Canadian Maple

All my tasting notes are jumbled and out of order…

This was from my holiday vacation in Saskatchewan; on Christmas Eve my mother and I went for afternoon tea at the Hotel Saskatchewan. The Hotel Saskatchewan is a very old and fancy hotel; and they do this Christmas Eve service yearly. However, you need to make reservations for it and this was the first year that my mom got them in before the service was filled. Christmas Eve is also her birthday, so it double as a fancy afternoon out for Christmas Eve and a nice birthday meal/dinner.

I was a little underwhelmed by the service, to be honest. The food quality wasn’t bad and the service was really nice – but I didn’t find it comparable to the cost. Plus, the teaware we were served with was kind of dull in appearance, over a BEIGE tabletop, and one of the cups even had a chip in it. So for a very fancy hotel it was just a little bit underwhelming – especially when I mentally compared to the other place in town you can get afternoon tea service (The Vintage Tea Room) which is STUNNING visually, equal in terms of tea quality, and has much better food…

Anyway; this was the tea that my mom picked out for herself – and she kindly shared a teacup of it with me so that I could try it too. I did the same for her, with my selection.

I thought it was ok; very simple and straightforward flavours though. Malty, sweet black tea with a touch of woodiness and a low energy, minimal sweetness maple note. I wish it was richer, but I do appreciate that it’s at the level that allows for really good customization to suit your personal taste preferences – through adding stuff like cream and sugar.

I had debated ordering this, but ultimately was happy that I hadn’t…

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/B6eVRWOg4Ns/