76
drank White Grapefruit by Adagio Teas
2036 tasting notes

Sipdown no. 44 for the year 2014. This concludes all the Adagio white tea samplers, unless I find the Jasmine Silver Needle that has either (1) mysteriously disappeared or, (2) been sipped down over the last couple of years without me remembering.

I made sure to measure by weight this time. I also went for a shorter steep time, but not as short as the Breville thinks white teas should have (2:30) because I’m not convinced from what I’ve read that’s the ideal time. I went for 4:30 because the highest rating this tea got on Steepster indicated a 5 minute steep time.

This turned out to work pretty well. The grapefruit tastes much better to me than the other flavored whites. Part of this is the way the flavoring works together with the tea base instead of seemingly at odds with it as some of the other flavored whites seemed to do. Something about the grapefruit flavoring cuts through the plantiness and reduces it to just a hint so the impression is a sweeter tea over all. The grapefruit is definitely apparent, unlike the tangerine in the white tangerine or the pear in the white pear, but it isn’t overwhelming and cloying like the coconut in the White Tropics.

This is definitely my favorite of all the Adagio white flavored teas I tried, and I actually prefer it to the plain whites, too.

Bumping the rating. It earns a place on the shopping list.

Yvonne

I don’t see grapefruit a lot in teas, interesting!

pyarkaaloo

i LOVE grapefruit and grapefruit juice… can’t imagine how it will translate in tea! does it have a nice tartness to it when steeped? would you say it has a ‘juicy’ quality to it (at this point)?

__Morgana__

It’s a little too subtle for me to consider it juicy. It was very evident though. Tartness… hmmm. Not in a mouth puckering sense, and there’s a bit of sweetness to it but it isn’t overly sweet.

TeaLady441

Bayswater in Vancouver has a nice Grapefruit Earl Grey that works quite nicely, and I just tried a cherry graprefruit green from RiverTea that was good as well!

Yvonne

Grapefruit Earl Grey sounds absolutely divine.

Kirkoneill1988

i don’t like grapefruit :(

__Morgana__

Yeah, it’s an interesting flavor for a tea and I’m always surprised at how well it usually works. I have a few other grapefruit teas as well.

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Comments

Yvonne

I don’t see grapefruit a lot in teas, interesting!

pyarkaaloo

i LOVE grapefruit and grapefruit juice… can’t imagine how it will translate in tea! does it have a nice tartness to it when steeped? would you say it has a ‘juicy’ quality to it (at this point)?

__Morgana__

It’s a little too subtle for me to consider it juicy. It was very evident though. Tartness… hmmm. Not in a mouth puckering sense, and there’s a bit of sweetness to it but it isn’t overly sweet.

TeaLady441

Bayswater in Vancouver has a nice Grapefruit Earl Grey that works quite nicely, and I just tried a cherry graprefruit green from RiverTea that was good as well!

Yvonne

Grapefruit Earl Grey sounds absolutely divine.

Kirkoneill1988

i don’t like grapefruit :(

__Morgana__

Yeah, it’s an interesting flavor for a tea and I’m always surprised at how well it usually works. I have a few other grapefruit teas as well.

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Bio

I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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