Northern Lights Strawberry Maple Tea – Rick’s Tea Face 11/10/2024

Northern Lights Strawberry Maple Tea – Rick’s Tea Face 11/10/2024

This post has several meanings for me, but have a couple common threads running through them. It’s a bit longer so please bear with me. My Tea Face this week is our Northern Lights Strawberry Maple Black Tea. As some of you know, along with Earl Grey, it is my favorite tea. Today, November 10th, 2024, is the 49th anniversary of the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior during an especially strong storm. The loss was memorialized in the song, “The Wreak of the Edmund Fitzgerald”, by Gordon Lightfoot. I’d give you a song link, but sometimes You Tube doesn’t like that. Gordon is considered to be one of Canada’s greatest songwriters and musicians. He passed last year. If you don’t know the song, do a search and listen/watch to Gordon’s official version which explains what happened.

Our Northern Lights Strawberry Maple Tea is what I consider the cornerstone tea of our store, as it was the first tea I sipped over 30 years ago, masterfully blended by the Canadian tea company which became our first tea supplier and still our largest supplier. Maple is so…Canadian and the Quebec maple syrup used, adds a subtle, yet very distinct maple flavor to the strawberry notes. This tea’s unique flavors lead me astray from my beloved Earl Grey over 25 years ago. Now, I have to keep a canister of this tea at home at all times. So, in some way, all of our friends have my buying this tea to thank for helping us set up the tea side of our store.

Also today, and every November 10th, a special church service is held at Detroit’s Mariners Church, where the ring the bell 29 times, once for every crew member lost, and starting last year a 30th toll, for the passing of Gordon Lightfoot as a tribute to him and his song.

Does this thread between Northern Lights Strawberry Maple Tea, November 10th, the Edmund Fitzgerald, and Gordon Lightfoot make sense? It does to me, as every November 10th, all these converge and I reflect on the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald while I sip a cup, and play Gordon’s song. But since Northern Lights is one of my favorite teas, it’s a tea I sip often, and thought you might like it too this week.

If you have not sipped Northern Lights before, it’s one of a series of teas, some of which only come in tea bags. They come in embossed souvenir tins and in neat wood souvenir boxes. These unique flavors make great additions to your tea pantry. They also make excellent gifts To explore them, including Northern Lights Strawberry Maple, please click HERE. Then stop by our store or our website to pick up a few tins. Now, back to my cup. Cheers!