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ETC
Final Fantasy XII Potion Premium
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New Import / In Stock |
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«©NCSX»
NCS attempted to lower our import shipping costs for
the FFXII Potions by having our vendor send the
massive allocation of FFXII Portion Premium
Boxes by sea freight. However, after handling
charges, administrative costs and duties, the final
transportation bill ended up equal to what air freight would
have cost. Lesson learned... and time wasted. The FFXII
Potion Premium Boxes arrived yesterday and we were
able to ship some
preorders on Tuesday but the bulk of our preorders
are shipping this afternoon at the original preorder price of US$12.50
per Premium Box.
Price Change
Due to the high cost of carriage and importation, please note that
NCS is raising the price per FFXII Potion to US$17.50
per Premium Box for new orders to cover costs. To
lessen the sting however, customers within the USA
may request shipping by USPS Priority Mail which is
approximately US$5.50 for a 1-bottle shipment.
Please note however that Priority Mail can take up
to 3 days to deliver within the USA but it is
trackable by way of Delivery Confirmation Service on
www.usps.gov. Our
online shop does not list Priority Mail as a
shipping option but you may request it in the notes
section of the online order form and we'll ship
accordingly. Note that you will still have to select
a UPS shipping option to submit the order.
Packaging
NCS will ship any new orders today and we're packaging each
single-bottle order in thick bubble wrap followed by
another layer of bubble wrap. The bubble-packed mass
is then packaged in a cardboard box for final
delivery to our customers in the USA and Europe.
Each package weighs approximately 1.2 lbs with
packaging material. We had a few bottles that were wrecked during shipping due to poor
handling by the freight company. The glass bottles
are fragile and when they're dropped from a 10 foot
loading dock, the bottles on the bottom of the
container tend to splinter and subsequently rattle around
inside...
Bottle
Each limited edition bottle is made of
deep-purple tinted glass which measures 5" tall. A Suntory
bottle cap seals the 100 ml of elixir inside but
twist it open to get at the beverage. One of six
deep-purple colored acrylic caps is also included
with each glass bottle which measures 2.5" tall.
Each limited edition package also includes one of 27
possible foil-wrapped Final Fantasy XII trading
cards. The cards are beautifully printed and we're
trying to fetter out a complete set for our own
collection. They're that special.
Bouquet
Upon snapping open the bottle cap, a fragrance not unlike
medicine wafts from the mouth of the bottle to one's
nostrils. The first thought was Robitussin but there
was also the scent of a ginseng-like aroma and a
sickly sweet odor. One of the major ingredients in
the potion is royal jelly, which is secreted from
the salivary glands of worker bees to feed larvae.
Queen bees are fed a steady diet of royal jelly for
the rest of their lives. It's doubtful that any
Queens will rise up from drinking the potion
however.
Color
Suntory used a tinting agent known as "Blue 1" to color
the potions a light blue color that looks like
windshield washer fluid.
Blue 1 is used to give beverages, jellies,
confections, ices, syrups, extracts and condiments a
bright blue color that's unnatural in foodstuffs.
Blue 1 is also used in cosmetics such as eyeliner.
Taste Test
First impression: apple juice.
Or is it Kool-Aid? No, make that sugared water
infused with a tangy bite that hits your tongue with
a tart explosion of flavor which slowly dissipates
as the liquid washes down your throat. A loose
approximation of the flavor is Arizona Green Tea in
those fanciful green bottles. The sugar content is
loaded and NCS tasters felt that dilution was
required - say 1 bottle of potion mixed with a glass
of water would cut down on the sharp sugar-powered
flavor. There's a barely distinguishable aftertaste
which is reminiscent of Chinese medicinal herbs -
the kind that may be savored in any well stocked
Asian herbal pharmaceutical. We can't imagine anyone
drinking the potions on a daily basis but as a
collectible gimmick for Final Fantasy XII fans,
they're
probably something that will be much sought after in
a few years. These things tend to behave that way...
Ingredients
Suntory lists the ingredients as
follows: Grape carbohydrate solution, sugar, royal
jelly, propolis extract, elder (sambucus nigra),
chamomile, sage, thyme, hyssop, fennel, marjoram,
rosemary, basil, melissa (lemon balm), acidulant,
spice, caffeine, save charges (benzoic acid Na),
phosphate (Na), vitamin B6, vitamin B1, blue 1. |
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This document is ©NCSX 2006. All rights reserved. No
reproduction in whole or in part of this document
may be made without express written consent of
National Console Support, Inc.
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