saucers, plates and teaspoons. The tea was served in Red teapots in homage to their mascot, the iconic red bird. We tried three of The Cardinal’s teas and liked all of them: Genmaicha (a Japanese green tea with roasted rice,) Rooibos de Provence (the red herbal tea usually grown in Africa,) and Cardinal Grey, the house black tea blend.
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​​On the day of our visit, The Cardinal served only five food items, but each one was simple, basic and perfect, and presented on a lovely three-tiered server in the English tradition. The two sandwich selections were smoked trout with cream cheese and white cheddar with Branston Pickle Relish on firm white bread, both very good and served at room temperature as cheese should be. The blueberry scones arrived fresh from the oven with crispy tops and warm, soft centers, accompanied by clotted cream and jam. The sweets were both bars: very fresh lemon bars with crisp, buttery crusts and deep, dark and dense chocolate bars with no icing, intensely chocolate and not too sweet.
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​We were exhausted after trekking all over Montreal in search of tea, but we were thrilled by the experience. We relished the variety of tea offerings, and we were impressed by Mélissa’s excellent taste and integrity in selecting only the finest teas and the best tea-related activities for her clients. Quebec is a province of great variety and infinite charm. Our Afternoon Tea Walking Tour of Old Montreal was just one of many unique experiences awaiting the visitor to this memorable place.
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​If you are curious to know more about tea but don’t have time for a visit to Montreal at the moment, our website provides a quick review entitled “A Brief History of Tea” in the Tea Book section of myteaplanner.com. You can also access a tab on “Teas of the World and How to Make Tea.” In the “Tea Menu Basics” section of our website, you will find an extensive selection of free recipes for Sandwiches, Savories, Scones and Tea Breads, all designed to be served with tea.
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​Finally, January is a perfect month for a tea party. After the busy holidays, it is comforting to share lovingly brewed hot tea and carefully prepared foods in a quiet cozy setting with a few favorite friends. The Winter Tea on our website is a good place to start. January 1, New Year’s Day, is also the day that the new year, in 2018, The Year of the Dog, is celebrated in Japan and among people of Japanese ancestry living throughout the world. We will be celebrating Japanese New Year at our home with the traditional foods, served with hot green tea, that are prepared only on this special day. I hope you will take a look at the Japanese New Year’s Tea in the January calendar section of myteaplanner.com. If you do not feel ready to make the entire menu, you might want to make just Ozoni, the simple, fresh and delicious Japanese New Year’s soup. As my co-author Kathleen points out in her January blog, winter is definitely the time for hot soup. Happy New Year to all of you.