It’s a sweet time of the year. Sap is flowing and bush owners are boiling to produce a Canadian staple: maple syrup.
Shaw’s Maple Syrup is a popular spot in Oro-Medonte, where people flock from far and wide to have a pancake breakfast, take a stroll through the bush and talk to the owners about how syrup is produced.
“We get a lot of visitors from the GTA (Greater Toronto Area),” said Tom Shaw, co-owner of the business on Line 14 South that operates from mid-February to mid-April. “And if there is a Japanese family within a one-hour radius of us, we will definitely see them coming in. The Japanese people have a lot of respect for the maple syrup and they respect the whole process.”
Just as he said that, a couple hailing from Barrie walked out of the café area with two Japanese students, holding 500-ml bottles of syrup.
“This is better in Canada,” said Eisuke Kawai, 16, whose host translated for him. “(In Japan) the flavour is not as true as it is here. They water it down.”
The price is also very high in Japan, he said, adding it would cost twice as much to buy what he had been gifted today.
Visiting Canada wasn’t the only first for the students; learning how syrup is produced was also a new experience that Kawai said they really enjoyed.
Shaw said one of the best parts of being in this business is customers have been visiting for generations.
“It’s interesting to hear stories from people who came before even I was born and talk about the changes that have taken place here,” he said.
And certainly a lot has changed over the years, Shaw said.
“There are more people coming out, and we have different equipment now,” he said.
And the more that people come out, the more there is a chance for Shaw to educate them about this Canadian tradition.
“The best part is that when I start talking about it, I don’t get confused looks,” Shaw said. “It’s an extremely simple process, so I can explain in simple terms. People really like it. They think it’s maple syrup that comes out of the trees and can’t believe it’s just water that comes out of the trees and boiling it makes it into syrup.”
The learning was surely one of the reasons Danielle Morneau brought out her five-year-old niece, adding it’s a nice winter outdoors activity.
That’s another unique feature of opening up the sugar bush to people, said Shaw. It gives people a chance to do something when ski season is slacking off and the golf courses haven’t started up yet.
“The traditional Canadian type of vibe of the whole thing makes it attractive for people,” he said.
For Nicholas Yeaman of Barrie, the Canadian vibe was exactly what had made it into a repeat family outing.
“It’s a family tradition,” said the 14-year-old. “It’s a nice environment. It’s right in the middle of a forest.”
Visitors also enjoyed horse-cart rides and seeing the sap being boiled into sweet, amber syrup.
