Monk's Blend

This is an interesting sample I received from The Tea Table. The tea leaf smells more of cherry with hints of vanilla. Its a very smooth tea, no bitterness or astringency. The taste has hints of both but not really strong. I think this tea would be great in an iced tea which is what I intend to use the rest of it for. Its an ok tea but not something I would drink every day.

I made a large teapot of this today. It is a good basic tea. If it gets oversteeped, it can get a little bitter. The grenadine and vanilla are light, but they balance well with the black. I take mine with a little sweetener.

I have noticed this comes from several online vendors; perhaps it is a Metropolitan variety?….I am on my third source. The first came from The Tea Table, the second from Culinary Teas, the third from The Whistling Kettle. I have not noticed a real difference in any of them.

A bit too sweet for my taste and some of the vanilla/grenadine flavoring gets a little overwhelming, but still all in all a good combination.

It took me days to try this, the overwhelmingsweet scent of the dry tea was very off-putting. When brewed it tasted medicinal witha bit of sweet edge. Not for me