Are Canadians trading their double-doubles for tea?

In Canada we love our double-doubles, flat whites and espressos. Java reigns supreme. But coffee better watch its back because tea is on a tear in this country. In fact, a 2013 Nielsen study found that the average Canadian has eight different teas in their pantry.

Many teas, made from Canadian-grown berries, leaves, needles and herbs that are harvested by hand, are slowly seeping into the national market.

While we'll never be tea gods like China, India, and Sri Lanka, the Canadian tea market is warming up. And Boreal Wildcraft Tea Co., a Manitoba-based tea production and harvesting company, wants to lead the way.

It currently produces a handful of blends made using pine needles, sage and sweetgrass, rose hips and fireweed, and barks, grasses and clover all found in Canada's boreal region.

Owner Bob Krul has hired three indigenous harvesters to collect the raw materials. They're already picking for personal use near The Pas in Manitoba.

Unlike mass-produced teas, Krul promises no pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers and no carbon footprint for his products.

"It's all about the passion and the information," Krul said.

"We know the pickers, we are trying to bring that to you, the drinker, so that when you buy tea from me it's not only innovative and unique and it will taste great, but I know where it comes from."

Krul is starting small but he hopes to engage harvesters from across the country and possibly export down the line.
If trends in Canadian tea consumption are any gauge, he's is onto something big.

Foodservice and Hospitality, a business magazine representing industry, named tea as one of the five hottest trends for 2015. And according to consumer research company Nielsen, as of last year, Canadians were already spending $403 million on tea in grocery stores.

A federal government study says by 2020, our nationwide tea consumption is expected to grow by 40 per cent, outpacing growth of coffee, soft drinks and alcohol consumption. The Canadian Food Trends to 2020 paper was commissioned by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to track and predict food trends.

Those predictions fall in line with with what Louise Roberge is seeing. She's the president of the Canadian Tea Association, a not-for-profit organization representing the country's tea industry. She said tea is hot for a very good reason.

"Consumption is increasing because of the variety, because of the availability of the product and because [of] the mix of our Canadian population," she said.

Immigrants bring their love of tea here, and more consumers want healthy options. That has tea showing up not just in our cups, but in recipes too, said Raelene Gannon.

She's a tea sommelier — one of just 100 in Canada — based in Bradford, Ont. Her book, Tea: From Cup to Plate, was published last February and is loaded with sweet and savoury recipes using tea.

"You have rosemary, thyme, sage, but … tea isn't just one flavour, you've got all the tea flavours," she said. "It's almost like having a double spice cupboard."

Dan Bolton is the managing editor of Stir, a magazine for the global coffee and tea industry. He calls the emerging group of tea lovers "conscious drinkers."

As Bolton said, while some folks will always go straight for the mass-produced brands of tea bags, modern tea folk want to know where it's grown, how it's harvested, its tasting notes — everything from terroir to teapot.