Cinnamon Sunshine

Cinnamon Sunshine is a sweet and citrusy cinnamon tea inspired by the gentle orange light and feeling of a warm summer sunrise. The dried lemons, bay leaves, rose hips, and of course the cinnamon all lend their own special sweetness to this blend. With hints of clove, anise and a touch of spearmint, this tea is warming and gorgeous hot or iced but its real beauty lies in the varied flavours that come out with different steeping times. Just as the sun changes its character as it rises, the balance of citrus to cinnamon evolves as you let this tea infuse. First the fruity citrus, then a little more zip from the lemon rind, and finally the cinnamon builds and builds. So make a pot, settle in, and let the sun shine.

Q&A with Bree, Founder and Tea Artist:

This blend is so unique, is there a story behind it?

Actually yes, on Mother's Day 2022 we were headed out for a picnic on the beautiful grounds of Government House here in Victoria, B.C. (if you come to visit, make sure to put it on your list - it has such a lovely calm energy to it). My sister, Amanda, was pregnant at the time and all the teas I had been blending were using more 'medicinal' ingredients and either were not suitable to take in pregnancy or didn't have any data. Chamomile? Nope, she was still in her first trimester. Yarrow? No. Sage? For sure not. Et cetera. So I turned to my refrigerator and my spice drawer because pregnant women eat so there had to be things in there from which to make tea. I knew all the women in my family love cinnamon and lemon. I threw in some bay leaves because I have a bay laurel so I ALWAYS have bay leaves, added a little dried spearmint and anise hyssop flowers from the garden and some clove and rose hips for a little zing and vitamin C and, voilà, Cinnamon Sunshine was born. We enjoyed it in the park that afternoon, sharing tea and treats among five Sharratt women plus one nephew/grandson/great-grandson spanning four generations and nine decades. Everyone wanted me to make more tea and so I did, a lot more! I would go on to launch Island Elixir Tea Company six months later so you could say that this is the tea that started it all.

What makes Cinnamon Sunshine unique compared to other citrus or cinnamon-flavoured teas on the market?

I will admit to not having tasted every cinnamon tea on the market - mostly because I am not always a fan of cinnamon flavouring; I find that the flavourings hit me on the back of my palate and linger in an unpleasant way for me. This is a "100% real food" tea using only certified organic cinnamon. Since the cinnamon that I like is only available in stick form, we process it down to chips in-house. Although it adds quite a bit of labour, the flavours are beautiful because we're waiting until the last minute to unlock the essential oils from within the bark. Also, the use of the dried lemon fruit and peel gives a depth to the lemon flavours that I think are unique to this tea. So it's partly the ingredients and partly the added love - I think you can taste both.

Are there any particular benefits associated with the ingredients in Cinnamon Sunshine, such as rose hips, bay leaves, and cinnamon?

First, let's start with the fact that real, organically-grown foods are good for us full stop. Mother Nature has put in all kinds of compounds in specific ratios to help the plant survive and thrive. By consuming these plants we benefit from the magic of their composition. But, yes, the depth of scientific studies around many of the ingredients in Cinnamon Sunshine is ever growing. A review paper from 2014 entitled "Cinnamon: A Multifaceted Medicinal Plant" lists that spice out as being an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti diabetic, antimicrobial, anticancer, lipid-lowering, and cardiovascular-disease-lowering compound. While the effect logically depends on the compounds and not all compounds will be water soluble (and therefore come out in the tea) it does speak to the volume of discoveries out there for the curious. Other ingredients, like the rose hips and lemon, are packed with vitamin C, bay leaves are known to all grandmothers to help with digestion and, most importantly, great flavour!*

*Please note that this information has not been evaluated by Health Canada and is provided as 'fun facts' only. For specific guidance and more science behind the plant ingredients in this tea, we recommend you seek out your local community herbalist.