Organic Maple Black Tea

INFUSION: Sunset orange with red highlights
INFORMATION:
Maple Syrup is one of those products that most of us take for granted. It just seems so simple – a sweet, natural syrup that comes in a bottle or can that we pour over pancakes – nothing complicated about it. So.it may interest you to know that the history of Maple Syrup, the story that took it from the tree to your kitchen table, is one of continual invention, ingenuity and determination.

The story began with the natives of northeastern Canada and the US centuries ago. They discovered that by cutting a notch into a maple tree, sweet sap could be collected that could be reduced down into an even sweeter syrup. Reduction was accomplished by submerging heated stones into a wooden bowl filled with sap. If that sounds labor intensive and time consuming, that's because it was – which is why early European settlers to the Eastern Canada in the 1600's, introduced copper kettles to the equation. Now, the 40 liters of sap that needed to be boiled down to produce 1 liter of syrup could be reduced much faster. Still, with time of the essence, maple producers continued to look for even faster ways of making their sweet product.

Legend has it that the next advancement came from Vermont. In that State, a farmer decided that in order to speed up the process he would develop a flat-bottomed tin pan that could better capture the heat of a fire. Next, in and around 1864 a farmer in Quebec decided to hammer a series of baffles into the bottom of the flat pans to help channel the boiling sap. In 1872, another Vermonter further developed an evaporator with two pans, a metal arch and a firebox to further speed up boiling times. In 1889, another Canadian decided to bend the tin at the bottom of the pan to increase the heated surface area and further decrease boiling time and so on and so on and so on.

As the final stage in the development of all-natural maple products, we offer this fabulous organic Maple flavored tea. Infused with all natural flavorings and a hint of pure organic maple syrup, this is one cup that doesn't need any further enhancement – it's perfect as it is! An incredible brew that can be enjoyed hot or chilled over a glass of ice. Enjoy!