Acadia – National Park Tea

Known as the Crown Jewel of the North Atlantic Coast, Acadia is filled with a plethora of unique scenery. Cadillac Mountain is the tallest mountain in the park and on the North Atlantic Seaboard. It is rumored that this is the first place you can see the sunrise in the US. Despite only covering less than one percent of Maine’s land area, Acadia is known to harbor over 50% of the vascular plants growing in Maine. 20% of the park is classified as wetlands and in each of these wetland areas at least one rare plant grows. Acadia may be the fifth smallest national park by land area in the U.S., but is among the top ten most visited, hosting more than 2 million people each year.

History:

Acadia is one of the first parks to be made up of primarily donated land from those who believed in preserving the area. George B Dorr devoted his life to the preservation of Acadia; he depleted most of his savings to buy multiple properties on Mt. Desert Island in order to donate it. John D. Rockefeller Jr. & other wealthy conservationists also played a huge role in creating what we know today as Acadia by donating their land to the park. Rockefeller also funded construction of roughly forty-five miles of carriage roads that run throughout the park. The roads use native materials and are landscaped around the vegetation in the park including blueberry bushes and sweet ferns. In 1916, President Wilson first declared the land Sieur de Monts National Monument, Dorr continued to acquire land and push for national park status. In 1919, Acadia was renamed, and Lafayette National Park Act was signed making it the first national park east of the Mississippi River. In 1929, the same year Simpson & Vail was incorporated, Lafayette National Park received an official name change to Acadia National Park. This change was to honor the former French colony that included Maine.

If you happen to stumble downeast to the small town of Bar Harbor you will most likely be treated to a myriad of blueberry foods, the fruit most associated with the state. Crafting a blend for this park therefore naturally started with a blueberry base. We chose a green tea to highlight the blueberry flavor in honor of the lush greenery found in Acadia. Ultimately creating a golden cup that imparts a light, delicate infusion with a full blueberry flavor and a subtle citrus finish.

Ingredients: Green tea, currants (currants, sunflower oil), blueberry flavor, oatstraw and blue cornflower petals.

Brew tea at 180º – steep for 2 minutes.

4 Ounces of loose tea makes approximately 50 cups of tea.

Please note that the photo is shown for our 4oz tin. We are also offering this in a 4oz pkg size, which will come in one of our double lined bags labeled with the name of the tea.

We DONATE 10% of all tea sales in this line to help preserve our beautiful National Parks. The percentage from Acadia tea sales goes to Friends of Acadia, the official non-profit of the park. Each year, Friends of Acadia works with Acadia National Park to identify places and projects where FOA’s effective mix of private philanthropy, volunteerism, innovative leadership, and strong partnerships will most benefit the park’s critical needs.

In 2016 I started, while in college, working here at Simpson & Vail. I’ve enjoyed exploring the world of teas and decided in 2019 to combine my love of tea with my passion for the great outdoors. My goal with this line is to do my part in preserving the beautiful lands designated as national parks and to raise awareness for why the parks are so important. I’ve seen only a small portion of the unique lands we call National Parks, however, I’ll continue exploring until I’ve seen them all.