70
drank Monk's Blend by Say Tea
894 tasting notes

This morning I’m sampling Monk’s Blend from Say Tea and Metropolitan Tea Company.

I was initially going to pass on Say Tea’s Monk’s Blend, but the owner encouraged me to try it, as it’s their own special blend that is grenadine with orange rather than vanilla. Since this sounded different from what I had in my cupboard, I figured I’d give it a try.

And it is different, really different.

The dry leaf for both teas looks very similar, but this one smells intensely of orange and grenadine in a way that’s bordering on medicinal or candy-like. Steeped, the smell of the tea itself comes out more, to mellow the fruit fragrance.

This is a nice, malty Ceylon, with just a hint of astringency. The orange and grenadine flavours are present but not overpowering, and overall it’s nicely balanced. The orange lingers on the finish with a candy quality to it.

Very tasty and easy to drink, though not really a stand out tea for me. I will finish the 2oz I have, but probably wouldn’t buy it again.

Flavors: Candy, Grenadine, Malt, Medicinal, Orange, Sweet

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

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Bio

I grew up drinking jasmine green tea with meals, but really fell in love with tea on a trip to Britain in elementary school. My first great love was Earl Grey, and I still adore it and all its variants.

I discovered the beauty of loose leaf tea much later, when, on impulse, I picked up a few teas that were on clearance at a home store. My introduction to loose leaf teas were Masala Chai and Provence Rooibos by the Metropolitan Tea Co and an unknown brand of kukicha and gyokuro (little did I know what a precious treasure I’d stumbled onto with that.)

At the time I was lucky to live in a place with multiple tea shops and several places to have afternoon tea, which is a delight I still miss.

Tea is part of my daily ritual and a nice, affordable way to appease the collector in me.

I enjoy distinctive whites, greens and oolongs, flavoured blacks, and herbals that are heavy on the citrus, lavender or mint.

Rating rubric, to give myself some consistency:
0-15 Yuck, not even drinkable.
16-30 Disappointing, not really inclined to give it a second try.
31-45 Disappointing, but maybe there’s potential? Worth one more try, prepped differently.
46-60 Mediocre, not terrible but not memorable.
61-75 Not bad. I’ll definitely finish what I have and might buy again.
76-90 Very enjoyable. Tasty, complex, it’ll keep me coming back.
91-100 BEST! I love everything about it and I will drink it forever.

Beyond tea, I’m a sex educator, polyamory activist, and radical queer. I love backwoods camping, abstract painting, baking & cooking, nail polish, cats, ceramic sculpture, and home nesting.

Location

Winnipeg, MB, Canada

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