111 Tasting Notes
I may need to try another cup of this one, before I write up a full tasting note… Today, the flavors seemed a little overwhelming, kind of sweet and artificial? I’m not sure. I don’t usually mind artificial flavors, so that seems odd. My taste buds were still waking up, so that could have been a factor. I noticed a lot of cinnamon (which tasted like cinnamon candies to me, and not like the plain spice, maybe because of the clove?). I tasted orange too, but it struck me as kind of syrupy. That said, this was still a tasty cup! It reminded me of Cinnamon Heart from David’sTEA, which I enjoy when I’m in the mood for it. I also like that they added vanilla. It made for a smoother tea, especially considering that this is a spice blend. I’ll have to try this one again!
Side note: This is my 50th tasting note. Hurray! :)
Whoa! I was not expecting this tea to have such a distinct lime scent. To me, it smells exactly like key lime pie, both the dry leaf and after it’s steeped. I’ve had Earl Greys with vanilla before, but I don’t remember them smelling quite like this. (I went and sniffed my sample of Adagio’s Earl Grey Moonlight, just to be sure… Yup, that one smells more like a traditional Earl Grey, with a very faint note of vanilla.) Maybe it’s an effect of the “cream flavor” Upton mentions on their site? It’s a delicious smell, though, so I’m not complaining!
Taste-wise, this is more what I expected… A bright black tea with mild astringency (Ceylon?), coupled with the crisp citrus of bergamot, and softened by cream/vanilla. I don’t find the cream flavor dominant, but it’s certainly present. It smooths out the citrus, and gives this tea a sweet aftertaste. (I also detect a bit of that “key lime” note in the aftertaste. Interesting!) Not my favorite Earl Grey with vanilla, but a pleasant blend worth sampling. If you like both Earl Grey and key lime pie, I would definitely recommend it!
An old favorite, one of the first loose-leaf teas I ever purchased. It’s still delicious—creamy and subtle, with faint notes of sweet grass. (I should mention that it’s not vegetal like Teavana’s Silver Yin Zhen Pearls, and not as sweet. Which I prefer!) This tea is so soothing, like a warm bath… Especially on a night like this, when I’m not feeling so great. I’ll keep steeping cup after cup, for as long as the leaves last.
Incidentally, I’m almost out of this tea, but I don’t plan to restock. I’m looking to expand my horizons. Time to try more Silver Needle from other companies!
Received this tea as a large sample from Adagio, so I thought I’d try a cup. Rooibos can be really hit-or-miss for me. I have to be in the right mood for it, especially with a non-spicy flavor like this one. Looks like tonight wasn’t a rooibos night… To me, red rooibos tastes kind of like a mixture of sweet cough syrup and wood/straw. That’s mostly what I smell and taste here. The vanilla is really subtle, even with sugar added. (The sugar did improve the flavor, though!) I had about half a cup of this, and it wasn’t undrinkable by any means, but I didn’t feel compelled to finish it.
I like blending Adagio’s teas, so I’ll experiment with the rest of this sample, see if I like it better with other flavors. But it’s not something I would buy to drink on its own. (That said, Adagio’s Vanilla Rooibos Chai is super tasty! I would recommend that rooibos over this one, especially to people like me who aren’t in love with rooibos.)
I forgot that I own this one! Another old tea in my cupboard, from at least two years ago (probably more). So I thought I’d try it today to see how it’s holding up. I remember buying this tea because I wanted to try one with jasmine. I have to admit, I’m not much of a floral person when it comes to tea… Jasmine is especially difficult for me to appreciate, it seems.
This one still smells lovely when I steep it, like flowery perfume, but there’s something in the taste that I don’t like. Kind of a weird dairy flavor, like something creamy that’s gone a bit sour? It leaves an odd aftertaste, too. Strange. I don’t remember the flavor being there when I bought it. Either my tastes have changed, or this tea hasn’t aged well, for whatever reason. Too bad, since I still have a good amount of it left. I might try adjusting the steeping time on a second cup, but I suspect I may have to throw this one out. (Note to self: I should try another jasmine tea sometime, to see how it compares to what I remember of this one when it was fresh.)
Tasting a few of my older teas today, to see if they’re still good… This was one of my first loose-leaf purchases, so it’s at least three years old. And it’s held up surprisingly well! The aroma is the same as when I bought it, a sweet grassy smell. Once steeped, this tea has a buttery smooth flavor, along with a soft vegetal aftertaste. This particular cup is really powdery and a little bitter, since I wasn’t as careful with the steeping as I should have been… I honestly didn’t expect it to still taste this good! It’s a nice straight green. Like a lot of Teavana’s teas, it’s too expensive/not quite special enough to me to justify buying it again. But I’ll certainly keep around what I have left.
This is probably my favorite tea from Butiki that I’ve tried! The green tea is super light and buttery, a welcome change from most flavored greens I’ve had. Plus the cinnamon and apple notes really do remind me of applesauce. I love the cinnamon note here; it tastes sweet and freshly ground. The potato pieces add a surprising savoriness to the blend, a kind of soft powdery taste that I find delicious. (I assumed that I wouldn’t be able to taste the potato at all, but it’s definitely present!) This tea also resteeps surprisingly well, considering the delicate quality of the flavors.
I’m just sad that this tea is already out of stock on Butiki’s website. I would have liked to order more before they close… But I still have a decent amount left for hoarding purposes, so that’s a good thing!
