licorice and thrift stores

I'm not the only one who likes thrift store shopping! Donna Freedman (excellent personal finance writer by the way) explains why in this video.

And yesterday I picked up another bargain -- licorice spice tea! Now for those of you who just raised an eyebrow or two when you saw the word licorice, know that for most Dutch people licorice (called drop in Dutch) is not only an obsession, but also practically a sacred duty, snort. Don't believe me? Visit any Dutch store in North America and you'll probably find over 50 different kinds of the sweet and salty stuff. You can even get double salted licorice! Seriously. Oh, and for those of you who have never had the pleasure of tasting Dutch licorice, it's nothing like the licorice you're used to. REAL licorice (can you tell I'm addicted and am practically salivating as I type?) has licorice root powder or extract, whereas the North American stuff is usually just flour, molasses, and anise flavouring.

Now where was I? Ah, licorice spice tea. That, by the way, doesn't have a super strong licorice taste per se, but with licorice root, cinnamon bark, orange peel, ginger root, cardamom seed, and clove bud (doesn't that sound delicious?), it's flavourful and sweet. But for some strange reason licorice tea doesn't seem to sell well here, and I often have difficulty finding it. So I was mighty pleased to see it in a drugstore the other day, and although dismayed that it was being discontinued, was more than happy to take advantage of the discount price. Instead of having to pay $6.99 per box, I paid $1.99, so promptly scooped up the remaining four boxes. I saved $20, and as mom sagely pointed out to me, that means I can buy three of those for-$6-fill-the-bag-with-clothes next time. ;)

Now tell me you don't want to eat these right THIS second!

Comments

[Krissa]

Tried to leave a comment on this post the other evening, but it wouldn't 'take'. The tea sounds delicious! (but expensive before on sale - yikes!!). There's a lot of good teas in Germany and the prices are pretty reasonable. And who doesn't love licorice! I remember that photo, btw. :) Enjoy your tea!

[have gone vegan]

The tea IS delicious! Actually, with Dutch licorice it seems to be a love it or hate affair -- I've yet to meet a person in the middle. Oh, and that photo? One of the most viewed on my Flickr page. No idea why, snort.