Adagio Teas - Discontinued

Very Tasty Tea…

The big takeaway from this tea is that it tastes oddly of cedar. It’s not bad, but very unexpected. I don’t think I’ve had a tea that tasted of cedar before.

I actually got this tea from Four Sister’s Soap and Tea Emporium in Richmond KY, but the ingredients seem similar on here. This tea is refreshing. It’s light. There’s not a strong cucumber taste as if I put cucumber in water. I normally don’t like white tea, but I like this one.

Gack! Fake coconut, harsh, very crushed-bitter-greens pouchong base. Oily mouthfeel. Smells a LOT like the sugared coconut flakes you use in Easter baking. The aftertaste is alright, but the rest of the tea is just not good. I think this sample came from LuckyMe, but I’m starting to lose track, haha! Thanks! I realize now that flavored coconut pouchong does not a Golden Lily substitute make….

I got this as a free sample with my last order from Adagio. I’ve been quite impressed so far. For an inexpensive tea, it has a great complexity of flavor. Overall it has a slight astringency, but not too much. There is even a touch of sweetness in the cup. Very typical assam flavor profile with perhaps a bit more of a bite. Not strong astringency, but just a more defined profile. It’s hard to explain.

My son has taken an early interest in tea (which makes his mama proud) so I decided to order the ice cream trio. We’ve spent the last month mixing up fun blends like vanilla with strawberry bits, peppermint cacao chocolate, and chocolate coconut. We ran out of sprinkles early on in our experiments, little man decided to munch on them as he created his blends, so we’ve refilled the glass container a few times already.

Unfortunately Adagio doesn’t sell refills for this set, but you can purchase additional base teas for $2 per sample-size package (chocolate, vanilla, strawberry) and raid your kitchen for new add-ins to fill your jars. The possibilities with this set are endless which is one of the reasons I think it’s so much fun.

You can read the full review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2015/11/24/tuesday-tea-mix-match-ice-cream-trio-adagio

I decided to try a sample of this tea because I love artichokes and it sounded interesting. I’m not really sure what to make of it. It smells peachy and tastes a bit grassy. Sometimes you get a hint of artichoke at the end. I would recommend others try this as a sample first. Very interesting and unique.

Interesting flavor — it tastes kind of meaty and smoky, like something barbecued, but at the same time, is still pleasant to drink. Not my favorite, but it’s a tea worth trying.

The description of this tea says it’s similar in to Assam and Kenyan teas and I happen to agree. The tea was mildly astringent, slightly sweet, and reminded me of fresh baked bread drizzled with honey. It’s a very strong bodied tea, one that is well suited to breakfast— it’s strong enough to force even my eyes open (and we all know I’m not a morning person.)

You can read the full review on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2015/7/7/tuesday-tea-rwanda-rukeri-adagio

Dry, this tea kinda smells like root beer barrels. There is a kinda sweet, mild caramel scent when brewed. The flavour is more lightly sweet, with biscuit and caramel notes. As it cools a little, I get hints of fruit. Actually, pretty good.

Not sure if it’s ‘cause I over did it with tea leaves or if I steeped too long, but this tea isn’t what I was expecting. I’m not really getting the cucumber flavour at all.

Anyways, I will try again. I think I would use a bit less leaves and steep for maybe only 2 or 2.5minutes. We’ll see.

I tried a sample of this tea today and I’m not angry at it. That pretty high praise considering most Adagio flavored teas I’ve had in the past were nothing short of revolting. The coconut flavor isn’t artificial or cloying and the background oolong is bright and sweet. A fairly tasty tea, but not something I would purchase.

Ok last tea for the night. Not a fan TTB. This one is either stale or … I dont know… I feel like I’m just drinking hot water. Hot water with a lil flavor. Its not even getting that bitter and its been at least 3 mins. Rhubarb in tea doesn’t usually bring out rhubarb flavor.

I had this while at a bonfire, and it was fantastically unique. My friend wanted either green or white tea, so I picked this. I feel this is a very nice median point between the two. The tea consists of small brown buds and shards. They brew up a light rusted brown liquor and smell of hay and sugar. The taste is wonderful. The initial sip is of roast and white grapes with a sugary undertone. This was perfect for late night campside beverage :)

https://instagram.com/p/2hHkUXTGeI/?taken-by=haveteawilltravel

Sample from Nichole. Thank you!

I’ve been curious about this for a while. I always like trying new herbal teas and this sold out before I could put in an order. I wasn’t a fan of this though. When I first opened the package, the smell reminded me of something, but it took me a while to place it. This smells like eyeshadow. I don’t think eyeshadow smells bad, but it’s not something I’ve ever thought of tasting. This just strikes me as really odd.

Not my cup of tea TTB

Hmm. This one is quite nice. I’m not sure what pouchong is, but I think it is probably a type of oolong from the taste. The base is smooth and cooling. I’m not sure exactly what I mean by cooling, because I drank it hot, but it’s just that type of feeling I get from this tea. I expect this one would be great in the summer!

The coconut flavoring is more roasted than the coconut that is featured in Zen Tea’s Coconut oolong and Coconut green, which is a nice change of pace. I feel like too many coconut flavors now are creamy, or mixed with chocolate or other tropical flavors. This features the coconut and the base tea beautifully together.

I think I might end up keeping this sample, unless someone else wants it.
I’m trying to rush through this box, because I’m traveling next week, but I’m not having lots of time for tea tastings this week, but I shall try!

Added 1t of sugar. I can taste the hints of cucumber, and it’s a pleasant pairing with the white tea.

Painting update, for those who are following along in my Dropzone Commander Scourge painting adventure. I am almost finished with the red ‘veins’ then I need to do a blue wash, then some bone detailing, then wash those and then I will be done! Well that is not entirely true, I will be done with everything but the Desolator, which I am going to make into an epic showcase piece along with it being a my command unit. That monstrosity is possibly my favorite miniature ever because it is a space cuttlefish and for extra geek points looks like a Reaper from Mass Effect, sadly I cannot just love it and call it Harbinger though since once of Scourge’s other units is a Harbinger…and there is also a Reaper. Ok, that is enough of me geeking out.

I lied, I am going to geek out about tea now, like I do! Today’s subject of geeking out is Adagio Tea’s Anhui Emerald Seed, their name for Lu An Gua Pian, which translates to Lu An Melon Seed, alluding to the shape of their leaves. Most green teas are all about the first leaf, but these leaves are the second leaves with their veins removed and then rolled to give them their fun shape. It has a lengthy history, first showing up in texts during the Tang Dynasty and being a tribute tea during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The aroma of the leaves is a delicate blend of green beans and sesame seeds with a touch of spicebush flowers and hyacinth. There is also a tiny hint of chestnut at the finish, the aroma notes are not the strongest, but they are pleasant in their delicateness.

So here is where I might make my tea drinking friends do a double take, I brewed this in my green tea seasoned Yixing teapot. Yes, I did it, I have been debating over a year, having heard heard that it can make the tea taste muddied due to the clay retaining too much heat, but I also heard you never truly know a green until you Yixing it. I do not regret my decision, drinking greens brewed in a Yixing teapot is amazing, sometime in the near future I plan on doing a side by side comparison with Yixing and Gaiwan. The aroma of the leaves in the pot are much more green now, with notes of artichoke, asparagus, green beans, bok choy, and a tiny bit of sesame seeds. The liquid got all the floral and sweet notes from the dry leaves, with spicebush, hyacinth, and honey drenched sesame seeds being the predominant notes. There is a bit of green at the finish, so it is not a huge contrast.

The taste is refreshing, it starts with a blend of melon (specifically faint honeydew) and cucumber. This transitions to grass and artichoke, and then it finishes out with sweet sesame seeds and honey. The mouthfeel is very smooth, a midway between creamy and silky, I am really fond of the mouthfeel, it matches the refreshing taste of the tea.

The aroma of the second steep is this interesting blend of vegetal and floral, like one half green beans and artichoke, the other half hyacinth and honeysuckles. It is like Two Face (Ben is playing Arkham Asylum, so Batman on the brain right now.) The taste is really similar to the first, like almost identical flavor notes, well, kinda. It is like someone took the exact same flavor notes and where the intensity was at a 6 before it is now at an 8 (scale not to scale) so that is fun. The aftertaste now has a lingering floral tone to it, which I am always a fan of.

Steep three time! The aroma is a bit of sweet and a bit of vegetal, again blending floral and green in a fun little dance of notes. The taste is not as intense or diverse as the previous steep, it starts out with a touch of spicebush and sesame seeds, then a fun bit of bell pepper and artichoke, and lastly a finish of honey that does not linger over long. Now, is this the best Lu An Gua Pian I have ever had, no, but it is certainly delicious and a good everyday kinda melon seed.

For blog and photos: http://ramblingbutterflythoughts.blogspot.com/2015/02/adagio-teas-anhui-emerald-seed-tea.html

This tea is like if Tang grew up and started going to sophisticated bars.

Used 1t sugar. Pleasant and mild coconut flavor.