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I’m a slut for a good hojicha blend and Rishi definitely has some fun ones, so this was something I had to try out!

It was very, very good. Like I just said in another tasting note, spiced orange is a pretty played out flavour profile but I thought putting in on this more deeply roasted and nutty tasting hojicha base was really smart when it comes to leaning into those more wintery, cozy sort of feelings often associated with this profile. The cinnamon is probably the strongest note here aside from the hojicha itself but it’s a really nice quality and highly aromatic cinnamon that really warms from the inside out and contributes a nice level of natural sweetness as well.

The clove was subtle at first, but does build a bit on the palate over the course of the mug and it also leans into the warm, cozy feelings while creating a lightly tingly and numbing sensation on the bed of the palate and back of the throat. Both this and the cinnamon do a good job to mask the taste of the sarsaparilla so that it can do its thing with adding that round-feeling, sort of “brown sweetness” without distracting from the flavour direction.

The orange could be a little stronger in my opinion, but it is present in a more cooked down/orange peel sort of way – leaning into the spices and giving just a bit of citrusy freshness alongside some zesty pith. Not necessarily “bright or juicy” but more the expected sort of mulled orange or citrus common with this blend profile.

I’m very happy with this tea overall, though! I think it’s a nice addition to my always growing mix of hojicha blends.

Continuing sipping my way through this last Adagio order!

Even though spiced orange is a very played out flavour, this one intrigued me because it’s herbal/fruit based and I feel like most of the spiced orange blends I’ve tried are either rooibos, black, or green. Sure enough it’s not the most unique tasting blend, but it would be unfair to expect that when dealing with this classic of a flavour profile.

What I did find myself impressed by was how deep and rich yet juicy the orange notes were. I bought in that it was blood orange and not just a standard orange flavour. I loved that it wasn’t sweet/sugary or really sharp/tangy and acidic but that the fuller, lush sort of citrus flavour felt lively and contrasted against the spice notes. It was a cool effect to have that deeper blood orange profile still feel refreshing and lively against the spice mix instead of the more cooked down or mulled orange we usually see in these types of blends.

The spices were maybe a touch one note? Well, two note I guess because it was really cardamom and clove that came through the most. Y’all know I love cardamom paired with fruits, and it works really well. Especially in the nose of the cup. The clove was pretty strong, especially in the aftertaste which lingered for a much greater time than the orange did. I love clove, but I think if you’re not as into that flavour it could read as too strong for a lot of people.

Overall, I think this was really nicely executed! I don’t necessarily think of tisanes as one of Adagio’s strong suits, but this is the type of tea I would actually buy again even with it being a more accessible flavour profile from other companies.

Iced Matcha Sipdown (7330)!

I finished this matcha off this morning just shaken up in a water bottle with a few ice cubes for a nice frothy iced matcha. There wasn’t a lot left in the mini tin so it’s maybe a touch lighter than I’d normally have made it. I do find it’s noticeable in the taste which is a little thin although it does finish with pretty distinct but dewy feeling notes of white peach and silky vanilla and cream. Oddly maybe a little bit of banana, too? But it’s refreshing and light and was a nice way to hydrate and cool down this morning.

Cold Brew!

I let this cold brew go in my fridge for probably around a day and a half which, I guess, was entirely too long to brew this. Lesson learned. It’s usually a pretty sweet tea, but this was just an ungodly level of cloying sweetness that almost made me wince each time I took a sip. It was almost like drinking liquified green apple candy but if it was some sort of “extreme” version of a candy meant for, like, a TikTok challenge or that sort of shock value style gimmick. Weirdly I tasted a lot of black pepper (and a bit of cardamom) too, and normally I think I would have appreciated the contrast of the spices and how they sort of elevate the bright fruity notes but it just didn’t matter this time. It was too dang sweet.

SIpdown (2731)!

This cup reminded me a lot of DT’s “Read My Lips” which is also a mint chocolate black tea. Similar body, balance of milk chocolate and mint, a touch of a not unwelcome slightly alcohol-like note, and pretty smooth. However, this was very oily to me both in taste and texture and I found that pretty off putting. I know that it’s probably from the fats melting in the chocolate drops, but it was just really noticeable. I could have gotten over the texture, but for it to be so strong in taste was a hair too much. Especially when I own other mint chocolate blends I find stronger. Won’t miss this one.

I’m finally getting around to trying this Honey Black tea stuffed lemon “tea ball” that I’ve been waiting for a special occasion to steep. This will not be my last tea of the year (I drank this on December 31st), but it did feel right to finally break into this beauty given how unseasonably warm it was outside which meant that for the first time in probably forever I was able to actually have an outdoors tea session on New Year’s Eve. Such a rarity and treat here in Montreal!!

This tea is also quite a special treat in and of itself! I don’t know if I’ve seen a lemon stuffed with tea in this way from anyone other than Mountain Stream Teas, and it’s not even the most “out there” chenpi-style of stuffed fruit they’ve offered. Unwrapping the rope to crack the peel almost felt like destroying a piece of art, though in the end it was worth it to get to have a taste. This is very much more than one session’s worth of tea leaf, but the portion I did steep up was phenomenal. Full bodied with just a bit of a sharper and borderline medicinal top note of brisk, pithy citrus before pivoting into a sweet, lingering mix of dark honey, lemon, malt, and florals that coats the palate and back of the throat. It’s dynamic and packed with flavour while still serving up so much nuance. Perhaps the most elevated version of a lemon black tea that I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DEQhHRuyDJz/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxqfTLJ_BZk&ab_channel=PolyvinylRecords

Gongfu!

Steeped this tea while spending some time thinking about “favourites” in relation to tea. If you’re like me you probably hate when people ask you what your favourite tea is. It’s such an innocent sounding question, but the answer is rarely so straightforward. I have dozens of favourites. Favourite tea types, favourite processing methods within those tea types, favourite tasting notes, blends, and flavours. Favourite teas for different times of day, seasons, steeping methods and brewing styles. Like, the list just goes on and on.

This whole though exercise came about because I was trying to think about what my favourite tea discoveries from the past year were. There are definitely a lot, but I realized VERY quickly that for the first time in a long time the answer to this “favourite tea” question was actually a very easy one. More than any other tea I drank this year, this gin barrel scented white tea blew me away each and every time I drank it – and I think that’s saying something because I also first tried it all the way back in January of last year at the Toronto Tea Festival and for the rest of the year there just wasn’t any other tea that could beat the incredibly high bar that it had set.

It’s so fresh, light and effervescent with really bright and sweet notes of pink grapefruit with a backend that leans just a bit more into the more botanical side of the gin through notes of Angelica and a tease of woodsy juniper. I have fallen more in love with this tea each time I’ve had it, so I just knew that I wanted to steep it up today as a way to sort of carry that energy into this upcoming year. If you get a chance to try this tea I simply cannot recommend it enough.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DES94_ySvpJ/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx5rEBTsbac&ab_channel=TeenagePriest

Gongfu!

Enjoyed this session alongside some perfectly sweet and juicy cherries! The last time I steeped this tea up I found it to be quite earthy and shou pu’erh forward, but with some brighter top notes of cherries and that’s really what inspired this tea and fruit pairing. I was curious if leaning into those stone fruit notes would lift the black tea a bit more to the forefront to create some more balance. It didn’t quite work out that way as the thick and smooth notes of the pu’erh are still the strongest note across the session. Brothy and slick, with notes of moss and damp soil that caress more subtle notes of dates, carob, and, yes, still that standout bit of cherry. The bit of brightness from the fruit in between steeps was still really lovely though, and I enjoyed this pairing as lot even if it wasn’t transformative in the way I’d initially hoped for.

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DEVJ5Y5pqVD/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxkvgprWih0&ab_channel=UCHEYARA

Gongfu Sipdown (2732)!

I want to be better about sipdowns this year, so today I’m finishing off this smaller sample I’ve been sitting on for a while. It’s a beautifully smooth and deeply roasty tasting oolong packed full of notes of charred nuts, carob, toasted buckwheat, and espresso interlaced with an overarching minerality. However, the elements of this tea that I loved the most were the sweetly floral and aromatic mix of lychee, plum, and rose notes that gradually grew stronger with each infusion. Though the lychee and plum were pretty apparent from the first steep, the flavours consistently seemed to get deeper with time, making a seamless transition from top notes to these vast feeling and jammy, palate-coating flavours that seemed to pour out from the mid sip into a lingering finish on the back of the tongue. The contrast of dark roast and mineral with such fleshed out fruit and floral notes was so dynamic and pleasing to sip on; I really pushed these leaves as far as they would possibly brew. It was such a fun exploration and luxurious feeling session with the added bonus of being my first sipdown of the new year!!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DEX8fy1S-hO/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIjOrDo5h94&ab_channel=TheHowl%26TheHum

Dissolved one of these little Cha Gao “gems” into a teacup paired with some rich and buttery matcha and black sesame peanut crackers! Even though these little Cha Gao gems are only about a half gram each, I found this to be a little strong for this size of teacup – though the fatty and nutty crackers, which were a touch shortbread-like, helped balance out some of the drying bitterness. Otherwise, I find this tea relatively straightforward with darker notes of buckwheat honey and a general woodiness to it. Definitely very convenient for travel, though it’s not lost on me that they do look perhaps a little bit sketchy and questionable…

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/DEDWbrTyCxH/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNNvhTxhJjk&ab_channel=BonesandJones-Topic