To Be Discontinued

The definition of “limited edition” or “seasonal selection” does not escape me. If I take a liking to, say, the Body Shop’s brandied apple bath gel (available only at Christmas ... once ... a long time ago), then I must also accept that it won’t be a staple in their regular lineup. It may not even return the following year (which it didn’t). I’m a big girl; I can deal with that ... but please don’t mess with my tea.

In the spring of 2012, David’s Tea introduced a flavoured green tea called Persian Apple (PA). I loved it on first sip, so much, in fact, that it’s become my writing tea for a new character. I drink a lot of it because she figures prominently in a novel rather than a short story, and the flavour hints at both her exotic past and the regulation dark secret that could destroy her budding romance with the hero.

Anyway, to sustain my inspiration, I recently decided to boost my supply to a refillable 100 gram tin. I waited a bit because of funding, but when I had the cash a few months ago, I took my empty to the downtown store and proudly presented it for refilling. The clerk’s bright smile dimmed and my eyes immediately narrowed.

“Don’t you dare,” I growled. “Don’t you dare tell me what I think you’re about to tell me.”

Wincing, she confessed that it was being discontinued. Then she hastily added, “I think it’s still available online.” Without waiting for me to ask (or explode), she zipped to the computer and looked it up. “Yes,” she said, obviously relieved, “you can still get it online.”

I know. I should have been more gracious, but besides the fact that I wanted it now, I was faced with yet another favourite going by the wayside. So I sort of behaved badly by erupting with my “for crying out loud” speech. The next thing I knew, she was trying desperately to appease me by offering a dozen other options, none of which remotely resembled the one I wanted. I mean, how does Merry Cranberry compare to Persian Apple? Worse, when I asked her if it was a seasonal flavour and she said it was, I gave her the look and said, “Don’t show me seasonal flavours; this is why we’re having this conversation!”

Poor girl. The same thing had happened at the Uptown shop the year before with their strawberry-ginger herbal – I’d gone in happily anticipating a tin of my new fave only to discover it was gone forever. You can’t even get it online anymore. I did order more PA online, and another 250 grams of it arrived this week, so I’m hoping it will be enough to last me to the end of my novel. I had an emergency backup flavour for Jannika as well, but it’s (you guessed it) been discontinued and is unavailable online.

The moral of the story? Don’t get too attached. Stock up while you can. Appreciate what you have while you have it because it could be gone tomorrow ... and when presented that way, it applies to more than tea, so this post is less about whining than it is about being grateful! Nice recovery, Ru!