City Drug

Seems I am re-enjoying a number of teas lately that I haven’t had in +/- a year. I really need to keep busting my stash…I’ve busted enough so far that I want to buy more but it’s totally not practical. Thank heavens winter is upon us. It’s tea drinking season in Canada!!

The beau and I brewed a pot of this tonight to enjoy while unpacking after returning home from 11 days of family and Christmas vacation. While there were some tough moments (our car was wrecked, the beau got walking pneumonia and of course the obligatory awkward family moments) it was an excellent set of visits. I miss my family a lot, and I rarely get to see my Mum and brothers on that side so visiting is huge for me. Of course, this is why we finally got a car and then that got ruined, but if nothing else I will see them all in less than five months for our wedding!

Anyway, the tea. It’s a servicable monk’s blend. There is some bitterness that creeps up on it, so I steep it 2.5 to 3 minutes and it comes out well. There is some sweetness and almost a sense of cream but it doesn’t really come through. The liquor is a bit thinner than the other Monk’s Blend I have but it’s still really nice. The black tea could be a bit more present but since that is the likely source of bitterness I don’t mind it hiding. I’m not really sure what constitutes a Monk’s Blend – this is definitely something to look into. Later. :) For now, it’s back to doing sudoku while the beau plays Silent Hill Downpour. I keep wanting to turn the volume down and he isn’t even at the scary parts yet. I’m a wimp!

EDIT to add: I just re-read my tasting note from last year. It’s weird how I get different impressions at different times. Today I get bitterness and wish for more cream/depth where last time it was the opposite. Still no pomegranate though..

Purchased this while in Yarmouth visiting family over Christmas. Apparently a local drug store (City Drug) has started blending and selling their own tea – Very intriguing. The beau and I decided to get a bit of this, but they only offer their tea in 50 gram bags. Bummer (and kind of a strike 1). We decide to get it anyway, despite there being no visible price chart (strike 2). This 50 gram bag came to 12 dollars with tax!!!! First off, no tax on tea in NS. Second off, that is an outrageous price – No wonder the price list is hidden. They also charge more than $10 for a 100 pack of T-Sacs. We won’t be buying any more tea there at those prices, so we had pretty high expectations of this puppy.

We finally rbewed a pot of this up with breakfast, and it was pretty darn good. no bitterness – which is great. There was a rich, creamy flavour which was more caramelly than anything else, but quite nice. The pomegranate they talk about on the packaging was nowhere to be seen, but it was prerty nice. I think I might even prefer it to the Sawadeee Monk’s Blend based on the richness, but at the price it is, we’ll live without when this pack is gone.