Ginseng Achtung (special herbal edition)

Type: Herbal (not tea, just grass)
Class: N/A
Flavor: Ginseng, chyeah-duh!
Intensity: BOOM!
Mood: Relaxed
Perks: Looseleaf, bulk, cheap
Source (in Montreal): La Compagnie Foung Tak Canada ltee (not sure of the name of the store, but it's a bit south of the St. Laurent and Rene-Levesque intersection, on the west side of St. Laurent)

About a month ago I tried the Ginseng Oolong at Cha Guan and liked it quite a bit. Since then I kept on planning to return there an buy some for home, but just never got around doing it. Today while searching for sushi supplies around Chinatown I came across the the dry ginseng flowers in bulk, for about 6$/100g. I must admit, there's somewhat of a fetish of making things as much from scratch as possible, so of course it was impossible to just walk by.
All my previous flower tea experience screamed that it the taste of flowers infused solo is rather delicate. Was I ever wrong! The smell of ginseng itself, and especially the look for some reason reminded me of broccoli; no sweat, I actually happen to like it. So hoping to get a better taste I packed the strainer half way up with these dried mini-broccoli wannabes, and let them soak in hot water for a half a dozen of minutes. This resulted in a mild green liquid, reminiscent of the water left after steaming the said broccoli (again, maudit broccoli!). A good swig demolished the illusion: the only thing that I ever tried that was more bitter was an occasional bad almond (those who experienced it will know what I'm talking about). After massive watering down it became drinkable, but the taste in itself still kept some vegetable hints in it.
The original plan was to mix it with oolong (also bought in the same store) but the lady there suggested to try them individually. Verdict: mixed is way better. With a bunch of water and oolong the drink is actually very relaxing, with the tastes blending nicely (so far the proportions still need working out, but there is a lot of potential).
So it goes, gotta know your herbs before trying to be all zen...

Une grenouille dans la théière

On Tuesday, Ranitaloca and I headed over to Une grenouille dans la théière following a most awesome lunch at Ramen-Ya. It was our first time checking the place out, but figured why not? We have our conscience verte coupons, so let's do it (you buy a piece of pie or cake and get free tea - so a total cost of $3.50 - awesome deal). 

The place is located on 5940 St-hubert, close to Beaubien metro station and starts just after Plaza St-hubert ends. It's a rather nice location - slightly out of the way and quiet. It's small and has nice decor - turquoise, gold and red fill the room. I guess it can fit about 15 people comfortably. 

Ranita got cranberry almond pie with a Jasmine Dragon Pearl tea and I got apricot almond pie with Da hong pao oolong tea (something new!). 

Da hong pao

As is customary with tea outings, we shared our teas. I am an absolute fan of Jasmine Dragon Pearl tea - classic and you can't really go wrong with jasmine. It also smells amazing. Da hong pao is something new - at Grenouille they said there's actually some debate as to whether it is an oolong or red tea. On wikipedia, it says it's an artisanal tea and as such, the crops are very small, giving it quite the price tag (I think it was 8$ or more for 25 g, which is about 5 cups of tea, albeit multiple infusions). In addition it has a rich history, which you can read on Wiki.  The tea itself is really good, it's not too strong and is slightly fruity. I probably should've written about it on Tuesday, because I don't remember the exact taste, just that it was good and Ranita really loved it and wanted to buy it. 

Overall, Grenouille is a great tea place and I would definitely go back to drink tea. It's excellent for chilling given it's slightly secluded location and has some original decor (china hats with fringe for light covers!). On the other hand, I probably wouldn't buy tea because they are rather pricy and for good reason - their teas are organic. But, it's not always affordable. One interesting thing is their pie is rather cheap and tasty, too. Most times cakes cost more than tea, but tis not the case here. So if you happen to have the conscience verte coupon, use it! But even if not, the place is worth a visit for sure.