My Tea Planner
  • Home
  • About/Blog
    • Who We Are
    • Our Credentials
    • Tea Travels - Rose's Blog
    • Cakes and Tea - Kathleen's Blog
    • Contact Us
  • The Tea Book
    • The Road Back to Civilization
    • A Brief History of Tea
    • Philosophy of Tea >
      • Harmony
      • Humility
      • Respect
      • Creativity
    • Guidelines for the Host/Hostess >
      • Gathering and Greeting
      • Sharing Stories
      • Sharing Food
      • Sending the Guests Home
    • Guidelines for the Guest >
      • Respect Your Hostess/Host
      • Bring a Gift if You Wish
      • Practice Humility
      • Monitor Your Conversation
      • Arrive with a Grateful Attitude
      • Help if Help is Needed
      • Do Not Criticize
      • Leave Gracefully
      • Send a Thank You Note
    • A Checklist for Planning a Tea Party
    • Teas of the World and How to Make Tea >
      • A Sampling of Teas
      • Herbal Teas and Tisanes
      • How to Make Tea
      • Making Iced Tea
      • Tea Concentrate
      • Brewing Tea for a Crowd
    • Tea Utensils and Accessories >
      • Tea Kettle
      • Tea Pot
      • Tea Cozy
      • Teacups
      • Plates
      • Silverware
      • Teacart
      • Tea Strainer
      • Tea Infuser
      • Three-Tiered Server
      • Cream Pitcher and Sugar Bowl
      • Cake Pedestal
      • Trifle Bowl
      • Jam Pots
      • Serving Dishes, Platters, and Trays
      • Silver Tea Set or Silver Tray
      • Linens
      • Kitchen Equipment for Food Preparation
    • Tea Menu Basics >
      • Sandwiches and Savories
      • Savory Spreads and Dips
      • Scones and Tea Breads >
        • About Lemons
    • Afternoon Tea and the Four Seasons >
      • A Spring Tea
      • An Outdoor Summer Tea
      • An Autumn Afternoon Tea
      • A Winter Afternoon Tea
    • A Calendar of Tea Parties >
      • January: A Japanese New Year’s Tea
      • February: A Valentine’s Day Tea
      • March: A St. Patrick’s Day Irish Tea
      • April: An Easter Tea
      • May: A Mother’s Day Tea
      • June: A Wedding Reception Tea >
        • Lemon Yogurt Wedding Cake
      • July: A Picnic Tea
      • August: A Family Reunion Tea >
        • A North American Family Reunion Tea
        • An Eastern Mediterranean Family Reunion Tea
        • A Kosher Family Reunion Tea
        • A Scandinavian Family Reunion Tea
      • September: An Ozark Farm Harvest Tea
      • October: A Tea to Honor Our Ancestors (Dia de los Muertos)
      • November: A Post Thanksgiving Tea
      • December: A Christmas Tea >
        • In Defense of Fruitcake: Fruitcakes and Candied Fruit
    • A World of Tea Parties >
      • A Chinese Dim Sum Tea
      • A Portuguese Tea
      • A Classic British Afternoon Tea
      • An Indian Chai Party
      • A California Tea
      • A Hawaiian Tea
      • An Italian Tea
      • An American Southern Tea
      • A Russian Tea
      • A French Afternoon Tea
      • A Kosher Tea with Tradional Jewish Foods
    • Afternoon Tea for Special Occasions >
      • An Afternoon Tea for Children
      • A Tea for Our Elders
      • A Honey Bee Tea in the Garden
      • An Urban Tea on the Go
      • Tea for One
      • Afternoon Tea for a Large Group
      • A Vegan Tea
      • A Rose Tea
  • Purchase Recipes
  • Resources
    • Bibliography and Resources
    • Menu and Recipe Index
    • Commercial Food Products
    • Glossary

Tea and Travels

Rose's Blog

January 2018 - Quality Time in Quebec

1/1/2018

1 Comment

 
​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. 
​
Picture
​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.
​



​​A bride walks up the
Steps of Notre Dame in the
Chilly autumn air.
Picture

​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.
​

Picture

​​The horse stamps his feet
And drinks from the fountain when
The carriage ride ends.

​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.
​


​​As maple leaves start
Turning red, Canada geese
Gather in the river.
Picture

​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.
​

Picture

​​Harbor seals pop their
Heads out of the water as
Terns rest on the shore.

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)
​


​​In Old Montreal,
Locals eat ice cream on a
Chilly autumn day.
Picture

​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.
​
Picture
Picture

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)
​
Picture
Picture

​​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. 
​
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

​​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.
​
Picture
​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.”
​

​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. 
​
Picture
Picture
Picture

​​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. 
​
Picture
Picture
​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.
​
​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.
​
Picture
Picture
Picture

​​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.
​
​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.
​
​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.
​
Picture
​
​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.
1 Comment
Rudy Pedulla
1/2/2018 11:33:50 am

Another enjoyable travel blog. Alas, I have always wanted to visit Quebec (I'm sorry to say, I think that my traveling days are over). I am impressed again, Rose, that you and Wayne really know how to travel. You share the most delightful experiences with us. Thank you and Happy New Year to you.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Some random thoughts from Rose

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    Contact Us
home
free recipes
purchase recipes
Address : 51-349 Kamehameha Highway, Kaaawa, HI 96730

Telephone :  408-379-5200


Copyright © 2015 by Epilogics
  • Home
  • About/Blog
    • Who We Are
    • Our Credentials
    • Tea Travels - Rose's Blog
    • Cakes and Tea - Kathleen's Blog
    • Contact Us
  • The Tea Book
    • The Road Back to Civilization
    • A Brief History of Tea
    • Philosophy of Tea >
      • Harmony
      • Humility
      • Respect
      • Creativity
    • Guidelines for the Host/Hostess >
      • Gathering and Greeting
      • Sharing Stories
      • Sharing Food
      • Sending the Guests Home
    • Guidelines for the Guest >
      • Respect Your Hostess/Host
      • Bring a Gift if You Wish
      • Practice Humility
      • Monitor Your Conversation
      • Arrive with a Grateful Attitude
      • Help if Help is Needed
      • Do Not Criticize
      • Leave Gracefully
      • Send a Thank You Note
    • A Checklist for Planning a Tea Party
    • Teas of the World and How to Make Tea >
      • A Sampling of Teas
      • Herbal Teas and Tisanes
      • How to Make Tea
      • Making Iced Tea
      • Tea Concentrate
      • Brewing Tea for a Crowd
    • Tea Utensils and Accessories >
      • Tea Kettle
      • Tea Pot
      • Tea Cozy
      • Teacups
      • Plates
      • Silverware
      • Teacart
      • Tea Strainer
      • Tea Infuser
      • Three-Tiered Server
      • Cream Pitcher and Sugar Bowl
      • Cake Pedestal
      • Trifle Bowl
      • Jam Pots
      • Serving Dishes, Platters, and Trays
      • Silver Tea Set or Silver Tray
      • Linens
      • Kitchen Equipment for Food Preparation
    • Tea Menu Basics >
      • Sandwiches and Savories
      • Savory Spreads and Dips
      • Scones and Tea Breads >
        • About Lemons
    • Afternoon Tea and the Four Seasons >
      • A Spring Tea
      • An Outdoor Summer Tea
      • An Autumn Afternoon Tea
      • A Winter Afternoon Tea
    • A Calendar of Tea Parties >
      • January: A Japanese New Year’s Tea
      • February: A Valentine’s Day Tea
      • March: A St. Patrick’s Day Irish Tea
      • April: An Easter Tea
      • May: A Mother’s Day Tea
      • June: A Wedding Reception Tea >
        • Lemon Yogurt Wedding Cake
      • July: A Picnic Tea
      • August: A Family Reunion Tea >
        • A North American Family Reunion Tea
        • An Eastern Mediterranean Family Reunion Tea
        • A Kosher Family Reunion Tea
        • A Scandinavian Family Reunion Tea
      • September: An Ozark Farm Harvest Tea
      • October: A Tea to Honor Our Ancestors (Dia de los Muertos)
      • November: A Post Thanksgiving Tea
      • December: A Christmas Tea >
        • In Defense of Fruitcake: Fruitcakes and Candied Fruit
    • A World of Tea Parties >
      • A Chinese Dim Sum Tea
      • A Portuguese Tea
      • A Classic British Afternoon Tea
      • An Indian Chai Party
      • A California Tea
      • A Hawaiian Tea
      • An Italian Tea
      • An American Southern Tea
      • A Russian Tea
      • A French Afternoon Tea
      • A Kosher Tea with Tradional Jewish Foods
    • Afternoon Tea for Special Occasions >
      • An Afternoon Tea for Children
      • A Tea for Our Elders
      • A Honey Bee Tea in the Garden
      • An Urban Tea on the Go
      • Tea for One
      • Afternoon Tea for a Large Group
      • A Vegan Tea
      • A Rose Tea
  • Purchase Recipes
  • Resources
    • Bibliography and Resources
    • Menu and Recipe Index
    • Commercial Food Products
    • Glossary