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“So far I have to say this is my favourite of the Jeniers I’ve tried so far. Although, I’m willing to admit that I may be slightly biased what with the vanilla and all. I luuuurve vanilla flavouring...” Read full tasting note
“I’m not sure about this one. Something I drank this morning made me feel a bit pukey, and this is, unfortunately, one of the suspects. The first thing that struck me is how much I dislike the smell...” Read full tasting note
An ancient blend, Grenadine and Vanilla flavoured black tea has been a favourite of Buddhist and Taoist monks as a tea that was perfect any time of day. Our version uses a high quality Ceylon tea which, when blended with the natural vanilla and grenadine flavours, gives a wonderful smooth and unique flavour.
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So far I have to say this is my favourite of the Jeniers I’ve tried so far. Although, I’m willing to admit that I may be slightly biased what with the vanilla and all. I luuuurve vanilla flavouring in tea, and it seems like it’s a love affair that is only growing. Vanilla on its own, vanilla with fruit, it’s all good. I have a tea from AC Perchs with vanilla and cranberry which I’m ever so slightly addicted to. This one both smells great and it tastes great and I can clearly taste both vanilla and fruit. I’ll make a more in depth post about it later, I think.
Tell me, though, Steepsterites. When I searched for this in the database, and awful lot of Monk’s Blends came up. Is this actually one or just similar? I was under the impression that Monk’s Blend was more floral.
I’m not sure about this one. Something I drank this morning made me feel a bit pukey, and this is, unfortunately, one of the suspects. The first thing that struck me is how much I dislike the smell of the dry leaf. It’s kind of chemically, very sweet, but with an edge of bitterness. The smell reminds me of some of the adagio flavoured blacks, not all of which I can stand.
Anyway, I’ve had two cups today, the first with milk and the second without. It smells much better brewed, but the base tea is pretty bitter even after only three minutes. Out of the two cups, I think I prefer the one with milk, as it seems to tone down the bitterness a touch. On the other hand, I could definitely taste the strawberry-syrup-like grenadine and the creamy, sweet vanilla a lot more clearly without.
I’ve only got a sample packet, but there are at least a couple of cups worth left. I think I’m going to have to experiment a bit before I finally get this right. The base tea is strong enough to take milk, but it does mute the flavour, so a little bit of fiddling around with the amount of leaf and the brew time might help to clarify things for me. At the moment, I can’t say I really like this, so my rating reflects that. A shame.
There seem to be two different types of “Monk’s Blends.” There’s the American Monk’s Blend, which is grenadine and vanilla, and then there is the European Monk’s Blend, which is bergamot, vanilla and jasmine. The European type is also more likely to include some variant of “Tibetan” in the title (especially French companies), but I’ve had several in Poland that were called just Monk’s Blend and were the European type. Confusing!
It must the be European one I’ve seen then. Jasmine and bergamot would be instant turn-offs for me. Especially the former. That explains why this one isn’t actually called Monk’s Blend at all, even though it’s the same as the American MB
That is so interesting Dinosara – it drove me crazy some tibetan teas having bergamot and vanilla and flowers and it seemed to untibetan to me (btw those were Thé au Tibet which had an old name with I think the word priest as a root, and histoire tibetaine)
And Thé des Moines, as well, now I think of it.
what is grenadine anyway?
Grenadine is a sort of pomegranate syrup. It’s often used when mixing cocktails.
Thanks!
Yes, after having monk’s blends and “Tibetan” teas (including Thé au Tibet and Thé Des Moines) I figured out that some of the French companies might be referring to Tibetan monks in their names. Not that either flavor combination makes much sense for Tibetan monks in my opinion!