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Swap from Keychange that I’ve finally decided to try. (along with the other 2 she sent me) Wasn’t sure anout the brewing parameters so I went with my basic measures that I tend to fall back on.
Didn’t really have much of a dry scent, but that could just be the baggie it was in.
Brewed it’s kinda malty, fruity, smoke/spicy? Not sure on that last note though. XD
Taste wise it’s kinda fruityish, with that almost smokey/woody/spicy note to it. It’s also more astringent than I’d prefer, but still a nice cup.
Sitting here next to me on my warmer it’s gotten a touch on the bitter side, even with a bit of Truvia added and the astringency is like I swallowed cotton. Bleh.
But it was still a nice cup before it sat, though I can’t see myself ordering it myself.

So I’m having this now because it was between Martha and Ten and Ten won for my morning tea, so Martha is for my night tea.
I’m not a fan of rooibos blends. I don’t like the taste of rooibos straight, but I can usually stand them mixed into a blend in small doses. This one was deceptive in that it looks like only a smidge of rooibos in the blend, but when I measured it out, it turned into mostly rooibos with a smidge of black tea leaves.
So strong caramel sort of scent to it, but not really any sort of other scent to indicate the sesame that’s supposed to be in the blend. Brewed the caramel smell is there but it doesn’t translate very strongly taste wise. It’s there, but not in the sense that would make me think ‘Caramel!’ on the sip. There’s a strange other taste that’s kinda…hard to describe. Kinda bitter? Sharp? Musky? I can’t really put my finger on it. And I’m not sure if it’s the rooibos or if this is the sesame coming up in the sip. It’s just strange and vaguely unpleasant to be honest. Also, the astringency on this blend has to be the worse out of all the other Doctor Who blends I’ve had from the set so far. Or at least, bad enough that I’ve actually noticed it.
I tried it with a bit of Truvia mixed in and while it takes some of the bitter edge off and turns the caramel into a sort of dark/toasted/burnt caramel sort of taste, it’s still an unpleasant enough blend that I don’t forsee me brewing this up again, not with other blends from the set that, even if they’re not my favorite, are still tasty.
Also, I’ve held off on giving this a rating since I’m not sure if it’s my dislike of rooibos that makes this blend so unpleasant, or if it’s the blend itself. XD

First it should be noted that this is a review of the original blend with the guanabana (which Adagio has since discontinued due to unpopularity), from the 10 tin sampler set (which Adagio has also since discontinued….for I believe cost issues). XD
So another one from my sampler. I’m almost all the way through, with this one being one of four left. Technically I have three since I’ve already had the Jack Harkness blend before, but the blend in the tins smells so differently than the blend I had gotten then (Not as in-your-face almond) that I’m planning on giving it another try. I also think I’ve forgotten to review most of the other tin blends since, like I said, I’m almost through with the sampler but there’s only reviews for 4 of them. Lol! I’ll have to go back and retaste the blends then review them since my memory is kinda foggy on them. But I digress. Onto the tea.
It’s got a funky sort of fruity smell in the package that actually kinda reminds me of Ten’s quirkiness on the show. There’s also little chocolate chips mixed into the blend, but ultimately I think this added nothing to the brew aside from looking tempting in the dry mix.
Taste wise it’s a kinda funky banana/fruity taste to it with a strong base of basic sort of black tea taste. Not funky bad, but funky in that it’s banana but with a little something extra that’s hard to put my finger on. This was without sugar. With a bit of Truvia (a little more than I’m used to using, but still less than a tsp, the blend pops a bit more with fruitiness and gets pretty damn tasty. Lol! I definitely prefer it with added sweetness than without. It’s kinda just blah straight.
I’m not sure what the current blend is like, but I imagine that it’s totally different from this version, and possibly not in a positive way. The guanabana adds that extra little quirk to what would possibly be a normal, boring sort of blend. Not at all appropriate to Ten’s character. Lol! Maybe I’ll try to swap for the current blend mix to compare. I’ll be drinking the rest of what’s in the tin, but I don’t expect an order due to the change in the blend.

So my local Jewel Osco is remodeling and apparently clearing a whole bunch of stuff. There were a handful of different bottled teas and this one stood out to me as just something different to try. And it was only $.75 so I couldn’t really go wrong with that.
I tried this straight out of the bottle and I wasn’t really that impressed. Not really sweet but it has that funky acidic taste that I can’t seem to find a unsweetened bottled tea without, which stinks really. And there was a odd floral back note to the tea during the sip. I don’t really get the honeysuckle sweetness that the bottle claims. Just that strange floralness.
I added some truvia and poured it over ice. It’s…..better? Kinda? Lol. I don’t think I added enough truvia to make it ‘sweet’ and it’s still got that acidic and floral note to the tea. But it’s definitely better over ice. Since I got two bottles I might try the other one with just honey instead to see what it’s like.
Overall, nice to try, but I wouldn’t get it again. Meh.

I actually made this a few night ago, but then I forgot about it and it got cold so I had to pour it out. But the sip I had just after brewing it was pretty good, so I figured I’d make it again.
This has a nice vanilla scent with something heavier behind it. I’m guessing that’s the sweet potato? Not sure since I’ve never had another tea with sweet potato in it, so I can’t say for certain.
Taste wise it’s a bit blah straight. Adding a bit of Truvia makes the vanilla pop and mellows the irish breakfast. The sweet potato is just kinda there with a bit of cinnamon/spice and a fuller flavor. Not detracting, just adding to it. Definitely better with sugar added, for me at least.
The version I’m reviewing here is actually different than the one that’s currently on the Adagio website (and the updated info here). The newer version just has Irish Breakfast & Vanilla Green, while the version I have has Sweet Potato as well (which Adagio has since discontinued). I got one of the (also now discontinued) Doctor Who 10 tin sampler sets from one of the stores that had the original blend in it. I’ll probly one day get a sample of the new version to try, but I’m rather disappointed that I won’t be able to get this particular blend again because it’s actually really nice.
I’ll just have to enjoy the rest of the little tin I have. Lol.

So I figured, what the heck, let’s try Rose’s tea. It was the second one I pulled out of the box….Well, technically Jack was the second one, but I’ve tried that one and didn’t like it at all (though I might retry the stuff in the tin since it doesn’t smell as strongly as the batch I got in a bag). So I skipped him and went to the next.
This one smelled pretty fruity dry, which was nice.
Brewed this still was fruity, but a tart/sour sort of fruity from the raspberries. Thankfully I don’t get any of the earl grey from this since bergamot is definitely not one of my favorite flavors. Or maybe it’s here, but its subtle (which I’m not used to with earl grey) so I can’t really pick it out. But honestly I don’t really think of this as much more than a raspberry tea to be honest. Everything else is just kinda overshadowed.
A bit of truvia tones the sour/tartness down, but not so much that I can tell anything else from the tea. Lol!

Soooo I got 2 samplers from Adagio before they pared down to 6 tins and I figure I’d better at least start trying them. Lol. So today I decided on the Doctor Who one, mainly because I’ve technically tried most of the teas in the ‘Tales & Tea Leaves’ set, so these are all new to me.
Nine is my fav doctor so it was only fitting that I tried his tea first.
Dry this had a sweet, roasty sort of smell, but nothing else really stood out to me.
Brewed I can kinda smell the anise, but again, it’s kinda just there. I ended up brewing it way below the recommended temp of boiling since I’ve found that most Adagio blacks turn almost undrinkable when steeped at boiling. And this one had gunpowder, which I didn’t want to burn either. So I gave this a shot a 195* because why not? XD
Everything kinda comes out in the taste. I get anise pretty strongly right off the bat. It reminds me of the sassafras that I get at the RenFaire, which is actually a shame because I don’t actually care for sassafras. Lol! I get a bitter note, but I’m kinda used to that because it happens so often with Adagio black tea blends. And I’m getting a light smokyness from the gunpowder. It’s also middling on the astringency scale. Not bad enough to make me want to pour the cup out, but enough there so I notice.
After adding some truvia, it didn’t get sweet persay, but the anise toned way down and let other flavors come up. I’m not sure if this is one I’d order a large amount of, but I’ll definitely finish the tin worth eventually.

One last tea before bed, so to speak. I had wanted a good tea to just sit and sip at while I play a little D3 before bed. Unfortunately this didn’t work out too well. The longer it sat the more bitter it got. Actually, it was kinda bitter at the very beginning. Maybe I overleafed it since I don’t remember it being like this when I first tried it? Probly since I was kinda lazy and eyed the 1/2 tsp from a full tsp. Meh. I probly shouldn’t’ve had tea this late anyway. XD

So another sample that I got from DavidsTea and never got around to. And because the Choconut oolong was such a flop I wanted to give another tea a go. Something plain since all the other samples I had gotten were flavored. I made this and sipped it, and then started dinner while intending to come back and write this note up….then I watched The Princess and the Frog, so this note was a bit delayed. So here’s kinda what I remember./what I had typed up already. Lol!
This one reminds me strongly of DavidsTea’s Nepal Black. I’ll have to make them side by side to compare. I don’t think I used enough leaf since it was kinda weak tasting, so next time I’ll try 2 tsp for my 12 oz instead of the 1.5.
It was also kinda bitter at the beginning of the sip, but not burnt bitter, kinda like when you accidentally eat the stuff around the pecan when you’ve just shelled one….whatever that stuff is called. It also had that muscatel sort of taste to it that I associate with the few darjeelings I’ve had before. I got about halfway through it and added some truvia….which didn’t really do much one way or another. Lol.
I’ll finish what I have, but I don’t think I’ll order more. Or maybe I will. I’m kinda on the fence about this one honestly. I’ll have to make it again just to be sure. XD