Aries

The first time I made this blend (Masala Chai + Irish Breakfast), I tried to brew it like a regular tea and added milk. The result? Gag-worthy roasted yam juice tea. Today, I thought I’d try this again, this time making this in a more authentic way. I used teaplz’s instructions as restated by Kitch3ntools (http://steepster.com/Kitch3ntools/posts/21032), and I also added 4 green cardamom pods to the saucepan as it was brewing. I just eyeballed the amounts and might have used a bit more sugar that was called for, but the result was delicious! Yay!
The spice mix tastes very similar to my mom’s homemade chai. The dry leaf smells like cinnamon, which I wasn’t too thrilled about, but I can’t really taste any in the final cup. I like that there are whole cloves in the mix. The balance of tea to spices was perfect for me. I do wish the base had more English Breakfast than Irish Breakfast in it, as I don’t really like Irish Breakfast (too yam-ey). The malt from the IB comes through the milk just a smidge, so if you like that, you’ll probably really like this blend.

Liking this much better brewed up on the stovetop with soymilk and vanilla sugar. Still not as strong as a good chai, but it definitely works better as a creamy chai-like drink.

I haven’t had chai in ages, but it’s my current obsession. I’m going to have to head to the spice shop downtown and pick up some good whole spices and experiment. Might be a good way to knock out the black tea samples in my cupboard, too.

I’m in major need of a pick-up so I grabbed this (old) sample. I actually really enjoy the spiciness – and it’s totally Aries, if you know what I mean (fellow Aries do!). I just wish there was more of it. Perhaps it was the age of the sample that got to it. I’ll have to try it again…

I was in the mood for a mild chai, and this certainly hit the spot. It’s a mix of Irish Breakfast and Masala Chai, and that’s pretty much exactly what it tastes like.

The dry leaf is gorgeous; it’s full of bright red peppercorns, and absolutely nothing makes me happier than that in a chai tea. Steeped, this smells divinely spiced. Mostly cardamom and cinnamon, with the ginger taking a backseat. It’s still there, just not as “in your face” as I often find ginger to be.

Taste is mildly spiced, with cardamom being the most prominent flavor to me. The Irish Breakfast is definitely noticeable – you aren’t going to mistake this one for a pure chai, that’s for sure. But that’s perfectly ok with me, since it’s not supposed to be one! The end of the sip is where you can detect the pepper, sitting nicely with a teeny bit of pleasant astringency from the tea leaves. (I think this is the first time I’ve ever put “pleasant” and “astringent” in the same sentence, but for some reason, it works for this blend.) I think this will make a great wake-up tea to have with breakfast.

Decided to mess with my steeping parameters today. Since this is an Adagio black tea, I wanted to try steeping it at 200 instead of 212. I contemplated going for 4 minutes but stopped it at 3.

Won’t do that again. At first sip, I was pleased. It seemed that I had a strong(ish) black tea with hints of spice. A nice way to prepare the tea when I wanted the overall body but wasn’t feeling up to the full spiciness.

So far so good, right? Not really. The spice is hitting me a different way is all. That, along with the extra sediment I got this time around, is tickling the back of my throat like mad and I can’t stop coughing after most sips .-. (On a side note, this would be a fun one to do tea reading with…)

That, combined with essentially failed latte attempts and my overall development of taste is knocking this tea down a bit.

“I know that every good and excellent thing in the world stands moment by moment on the razor-edge of danger and must be fought for…”

— Thornton Wilder (Sun in Aries)

Ouch, 96 to 88. How the mighty have fallen.

I am Aries hear me roar! I like my Irish breakfast and I like my chai. Not really much to report other than it tastes like a mix of both. Still good and warming.

Not counting this as a sipdown since it was just a single serving. Adagio doesn’t offer samples in their zodiac teas for some weird reason, so I’m always happy when I have an opportunity to get one of the single portions, usually through cards. I don’t even like Adagio much, generally speaking, and yet I feel compelled to try all of their zodiac teas. (shrugs)

This one is fine, if a bit generic. It’s a very mild chai, and the base tastes a bit thin as well, even though I only used 8 ounces of water. But it’s smooth and likeable enough, even if the black tea is a bit bland. Cinnamon is the strongest to my palate, followed by the clove and ginger. Not picking up on cardamom at all. Fine and pleasant but not something I would order, and I feel like a spiced tea is a bit cliché for a fire theme/sign. :P

I taste a lot of cardamom, though the base itself is a bit thin. I also may taste a bit of ginger and hints of other spices. I got this sample in a TTB, and only about 1.5 teaspoons remained, so maybe I should have put in even less water than I did. Average, though enjoyable.

This tea has a very pretty appearance in the tin. I love the little dots of red peppercorns! You can also see plenty of cloves, and that is mostly what you smell. You also get a strong clove flavor when you drink it. I love how intense the spiciness is! I didn’t add any milk or sugar to my cup. I happen to be an Aries, and I love this tea! It’s perfect for autumn and is one I will enjoy drinking over and over.

This was a bit of a humbling experience for me.

I’m very admittedly new to the whole tea scene, and I do not have a refined palate. So the way I’ve been teaching myself about differentiating teas is by trying them all plain, no cream or sugar. Besides, I prefer my drinks to not have calories (and I rather hate the way artificial sweeteners taste).

I’ve been doing that pretty militantly, so I wasn’t thinking too hard when I tried this tea. Naturally, it was kind of horrible (to me, at least). It was like…bitter and spicy but not in a good way. Couldn’t even finish the cup.

Welllllll it was recently brought to my attention that the honest-to-goodness way to make Chai is to use milk and sugar (or similar). So I swallowed my pride and tried it again, being liberal with the milk (okay, I only have non-dairy powdered creamer at my disposal right now) and sugar. And I have to say, it’s pretty tasty. It’s Chai, but it’s not super intense Chai (thanks to it being mixed with black tea).

I don’t know how I feel about some teas absolutely requiring milk and sugar; that’s not why I drink tea. And it’s hard for me to separate the nuances of tea from the milk and sugar. But next time I have a sweet tooth, this will be what I reach for.

[Quick summary: black tea with masala spices, and it tastes about how you imagine it would taste.]

Pictures are available on my blog (as well as my original review before I tried it the proper way): http://lizkuba.com/tea-review-aries-by-adagio/