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When you travel with a tea junkie sometimes priorities get a little skewed...  Here are Maureen's notes on some of the overpriced leaves she purchased and/or consumed on our trip.

In September the Pet Male and I packed up our 9 month old munchkin, and

more gear than any non-parent would believe possible, and headed for the

adjoining Canadian National Parks of Banff and Jasper.

We flew into Calgary and spent one night and about half of one day

there. We visited the Eau Claire Market which is a much smaller version

of Pike's Market/ Granville Island/Faneuil Hall - food vendors; both

prepared food and produce, craft shops, toy stores, etc. I did get a cup

of chai at a coffee and tea vendor that was quite decent, but all in

all, it was not a serious tea venue in any way.

The highlight for me of our stopover in Calgary was a trip to Tea

Trader. I have read Holly's reviews of several of their teas and was

eager for a chance to try their Silver Needle, which has been favorably

compared to my absolute favorite tea, Akbar's Vithanakanda Ceylon.

A word of warning for those thinking of visiting Tea Trader: the actual

tea vending area is a small area at the back of a craft store. There's a

nice big window with the Tea Trader sign out front, but no door. Just

when you decide you've lost your mind and are imaging the sign, you'll

see a tiny sign directing you to enter through the craft shop. I did

wonder if the proximity of the craft supplies might result in the teas

picking up odd flavors or aromas, but I have not detected any taint to

the tea. Polly was working there the day I stopped in and was most

helpful to me in selecting tea.

I purchased:

Silver Needles Ceylon - a very good tea, but not quite what I had hoped

for. It seems to lack the delicacy and subtler tones of Akbar's

Vithanakanda. Granted, I haven't had much time to really experiment with

it as yet, so it may improve with a different brewing technique.

Nuwara Eliya - a slightly less premium Ceylon than the Silver Needles. I

find it easier to brew well (a very import trait when tea brewing must

be squeezed in around fixing the munchkin's breakfast nd then preventing

said breakfast from ending up on the wall instead of in the baby!).

Limeflower - no time to try this one yet.

Passionfruit - no idea what I did with this one! It may still be lurking

in some Canadian hotel.

Famous Five - unfortunately, I got only a tiny sample size packet of

this one. It was far and away my favorite of Tea Trader's teas.  It is a

strong blend of black teas that stands up well to milk and sugar, and is

very forgiving about brewing errors. I finished this off before we left Canada.

Our first destination in the parks was Banff, home of the legendary

Banff Springs Hotel. No, we didn't stay there, but we did have a meal

there. They offer a combination luncheon buffet and hotel tour that we

found very enjoyable. I asked for tea with lunch and was brought a

largish pot of my very own. They did use a bag tea, I don't remember

what brand, but it was a premium grade of bag and produced quite an

acceptable cup. Of course, when paired with the fabulous buffet,

outstanding service and the fact that the chef cooked a batch of real

Irish oatmeal just for my son, I wasn't going to complain about the tea bag.

Elsewhere in Banff - nothing notable in the tea realm. The scenery was

fabulous and we did find a Bernard Callebaut chocolate shop, which made

me very happy. One restaurant we really enjoyed was Grizzly's, an

offbeat fondue place with wild decor and a telephone at every table.

Chateau Lake Louise - let's be honest, I hated every thing about this

hotel. The concierge staff was extraordinarily rude, they no longer

serve afternoon tea, the deli where I did get a cup of tea had

worse-than-Lipton bag tea and lousy cheesecake, and they no longer even

allow the public to WALK around their miserable, overpriced, unfriendly

rock pile.

Lake Louise, town of, - about 5 doors over from the visitor center is a

bakery that does all sorts of wonderful breakfast and lunch goodies.

Sorry I don't remember the name of it, but it is the only bakery in town

if you're looking for it.

The highlight of the Lake Louise area for us was a guided hike with a

naturalist from Great Divide Nature Interpretation. We choose the trail,

around Moraine Lake, and she provided the expertise on the history,

geology, flora, and fauna. Our guide really enriched our whole trip with

the knowledge she shared with us.

Jasper - one tea place we found was Papa George's. I can't give you a

first hand tea review, because we ate there for breakfast rather than

tea, but the meal we had was home cooked to order and the service was

very good. I did read their tea menu, which listed the tea usuals, like

scones, sandwiches and desserts.

Another wonderful experience we had was a stop at Miette Hot Springs,

out in the middle of nowhere between Jasper and the boundary of the

Park. You drive about 20 miles off the main road, up into the mountains,

to spend time soaking in a naturally heated pool and staring up at

fabulous mountains. Even the munchkin loved the water - one pool has a

sloped entry ramp where he could sit and play in just a few inches of

the water.

Edmonton - again, I didn't find anywhere for a leisurely afternoon tea,

but that was more due to time constraints than availability. I did get

to Acquired Tastes, Colleen Murray's tea shop, though, which was wonderful.

Due to severe space constraints in our luggage, (did you know baby gear

breeds when packed in duffle bags?) I could only purchase 2 teas and a

packet of scone mix at Acquired Tastes.

The teas, a tale, and an aside:

When I was Tea Trader in Calgary, another customer had come and

requested Monk's Blend tea, which Polly of Tea Trader, and I, for that

matter, was not familiar with. The customer rather ranted on about how

special the tea blend is, and how it is the *only* correct tea for

breakfast (emphasis hers). Seeing Monk's Blend in Acquired Tastes I just

had to try it. Colleen described it as a blend of black tea with

grenadine, I think, flavoring. While I'm not quite as crazy about it as

the lady in Calgary, I have come to really enjoy it with breakfast. It

has a sweetness from the fruit flavorings that allows me to drink it

quite strong (as often happens when the munchkin distracts me as the tea

is steeping).

The other tea I bought was Ceylon Courtlodge Estate - another fairly

hearty ceylon. Again, I haven't had much time to really experiment with

it, so I can't provide a lot of detail on it.

The aside: when we got to Acquired Tastes and met Colleen, the Pet Male,

not known for his empathy to things tea related, whispered to me "She's

far too young and pretty to be a tea wacko." From him, this was indeed a

high compliment. I would also like to add that Colleen was very helpful

to me in planning our trip as she e-mailed me quite a bit of info on the

Banff/Jasper areas. And, no, I'm not getting a tea kickback for saying this<GBG>!

Acquired Tastes is also in a neighborhood very worth visiting: there is

a bookstore and pastry shop directly across the street, and just down

the block is another Bernard Callebaut Chocolatier, where I was able to

purchase a replacement for the pound of chocolates nibbled on by the

mouse at Johnston Canyon.

In summary: if you are thinking of visiting the Canadian Rockies, plan

ahead for tea. Stop at one of the excellent tea shops in either of the

gateway cities, and bring along your own tea filter and mug.