Ollia Macarons & Tea

Calgary has its very own little slice of Paris at Ollia Macarons & Tea, a patisserie owned by Lindsay and David Rousseau that specializes in French macarons and organic loose-leaf teas. Lindsay refers to the shop as a “parenthèse enchantée,” which translates to “enchanted parentheses” or “enchanted moment” in English. “People live in this neighbourhood, people work here, and they come here to shop. We want to be a special part of that,” she says.

An increasingly popular pastry choice amongst foodies, maracons are delicate sandwich cookies made with almond-meringue biscuits and filled with ganache, buttercream or jam. The selection of macarons at Ollia is slightly overwhelming, but the shop’s collection of teas is carefully curated to include only a few varieties of tisane, black, green, oolong and white teas; each with its own unique blend.

Ollia is small, but the shop boasts a contemporary-chic atmosphere with crisp white walls and marble countertops. Upon entry, customers are greeted by a display case housing more than 20 varieties of Ollia’s signature macarons.