I’m going to try to slowly ease back into blogging; it’s been way too long.

Now, ordinarily I wouldn’t even go near a drink that claims to have any kind of herb/root/leave/stalk in it, unless for medicinal purposes. Because I generally don’t consider these types of drinks pleasurable.

I have memories of my grandmother giving me concoctions of neem bark, ginger and other herbs for fever, now my grandmother died when I was six so this could all be imagined (very much like our Sunday shopping and brunch dates at Macy’s in Herald Square).

Anyway, so two weekends ago I was in the South Granville area when I came upon Meinhardt (an upscale specialty grocery store, much like Dean and DeLuca). Prices withstanding, Meinhardt is a great place to spot fancy unique foodstuff; a year ago I got a friend a couple bottles of shandy because he mentioned it was the closest thing to beer he liked and couldn’t find any here. And they have the most amazing Rice Krispie Squares I’ve ever had!

It was while browsing the aisles that I saw it; Fentimans Dandelion and Burdock drink! Again ordinarily I would have given it a second glance but the weird thing was, just a few days ago I’d read about it, where else… on the internet while researching natural hair care and recipes. The section on Burdock on Anita Grant’s website extols the awesomeness of this particular drink and I couldn’t believe that I found it, right here in Vancouver. I grabbed a few bottles and headed on home.

I’m pleased to report that it doesn’t taste anything like my grandmother’s neem concoctions (not that I thought that it would). It has a light flowery taste, a little herby but not unpleasant. The smell is floral and earthy. The initial sip isn’t wowing but you find yourself wanting more afterwards.

I like that it’s not too sweet; I guess you could call it refreshing. I got the sense that I wasn’t harming my body, unlike the fear and trepidation with which I drink regular sodas – I get this visual image of my insides being attacked by high fructose corn syrup.

As much as I like it, I don’t like it enough to shell out $3.50 (plus taxes, bottle deposit fee and recycling fee!) for a 275ml bottle of soda. However, if I were in the neighbourhood and in the mood I might get a bottle or two.