I saw this tea on Adagio’s site, & who could resist? It’s a blend of Almond oolong, pumpkin spice, & tiger eye, with some cacao nibs thrown in for an extra treat. For my own education, I also ordered sample sizes of all three tea components, which I’ll review individually at some later time. This was my first order from Adagio.
The dry tea smells terrible, in my opinion. Very chemical smelling.
I steeped: 1.5 tsp for 3 minutes
The brewed tea smells: well, truthfully, I’m not really smelling much…black tea…a hint of caramel..
I left it sit on my counter for a few minutes while I stepped out into my garden to pick a few things: A mix of lettuces, a daikon radish, some cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, looks like I’m having a little salad with dinner!
So the tea: plain, it’s meh, but a bit of stevia changed that. There is a caramel note, a little almond, where are the spices? Maybe my taste buds just aren’t picking things up like they should. I admit, I’m not usually a huge fan of flavored teas, because in most cases you have to add some kind of sweetener to experience the flavors. I’m also not really getting a mouth-feel of much…no thick chocolate sensation, no bright butteryness. On the good side, it’s not excessively drying either.
It’s not bad, & again, some of that may be my tastebuds. Many of us have noticed that our taste for a tea changes from time to time. Obviously, when we’re sick we’re affected, but who knows what else might effect our ability to perceive flavors, sensations, aromas, etc. So, although this may not be my favorite cup of the day (that was the Zhu Rong Yunnan), it’s not a bad tasting tea either. I don’t dislike it, & I’ll drink some more on another day & report my findings! :D
I am not a fan of Adagio – I was in the beginning but not anymore. Sorry Adagio and those who love them.
I was all set to place an order, about a week ago, and when I got to the shipping – they added a “rural delivery fee” which annoyed me so much I did not place my order. If they had just charged higher shipping and not told me precisely why, they may have gotten my order, but that just ticked me off so much! oh well for them. Hey, if I WASN’T so darn rural, they wouldn’t be getting my order, they would have more competetition for my business, not less
(I still like Terry’s review though) and I think it’s good to order things just for the education of it, that definitly gets my vote :)
Thanks! I thought it would be interesting to try the different things that went into the blend, ya know? I did that with the Aquarius blend too. I didn’t do it with the ‘Farewell Ponds’ blend, which I still can’t believe I even ordered, LOL. It smells terrible! I’m still going to drink it when I watch the Farewell Ponds episode though, even if I don’t like it (& who knows, maybe I will like it, right?)
oooo, love daikon! Never thought to grow it myself. Gotta look into this. :) Make pickles!
@Mercury – I love home grown radishes! Last year I grew a variety of radishes: daikon, regular red & other colored little round ones, but my favorite of all was the Watermelon radish! Those are awesome. I didn’t grow any of them this year, but they are tasty! The Daikon I picked today is very sweet, & I think next week I will need to start my annual batch of Kim Chi, with homegrown radishes, carrots, greens, chiles, etc. I’ll probably also start a batch of sauer kraut (I like to combine a head of green & a head of purple cabbage together, which makes hot pink kraut). Also in the plan – cultured daikon pickles & some cultured ginger carrots! They are all so good, & really good for your digestion!