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I received a free sample of this from Beantown a few days ago. I finished the whole cup, but it’s not my favorite. It smelled and tasted like smarties (the candy) to me. But, I’m glad I got to try it!

This is the 18th of 19 samples I got a while ago. Hopefully I’m able to find the 19th, I forget what it was! Anyway… This is only the 2nd gunpowder green tea I’ve ever had. I was surprised by how much I liked Numi’s bagged gunpowder green so thought I might like this one. And, so far I am not disappointed. I’ll have to look up how gunpowder green tea is prepared because there’s some distinctive flavor i like but can’t put my finger on. While I was brewing it, it reminded me of pu-erh tea. Idk how to describe the smell, maybe kind of earthy? Anyways, I’m a fan! (Brewed for less time at lower temp than recommended since it’s green tea and I’m picky about it!)

Long time no tea! I’m trying this meng ding mao feng from Adagio Masters again today – using up the last bits of my sample. I steeped for way less time in way cooler water this time, and it’s helping me to appreciate the fruity-peachy-green-ness of the tea. It’s very very mild and probably way too weak for most people’s tastes, but I like it! I’ll remember to brew green tea this way while I’m getting used to the new flavors :)

Tried this this morning – good but not my absolute favorite! This is very floral. I don’t really taste much of anything else.

Dang it! I overbrewed this one! It actually tastes a lot like the Meng Ding Mao Feng from Adagio Masters when I brew it like this. I followed the instructions, but I’m a baby about bitter taste when it comes to tea so far. It’s crazy – black coffee is fine, hoppy beer is fine, but if a tea is a liiiiittle bitter – unacceptable! I’ll have to remember to stick to 175 and 1 min 45 with this one.

Sample 17/19! I just brewed this this morning. I wasn’t optimistic, but after opening the tin, I was surprised how good the loose tea looked. I’m not a huge fan of chamomile so I’m biased here, but overall this was still enjoyable.

Sample 16/19 I tried this one last night and I think I overbrewed it a little bit because it was a little too grass/bitter. But, I enjoyed what I assume are “honeysuckle” floral notes. Overall a good tea, but the anxi wulong low fire from masters is still my favorte so I’m a little biased against this one! It was really nice though and glad I got to try this kind of oolong! :)

This tea had the same fruity smell as the anxi wulong low fire, but way less flavor overall. It looks like this has gotten really good reviews, so it might just be me but I didn’t taste much but a mild fruityness. There’s a floral aroma too but everything is just way too toned down for me. Will try again later with more leaves.

Another sample for Adagio Masters Teas. When I smelled the leaves for the first time, it initially reminded me of cream cheese danishes that the boy scouts would sell as a fundraiser. They were really good, but I was surprised to have tea leaves smell like it! As the tea steeped, I could tell this was going to be the kind of green tea that’s supposed to be really good but I think smells like creamed corn. And, it did smell like creamed corn. Imagining it as a “peach” smell did help though. It is very very fragrant and peach-y. The tea itself, to me, is sharply bitter. It reminds me of nail polish remover. I followed the steeping instructions, but maybe I would like it better steeped for less time or at a lower temperature? This seems like a fresh, quality tea but so far I am not a fan personally.

Just got three samples from Masters by adagioteas in the mail. I’ve only opened this bag so far, and oh my gosh, it smells so good. It reminds me of strawberry-orange-banana smoothies I would get at lunch in highschool (in a really good way). Really fresh, fragrant and light. There’s also something really floral there. After brewing, the tea itself holds those similar smells (but fruity-ness is less prominent) and the taste is sooo clean and fresh. This is a real treat. I’m trying to think of what the “clean, fresh, green-ness” could taste like, and my first guess is just really good, fresh crisp lettuce, where it’s almost a little sweet.