60 Tasting Notes

drank Raspberry by Adagio Teas
60 tasting notes

I have had this tea before, but never posted my review of it…
Here’s my first impression:

In the bag it smelled slightly medicinal, as raspberry sometimes can. Once brewed however the smell sweetened up and was quite enticing. The raspberry flavor is more subtle than I would have liked, and the medicinal quality was a bit off-putting. It was pretty disappointing considering I love raspberries so much.

I just revisited this tea, as my husband bought me a big jar of raspberry jam. I’ve been looking at my tea box longingly, just waiting to try this tea out with a big scoop of raspberry jam in the cup. Since my nose was a bit stuffed up & I didn’t want to try out any of the delicate white tea samples that Stacy so generously sent me with my sense of smell compromised. So raspberry tea it is.

Adding the jam in this tea really made a HUGE difference. It actually tastes like raspberries this time around. It’s just as tasty as it cools down, too. Now I can actually drink this tea and not just stare at it taking up space in my tea box. I wish the tea tasted this good without the need for jam, but I’ll take it :)

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
ScottTeaMan

Fruit flavored teas fall short of my expectations much of the time.

Tawny Kira

I’m finding that I feel the same way. A lot of the fruit teas I’ve tried have come across very artificial tasting. It just makes me want to keep trying to see if I can find fruit teas that doesn’t disappoint! That being said the Cantaloupe & Cream from Butiki wasn’t disappointing in any way- very juicy and sweet, like drinking a melon :)

Tawny Kira

**don’t disappoint :P
I think I started writing one sentence there and somewhere along the way decided to write a different sentence haha

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75

This one’s been sitting in my cupboard for a while but I totally forgot about it. So I figured, it’s breakfast time- why not!

This is a very standard breakfast tea. It doesn’t really stand out in any spectacular kind of way. Nothing that makes me want to jump over the moon, but still a good traditional cup to start my day. Not really sure what else to say about it, other than that.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 15 sec

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80
drank Hazelnut by Adagio Teas
60 tasting notes

I can finally drink tea again after having my wisdom teeth removed! Well, actually I could have a few days ago, but with one of my ‘teeth’ hurting pretty badly I didn’t want to risk it and waited until the surgeon gave me the go ahead today :)

I wanted to have something warm and soothing to end my night, so when I saw this sample pack in my tea box it jumped out at me.

The aroma as I opened the bag was rich and hazelnutty. It smelled delicious. The aroma stayed just as nutty as it steeped & filled my kitchen with a comforting warmth.

The tea itself required very little sweetening. I added just a touch of milk- it seemed fitting for this tea- and I fell in love. Nutty, rich, silky, warm and soothing. A very relaxing cup of tea. It would be a great way to end the day or to wake up with in the morning.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec
Bonnie

Oh poor you! Hope you feel better!

Kittenna

Well, it sounds like you had a better wisdom teeth removal experience than i did, which left me with some temporary paralysis in my cheek and an inability to open my mouth more than 1 cm for about a month… :P

Tawny Kira

I feel much better, thank you Bonnie! Especially now that I can drink tea again!

@Krystaleyn- thankfully I did have a pretty good experience, though my lower right extraction site still hurts because the tooth there was being very stubborn and didn’t want to come out! I’m so sorry you had that much pain when you had yours removed! At least it was temporary!!

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70

This tea was quite good- sweet & chocolatey with a hint of strawberry and the earthy undertone of pu-erh. I enjoyed it, but I think I’d have liked if the pu-erh and strawberry flavors had stood out more. Maybe it’s just because I have a love hate relationship with chocolate sometimes, but to me the chocolate was a little bit of a show stealer. I tend to gravitate towards darker, more bitter chocolates though so maybe that was part of it!

For die-hard chocolate lovers however, I think this tea would be a huge hit! I definitely enjoyed it though and it was a nice rich cup to stir me awake this morning :)

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec
Azzrian

This sounds like a great idea for a tea but not sure if I would like the chocolate taking over either. I am picky about chocolate teas – most taste too artificial.

Bonnie

My favorite chocolate tea is a dark chocolate from them (STE) more on the bittersweet side. Really good!

Tawny Kira

Yeah, I’m not a HUGE chocolate person, so the chocolate being the main thing I tasted was for me a negative. I think if the tea flavors and the strawberry flavors had been more prominent, and the chocolate in the background, it would have been more to my liking :)

@ Bonnie- the darker the chocolate the better, so a good bittersweet chocolate note to a tea would probably be pretty tasty! :)

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90

After the cloyingly artificial taste to my previous cuppa, I found I felt very weighed down. After a while I decided to go for something lighter which brought me to this tea.

1st steep- light in color, delicate in flavor. The aroma is ever so gently grassy. There is an airy floral quality to this tea that I find very refreshing.

2nd steep- slightly darker in color, more fragrant. The natural sweetness comes out in this tea as well of a more noticeable floral note. I am enjoying this second steep even more than the first!

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Bonnie

Cute little tea too!

Tawny Kira

Very much so! Although I’d be careful if I was traveling with it as it could be misconstrued as a different sort of plant by unknowing eyes! :P

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45

Clearly it’s not winter considering it’s almost 80°F outside and it’s only 9:00am, but this tea sounded like a good start to my early morning (the baby woke up at 5:30am, ouch).

Opening the sample packet (sent to me by the lovely Bonnie) it smelled of walnuts with a slightly yeasty aroma lingering in the background. Like a good slice of nutty bread. Considering this tea has been likened to banana nut bread, I saw this as a good sign.

The tea once brewed made my kitchen smell like a bakery- nutty, warm, sweet. The tea tasted the same! If banana nut bread were a liquid, it would be this tea.

The tea isn’t bad by any means, but with the strength of the nuts and other flavorings, you lose the tea flavor. And that to me was rather disappointing.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Bonnie

Good observation! Part of developing a taste for good tea!

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100

I was rifling around in my teas this morning, unsure of which to choose when this tea just jumped out at me. It was a Creamsicle kind of morning.

Upon opening the sample that the lovely Bonnie sent me, I was faced with the bright inviting smell of orange zest which continued through the steeping and into my cup. This was definitely the tea for me!

The tea on it’s own is alive with citrus flavor! I added just a touch of honey and the smallest bit of milk and this tea just exploded with flavor. The creaminess came out and really brought out the creamsicle in this light and airy tea. A very happy tea to brighten up my morning :)

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 6 min, 0 sec
Bonnie

Hi I’m glad you like this tea! I noticed that you use honey a lot and want to caution you to use it wisely! Honey has a flavor and it’s strong. It will overpower subtleties in delicate tea’s or twist flavors in others. I would only use it in citrus, mint or chai tea! Otherwise use agave, no sugars or sweeteners. It makes a big difference! Hope you don’t mind my opinion.

Bonnie

I meant no sugars. But sweeteners are ok like I use splenda or I’d be huge for the amount of tea I consume each day!

Tawny Kira

Thanks for the suggestion! I don’t usually use a lot of honey when I do use it but it’s all I’ve had on hand for some time (I tend to forget to add sweetening stuff to our grocery list, oops!). I’ve never tried agave, but I will have to do so because I’ve heard a lot of good things about it :)

Butiki Teas

I generally don’t add sweeteners but I love brown crystal sugar as a sweetener for tea since it sweetens without altering the tea flavors.

Tawny Kira

I’ve actually seen some of that at our local supermarket. I’m unsure about whether they have agave, but I’ll keep my eye out for both! I found some stevia extract that my grandfather gave me nestled in the back of my cabinet that I’m using in the meantime! :D

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95

I drank this lovely tea yesterday, but found I didn’t have time to sit and log it, so I’m doing so now :)

I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this tea since I’ve read that it can have a peppery quality to it and I wasn’t sure how that would translate into a tea. But I was more than pleased when I took my first sip. The honeyed flavor of the tea on it’s own had a subtle spiciness and maltiness that was lyrical on my tongue and with the addition of that little bit of honey into the cup, it just came alive.

Thank you to Bonnie for sending this sample my way! :)

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100

I said previously that I planned on using this tea in steaming some veggies (as suggested by Bonnie!) and I did, so I thought it would be a good idea to post a tasting note about the outcome!

I made up some packets with carrots, squash, zucchini, potatoes, and cut up ears of corn to put on the grill. I added in a little melted butter, sage, salt/pepper, garlic, red pepper & just a touch of LS (in the tea packets Bonnie sent). I steamed the packets on the grill for 30 minutes.

The smell while it was grilling was amazing. But once I opened the foil packets my mouth really started to water! The tea added a smokey flavor to the veggies that wasn’t overpowering at all, but still quite present. It was divine. I didn’t tell my husband that I’d steamed the veggies with tea until he mentioned the smokiness- he was pretty impressed that just a little bit of tea could bring that much flavor!

I would have never thought to use tea in my cooking, but I’m so glad I did!

Bonnie

Wow! Sounds great! I was thinking of infusing some honey too. Don’t know yet.

Tawny Kira

Oooh that sounds pretty awesome!

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100

When I opened the bag of this tea that Bonnie sent me, I was hit with the smell of bonfires. I immediately knew that this was the tea I wanted to drink.

The smokey aroma lingered as it steeped, and remained as I poured it although it was not quite as powerful as when I first opened the bag. It tastes just like I imagined it would. If you could drink a bonfire, this is exactly what it would be like. I really don’t know how else to describe it, the words have left me!

This tea would be great on a summer night as well as an autumn night. It brings a comforting warmth with its smokiness and I feel that it would be a good tea with which to blend your own custom flavors with. I’ve got a couple pairings in mind to try out actually :)

Bonnie mentioned steaming vegetables with a little of this tea & I already know that I’m going to try it out tonight! We’re having company over and grilling out and I think some smokey vegetables would pair perfectly with the meal! I’ll make sure to let you know how it turns out! :)

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 15 sec
Bonnie

Aha! Another LS girl! I sweeten mine!

ScottTeaMan

This LS is hard to beat! Bonnie, did tou give her some Lion & The Lamp? That is more of a dessert LS to me, and it is OH SOO GOOD!

Bonnie

No …was out of it! They plan to go online later in the year. Really great guys and support a good charity! Reasonably priced!

ScottTeaMan

You tell them,when they do go online, they have some customers waiting for their LS teas! If they’re not watching Steepster.

ScottTeaMan

And I WAS never a big LS fan, but the two LS of theirs that you sent me are really good.

ScottTeaMan

Tawny-Try grating some orange peel in the LS. You’ll at least get a sense of how good Lion & THE LAMP is! :))

Bonnie

U R Silly! It’s. LAMB not lamp!

Tawny Kira

Ooooh that really does sound quite yummy! I’ll have to try it! And when they do go online I hope you let everyone know so I can get some of it too! :D

Bonnie

Sure! If anyone wants some though I can get it. Not expensive.

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Bio

I am a wife and mother. I am a musician, a singer, a hair dye junkie, a book lover and an artist. And of course a tea lover!

Location

North Alabama

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