Monk's Blend

Tonight this blend made an appearance outside of the closet! Because I’m running low, I’ve been hoarding/savouring what I have left of this – but I felt like after a sort of “mediocre” tea day I really needed a pick me up, and this is what stood out tonight.

It brewed up lovely; sweet grenadine and almost “raspberry” fruit notes and a brisk black base with a touch of astringency, but in a good way.

Definitely the best tea of the day, and I think the perfect one to end the day on.

So I didn’t know “Monk’s Blend” was a thing until very recently. Every time I saw it, I just assumed it was some company making a particular blend. However, when I finally realized a Monk’s Blend tea was a black tea with vanilla and grenadine I was all for it. I LOVE grenadine. Prior to deciding to be healthy, I would actually add grenadine to coke (the soda, not the drug). So when I had the oppurtunity to try a Monk’s Blend tea via my frequent swap pal, Roswell Strange. I jumped at the chance.

Even though this cup has cooled slightly, I still think this a great introduction. This tea is almost creamy in how smooth it is (likely from the vanilla). And the grenadine flavor really shines. This tea actually captures everything I love about grenadine syrup and leaves out the calories. It is like the tasty tea version of a Shirley Temple…YUM!!! Thank you Roswell Strange!!!

Gets a little bitter when cold or iced. This was my last bag of this…

last serving of this, with milk and sugar because I’m feeling contrary this morning (yesterday I liked it best iced with sugar only).

I decided this tea would be just the thing to help me feel better today, as I was feeling a bit faded and wilted, not to mention having stuffy sinuses, but I was a bit disappointed. The warm liquid did help, but the taste wasn’t quite the same as it usually was. I guess probably my taste buds were a little wack, as they can be when you’re sick. Anyway, I’m kind of wishing I had chosen a tea that had a little eucalyptus or something in it to break through the gunk in my sinuses, but I still do love this tea. :)

Tea #7 Great Canadian Traveling Tea Box

I don’t mind this, it’s a decent fruit/vanilla black tea. I wish the base tea wasn’t Ceylon (now that I’ve learned about the different styles of black, I can say that). It’s a little bit too sharp, or astringent for me. This description says pomegranate, I think it’s more cherry ish. The vanilla is really subtle, doesn’t come out much until the tea cools.
There is quite a bit of this in the TTB, I’m going to play with steep times and see if I can get it to my liking. All in all not bad, would be up to trying Monk’s Blend from other companies.
Reserving rating until I’ve played with it.

I have been absent from Steepsterton for way too long simple because I HAD NO TEA. Living at the tip of James Bay (northern Ontario) for two months with a 25lb weight limit for baggage to get up here has put a major cramp in my tea drinking style. The only thing available to me has been bagged Tetely Orange Pekoe (drinkable but not really postworthy). But (drum roll please!), courtesy of my amazing friends down south, and my birthday, I received no fewer then three packages of delicious looking loose leaf – one of which is this blend that I’ve been wanting to try forever (being a huge fan of grenadine-filled Shirley Temple’s as a child).

YAAAAAAAYYYYY! happy tea dance

So expect postings fellow Steepsterites, I’m through with lurking!!

Oh, and to make this slightly about the tea, while I haven’t gotten to brew it up yet the dry tea smell is just lovely – sweet-sweet melded with a nice black tea nippiness and warm vanilla notes – YUM!!

I received a bag of this in a valentine’s exchange (not the SweeTea exchange on Steepster). I thought for sure I had reviewed this previously, but I guess not.

A good Monk’s Blend. It’s better as a loose leaf than as a teabag, but, that’s true of all teas. Light vanilla taste with a hint of grenadine, and good, solid Ceylon flavor in there too.

I have decided to pass this one along to a friend. Something about the black tea base in Metro Tea varieties are coming across a little bitter for me. I am sure I could figure it all out if I wanted to invest the time in finding the perfect brewing parameters for this tea, but I have only about an ounce left and it is not on my repurchase list. Maybe milk would have helped, but I seem to be getting away from teas that require milk these days.

4tsps for 3 cups of water. The leaves were long and rolled with little flower petals. They smelled very good. You could faintly smell the grenadine and vanilla.

The liquor is coppery in color. You can smell the cherries a little more when brewed. There is a lingering flavor that I just can’t point out. I think this might be a characteristic of black teas but I’m so new to reviewing teas that I might be wrong. I feel like I have something still in my mouth, like there wasn’t a clean finish. I do like this tea and will drink it again but I will be adding something to sweeten it up.