Granville Island Tea Co

This tea smells amazing, but it tastes very watery and bland no matter how long you brew it. There is no toffee or caramel flavour at all, but you can taste a slight roasted popcorn flavour.

Cold Brew Sipdown (144)!

Not a real sipdown; I strained my brew and made it through about half way before I just reached my limit. I can’t do the intense, cloying licorice root flavour that makes up like 90% of this blend. The remaining 10% is mint; but even the bit that pokes through is ruined by the licorice that engulfs everything with its grossness.

I had probably another 20g of this left, but I just threw it out. I can’t see myself ever finishing it, and I wouldn’t want to pass something this unpleasant onto someone else.

This is a queued tasting note.

This is one of the tea’s that my mom brought home from Granville Island Tea Co. for my birthday! Unlike all the others that she bought from the store, this one it’s sourced from a larger wholesaler but is actually blended in store by the company. I’d wager that means “Henry” is probably the store owner or related to/connected to the owner in some way?

Personally, this is a blend I don’t think I’d EVER have picked out for myself. The ingredients list kind of looks like a mess to me: there’s way too much going on for any of the flavours to be melodious together. Plus, they’re not exactly exciting ingredients/flavours in the first place. And sure enough I know my tastes well enough because when I cold brewed this one I was far from impressed.

The flavour is primarily mint and licorice root, but it’s just so intense with so much other “background noise” that the last thing I found it to be was smooth sipping or something peaceful/relaxing like I think it probably aims to be. I ditched the brew around a third into it, if I’m being honest. There’s a whole lot going wrong with this blend and I didn’t want to waste my time drinking bad tea.

Have been rotating this in and out as my breakfast tea, occasionally blending it with others.

Low intensity warm aromas of cinnamon, star anise, sandalwood, roses and red berries.

Medium bodied with fine-grained tannins. Palate doesn’t quite live up to the aromas with a slight charred element and lingering astringency.

I tend not to scrutinise my teas too much in the morning. So long as it can stand up to a runny yolk, then I’m happy.

I usually infuse this in a tea ball, but for this tasting note, I used a gaiwan

Sipdown (2386)

As much as a part of me want’s to hoard every tea I have, I do know I’ve got to get some sipdown’s in every now and then or else I’m eventually going to drown in cups of tea samples. This one was as good a tea as any to finish off. Brisk black tea with sweet grenadine and vanilla. There’ll be other monk’s blends to enjoy in the future so this was a nice goodbye cuppa. For the moment, anyway.

The familiar note of sweet, syrupy grenadine balanced out by a brisk, full bodied and malty black tea base. Exactly what I expect and want when I reach for a Monk’s Blend. I’ve got one up left until a sipdown – will probably try and have that sooner rather than later. This particular Monk’s Blend isn’t exactly a standout – they’re all sort of that same, after all. But it was nice having it in my stash for a moment.

Love a good Monk’s Blend. It’s just so classic and straightforward, Brisk, full bodied malty black tea base with one distinct, clear note of sweet grenadine to cut through. Hard to go wrong there at all! Really hit the spot on Saturday when I drank it.

Sipdown (415)!

This is another sipdown that feels really good! I swear, I go through moods of intense love for Monk’s blend but then they just completely stall out and I dread each cup I have left. That’s what happened here; I was initially enamored but then I quickly grew sick of the sickly sweet grenadine notes and I put off this sipdown for far too long…

If I’m being honest, the tea doesn’t even taste bad – the grenadine is smooth and present, and the black tea base has a warming malt to it. I’m just not really in the mood for it. I could probably go months, dare I say a year, without having another cup of Monk’s blend and I would be completely content in that decision.

But that just makes me even more proud of this sipdown.

After dinner cup, to curb some sweet cravings.

Very heavy on the pomegranate notes this time around; like damn that grenadine flavour was sweet and intense and present in every aspect of the sip. I suppose I shouldn’t complain: I wanted something sweet to sip on after all. I just wish that some of that sweetness had been softened/broken up by some other flavour notes.

I don’t know – I feel like I go in and out of phases of really liking Monk’s Blend and right now I think I’m coming out of a phase of being into it. Good thing this is getting close to sipdown levels: I just need to push myself through a few cups to get there.

Midday cuppa from yesterday.

This was really sweet and smooth; it had more of that distinct, pomegranate heavy grenadine flavour than I think I’ve experienced from it in a LONG time and that degree of flavour and sweetness was EXACTLY what I wanted. Paired alongside some cranberry tea cookies, it was even more decadent and over the top fruity as well.

Just delicious.

Morning cold brew.

This one’s not bad; pretty smooth with a solid overall sweetness from the grenadine. It’s also quite malty, as well. I’ve found in the past that cold brewed or even iced Monk’s Blend doesn’t always work super well because the black base tends to get too strong and will over power the grenadine, but this one came out pretty balanced!

That said, once I finish off the Monk’s Blend I have on hand I don’t know that I’ll buy it again; I used to be pretty into Monk’s Blend and I even for a while tried to learn how to make my own Monk’s Blend with different kinds of black tea bases, but I think my palate has just evolved to a point where I don’t find them as enjoyable overall as I used to.

This is a queued tasting note.

Drank this one as a commute tea a while ago. I used it in the “Twelve Teas of Christmas” sampler I made my mother this year, and measuring out a sample for her really made me crave it ’cause I could smell the sweet grenadine.

Grenadine notes definitely came through when I was drinking it, and the craving was satisfied, but it was also pretty astringent which detracted from the experience.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwnoSeiAFSY&index=4&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ

Today’s cold brew.

I’m getting some really weird notes from this one tonight; in particular I’m finding that the finish of the tea is giving off some serious apple-like notes which is generally NOT a common flavour to Monk’s Blend. They aren’t tart like greener apples; more like the muted sweetness of red apple skin. That’s on top of the normal flavours of grenadine though. Apple and grenadine actually works together surprisingly well.

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3pJZSTQqIg

Bubble bath and a mug of tea… Perfection!

So, I can’t drink while I’m currently taking the medication for the hives/infection I got from work and we have a bottle of grenadine on our bar counter that’s been calling to me all week to get made into some tasty sort of cocktail or shot. But, it’s not gonna happen. Then I remembered tonight I have Monk’s Blend!

Lets just say that fruity, sweet grenadine craving has been satisfied now! I don’t care if it’s pomegranate (traditional) or cherry (as common as pomegranate nowadays), it’s good. Like a bright, shining fruity beacon coming through a brisk, malty base. Mmm!

Listened to The Smiths during my bubble bath: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1uJiVeGwMQ&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ&index=1

While we’re on the subject of baths…

I’ve dabbled in tea baths now but haven’t done a matcha bath yet. Anyone gone down this road? Seems like it’d be easy to do and would probably feels nice and rejuvenating. I’m just worried it’d also be quite messy…

This is a queued tasting note.

Picked this one out as my commute tea on Monday ’cause I was craving something sweet as well as a black tea and I thought that this would be bright enough to jump start my day/afternoon. The grenadine was delicious and really hit the spot, but the black tea came off as brisk and very tannic. It actually had enough astringency that while the taste was there the mouthfeel was very unpleasant and distracting.

Hmmm…

Yay Monk’s Blend!

When my mom went to BC for her little ‘mini vacation’ over my birthday week, I told her that as my present she had to stop into a tea shop or two an pick some goodies up for me. Of course, she wanted to know what I wanted. I told her I wanted Monk’s Blend and then an assortment of whatever else caught her eye!

I cold brewed my first sampling of this; since Granville Island sources from MTC I have had this incarnation of Monk’s Blend before but it is ‘sort of’ a new experience because, of course, every store stores their teas a little differently and that factors into the flavour a touch. For example, this tastes fresher than the MTC Monk’s Blend that the Vintage Tea Room (in my city) sells. That could be because this may have been purchased more recently or the bag was only recently opened up, but I’ll wager part of that is that from the images of Granville Island that I’ve seen they store their tea in tins while Vintage Tea Room stores theirs in clear, glass jars.

Anyway; it was smooth and tasty! Lovely to be reacquainted with an old friend.

Mmm, food-pairing enthusiasts take note – this tea goes especially well with a Terry’s Chocolate Orange. ;)

I was looking for an uncomplicated herbal blend to have as a hot drink in the evenings. I have a ton of fruit-based teas, but I find I usually only care for those when they’re iced. The flavour is mostly of mint, though the rose petals and rose hips manage to creep in there and give a little bit of depth and sweetness to the flavour. But you definitely have to be a mint lover to enjoy this tea.

I’m definitely getting more chocolate than coconut with this tea, though I can still pick it up on the end of each mouthful. The flavour is primarily creamy milk chocolate truffle which is delicious on its own, especially with a splash of milk.

Had this in store yesterday, as that’s all my fellow Yelpers said I had to try (I agreed, once having got there… Standard fare otherwise).

Asked the staffer what made this so special, why they make more than 200+ a day.

“We use a spice blend, add sugar and powdered milk, then mix it into a paste with some butter. Then we steep it in a bag with your tea of choice, and milk of choice. Finally, we add more spices if you ask (ginger and cayenne for me) and blend it in a blender until frothy”.

Yes, this is one of the best chai’s I’ve ever had. Super spicy yet soft and rich. I’m using the butter trick from now on… Although admittedly I’ve been putting butter in my tea a while now (think Bulletproof Coffee, but with tea). Never crossed my mind to do it with chai, or to make the spices into a paste.

GCTTB5

I would say that this tea is more of a citrus/berry tea than tropical (as Jillian mentions). It isn’t overly floral, but I am not a big fan of rose in teas. I picked out most of the rose petals/buds but to me I just can’t get the Rose out of my head. The flavours don’t really meld that well together either. Oh well, I can’t love every tea…that would be very very bad on my credit card!

I’m glad I got to try it.

Sipdown (123)!

Definitely a really nice end of the night cup of tea, especially with a little splash of milk. Strong cinnamon notes compliment the baking French bread taste from the black tea and sweet, almondy finish. The overall cup was smooth and delicate without having overly subtle flavours. It was a lovely reminder of why I went through 50g of this (sold by another company though) in the first place.

Thank you OMGsrsly for letting me revisit this one!

From OMGsrsly!

Visually and based on the dry aroma, this reminds me an awful lot of the Candied Almond blend carried by Cuppa T. If I was a gambling person, I’d wager that both stores get this blend from the same wholesaler – they’re too similar for it to be a coincidence.

I kind of just assumed they were from the same wholesaler when I prepared this, and instead of drinking it hot I cold brewed this because I thought it’d be a new experience for trying this tea. I just went and reread tasting notes from Cuppa T’s blend though and apparently I HAD tried that cold brewed – it just hadn’t stuck/left an impression.

But it was good: sweet and confectionery with notes of cinnamon, almond, and sugar cookies. That marzipan note was really, really drawn out too! Oddly, the surface of the liquor before I strained had an oily sheen on it though. Not really sure what that’s about or from. I don’t recall ever having issues with Cuppa T’s version being oily?

But anyway, thanks OMGsrsly for the revisit – even if the tea’s ‘relabeled’ so to speak.

Another from omgsrsly this one smells delicious but is a little lacking in the taste department. I really wanted this to be a stronger flavoured tea. The weak factor of this one makes me like it a little less than i would if it had a strong intense candied almond flavour. All that being said though, i am in agreement that this is a tasty tea!