Goldrop started the way most good ideas do.

I've spent years on the road as @brockwunder, travelling Canada and telling the stories that make it worth the trip. Health sits at the front of my routine, and living out of a suitcase means I'm always hunting down the better-for-you option.

Sugar was the thing I could never settle. I avoided white sugar at all costs and chased alternatives for years. Stevia and monk fruit came and went, but the research on what they do to your body in the amounts we're now eating never gave me a straight answer. I wanted a whole food sweetener that had been tried and tested for generations.

Maple syrup was the obvious choice. Lower on the glycemic index, naturally rich in minerals, made from nothing but sap. The problem is that maple only tastes like maple.

So I made it taste like my favourite things. Small batches infused with cinnamon, vanilla bean, lavender and bourbon. This isn't maple syrup, it's a sweetener made with maple. Coffee, baking, cocktails, marinades, whatever you dream up, with all the benefits of maple underneath.

Goldrop exists because you shouldn't have to choose between what tastes good and what's good for you.

A letter from the road every other week: one town, one maker, one thing to pour it on. Plus first dibs on new flavours and prints from the trips.