A World of Tea in Maple Valley

Was downtown yesterday to visit my wife after work.  I had some time and was a little cold. How to quell the bone chilling cold?  A tea would be excellent!  I ventured over to the Byward Market Square building to visit Maple Valley Tea World (55 Byward Market Square, Ottawa).

I visited this little tea shop artfully arranged with a couple of tables surrounded by shelves of nothing but large jars of loose leaf tea and tea pots.  

This spot is quite popular during the summer months as the store opens the side windows to give a pseudo outdoor seating affect and to let those that wish to people watch the nearby busy sidewalk.

There was only one table taken by  a couple enjoying their afternoon tea.

Thus, the person behind the counter was available immediately to take my order.

The Order:  1 Regular Peppermint Tea.

A quick wait for the server to visit one of the shelves, grab the peppermint loose leaf tea, pour hot water and hand me my cup and I was off for the -24 degree Celsius trudge to pick up my wife from work.

The peppermint tea cup size, for a regular, was significant.  It was similar to the size of a Tim Hortons Medium.  For $2.50 it may seem steep, but for loose leaf tea specially prepared it is worth it and tastes better than local coffee shops offerings.

Overall, if you love tea and happen to be in the Byward Market, check out Maple Valley Tea World. You will be glad you did as they provide an assortment of tea coupled with friendly advice to answer your tea related questions. Pretty cool idea to tour the market with a nice hot cup of tea in your hand.