95 Tasting Notes

57
drank Candy Cane by Adagio Teas
95 tasting notes

I’m the kinda gal where I may have one candy cane during the holiday season and I’m good. I even generally prefer they be the flavored candy canes as I’m not a huge peppermint fan. I leave the after dinner mints cuz to me they’re just meh. I wasn’t terribly excited when my tea of the month arrived with this tea in it but I’ve had good experiences with teas that I wouldn’t normally buy that were sent to be through this subscription (I’m looking at you blueberry one…).

I waited until after Thanksgiving (because it’s not cool to rush into Christmas) and had this over the weekend. I’m happy to report that the candy cane is not overwhelming (which will be disappointing to those who are looking for that). It’s there, but sweeter (might have been the brown sugar splenda I always add). Overall, the cup was very enjoyable and put me in about as much holiday spirit as I’m capable of mustering. I wouldn’t seek it out outside the season, but it’s a nice cup for the holidays.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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45
drank Cafe Latte by SereneTeaz
95 tasting notes

I don’t know why but I’m drawn to coffee teas, which is odd, since I’m not really a coffee drinker. Maybe it’s because my husband’s coffee always smells so good and coffee can have a creaminess that’s often missing from tea. I had a Groupon to Serene Teaz and after a few I had planned on getting didn’t smell as good as I thought they would I decided to add this to my purchase.

I’m not terribly impressed. I’m sure it’s a fine tea, but it’s just not for me, much in the same way that I wasn’t impressed with Teavana’s Javamate. I want to like them but they’re just okay to me and end up sitting in my tea cabinet until I admit defeat and put them up for swaps, I begrudgingly drink them, or the mood hits me just right for them. I think I need to admit it: I’m no longer a coffee drinker.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 4 min, 0 sec

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61
drank Roasted Cocoa Mate by Utopia Tea
95 tasting notes

Got this in a swap from Daisy. Mate seems to work wonders when I feel I might be getting a migraine but for a long time the only one I liked was Teavana’s Matevana (which is still amazing!). Then I added one from Adagio but mate seems to be a bit hard to find so I jumped at the chance to try this from Daisy.

What I’m finding now is that a lot of mates are basically variations of the same thing. This one is nutty and a bit chocolately and reminds me of a cross between Matevana and Adagio’s Toasted Mocha Nut Mate. That’s not to say it’s not good, it is, but could we get some variety up in here?

It’s held up well for 3 steeps and is fantastic with some almond joy creamer (but really, what wouldn’t be?).

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 6 min, 0 sec

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91

Got this in a swap (I am terrible at keeping my swaps straight) at just the wrong time to be able to tear into it right away. But I think my tea cabinet had a plan. It knew that today would be the day my husband would try to get us out of the house on time. It knew that another cold front would be making its way to us giving me a headache. It knew I would have a 2 hour meeting at 9 am that makes me want to bang my head repeatedly against a dull rock.

This tea might be enough to pull me out of this Wednesday slump. Sugary and wonderful this really is like creme brulee in a cup.

What’s nice about this tea is that a little goes a long way. This would have been useful knowledge before I dumped the entire baggy into my teamaker. I tend to err on the side of using too much tea because I like a really strong brew and knew that there was more there than I needed, but not quite enough to get two pots full so I just dumped the whole thing in. Then again there are worse things than having your taste buds smacked on their hypothetical faces by creme brulee flavors so I’m certainly not going to complain. No, instead I’m just going to close this review and click on the ‘add to shopping list’ button, then add it to my wishlist.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec
LefTea

The swap was from Nicole! Thanks Nicole!

Nicole

You are welcome. Glad you liked it!

LefTea

Sad it didn’t resteep as well as I thought. I wanted to prolooooooooong the yumminess.

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57
drank Coconut Tea by SereneTeaz
95 tasting notes

Finally, a black coconut tea! My first time brewing this was at a hotel using their “hot water” karafe. Turned out pretty well, nice coconut flavor to it. I overbrewed it a bit this morning since I added more tea to the used leaves from yesterday. Oops. I think when brewed properly it’ll be really nice.

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89
drank Chestnut by Adagio Teas
95 tasting notes

I tried this at Adagio’s birthday party not really knowing what to expect. I was intrigued by it but, never having had chestnuts, probably wouldn’t have bought it without tasting it first. One sip and I knew a bag of this had to come home with me. It’s nutty and wonderful and the perfect cup for a cold, raining, windy, no-good day like today.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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56
drank Chocolate Chip by Adagio Teas
95 tasting notes

I am a bit obsessed with chocolate tea ever since I got a sample of some from another tea retailer. That tea has been my favorite of all the chocolate teas I’ve tried but it requires shipping costs which I hate so I’ve tried to find something similar everywhere I can. This tea, while good, does not displace that as my favorite. First steeping was nice and chocolatey, but I think this other tea uses milk chocolate rather than dark chocolate. I love dark chocolate but found the balance between the black tea and the milk chocolate to be slightly more pleasing. The disappointment with this tea came on the second steeping which turned out extremely weak. I had considered bumping this one to my chocolate tea default considering cost and ease of procurring more but with no second steep I don’t think I can do that. So the quest continues. I guess there are worse ways to spend one’s time.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Uniquity

Have you tried Joy’s Teaspoon’s Chocolate Pot de Tea yet in your quest? I haven’t tried it yet personally but have heard good things. I personally enjoy David’s Tea’s Ready My Lips but it has a good deal of mint in it as well.

LefTea

Joy’s Chocolate Pot de Tea is the one that I’m trying to replicate. It’s the one I reference as the sample I received. However, I HATE paying shipping so I’ve been trying to find something else, locally, if possible.

Uniquity

Ahhhh. I’ve placed two orders with them so far (despite hating shipping). I just conpensate by buying my faves in the largest quantity possible. I think I have a sample of Pot de Tea somewhere that I should try now that I like chocolate.

LefTea

Uniquity, you’ll LOVE the Pot de Tea!

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47
drank My Morning Mate by Teavana
95 tasting notes

I had been wanting to try this, but had pegged Matevana as my mate of choice from Teavana. There was something about this tea that was interesting, but the description for Matevana won out and I went with that instead. But still this tea begged to be tried. Since Teavana only sells in 2 oz bags or more I figured I’d just never try it (Javavana got it’s turn already with mixed results). Enter: the swap!

It’s not a bad tea but I cannot really understand why this is considered to be “the coffee kicker” especially over javavana or matevana. It’s fine, don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t stand out to me. To me it tastes a bit like a mix of many teas making it a bit nondescript. There’s some mate flavor in there, a bit of vanilla perhaps, and maybe a dash of cinnamon?

Bottom line for me: it’s fine. Nothing more, nothing less. Glad I got to try it without committing to a full bag.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 6 min, 0 sec

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91
drank Mocha Nut Mate by Adagio Teas
95 tasting notes

150 degrees? Oops. I didn’t realize that it was supposed to be steeped at such a low temperature until I came here to review and read the other reviews.

Picked this up at Adagio’s birthday celebration because it smelled so wonderful in the jar. Mate has been wonderful for me in preventing my migraines so I drink it when I know I might be prone to one but so far I’ve only found one that I liked enough to be my go-to mate. I brewed this the same way I brew that one and it didn’t turn out any worse for the wear. This is certainly nutty and toasty but I’m missing the chocolate notes. I don’t mind the missing chocolate but I certainly wouldn’t mind if it was there either.

This tea is yummy, chocolate or not.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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45

Another swap adventure! This one does taste like amaretto, at least what I assume amaretto tastes like since I don’t drink much. My husband has been making amaretto coffee and it smelled so good that I had to give this one a try.

Apparently I like the smell of amaretto but not so much the taste. It’s not a bad tea, but it’s not something I’d order for myself. Didn’t hold up for a resteep which doesn’t make me terribly sad.

Glad I got to try it, but it won’t become one of my must-have-at-all-times teas.

Preparation
200 °F / 93 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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Bio

Hello!
I’m Amanda, and I’m new to the world of tea. I got sucked in by a sample at Teavana and have been exploring ever since. I prefer loose tea but will slum it with the occasional, high quality bag.

I live just outside Chicago with my husband and our dog.

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