Coconut

Thank you Michelle for sending me this tea along with your host of others!

Please excuse me but I will have yet another set of backlogs, though some are more recent than others. This particular one is from Sunday. It’s been very stressful as AP Exams as well as the All State Music Festival for Vermont are next week and I’m stressin’! I haven’t had a lot of time to sit and review stuff but I do have a little time now so I’m going to catch up!

I actually really like this one. I have to be suuuuper careful because it can get really astringent and unpleasant really easily, but if you get it right this one is yummy. I generally lower the temp when I brew Adagio’s blacks because I find they are very finicky. It has a nice black tea flavor that really elevates the coconut, and the tea isn’t fighting the flavor-they work together! It’s really yummy and the coconut flavor is natural and doesn’t taste like fake shredded coconut, so that’s good! Thanks again Michelle!

In other news, I WAS ACCEPTED INTO COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY’S SUMMER PRECOLLEGE PROGRAM IN NYC!!!!! I’m suuuuuuuuper happy, even though it’s looking doubtful of whether I can go or not due to financial reasons, I am super excited that I was accepted!

This is one of my Adagio favorites. Sweet and creamy. Had a little steeping snafu this morning…the Hot Shot I use for quick morning out-the-doors was decidedly tepid. So I had to run water through the microwave and throw the steeping basket back in for a bit.

Reinforces the theory that this does better with cooler water.

I’m not sure how I ended up with this. I thought it was part of the Flavors sampler, but when I look at the site now, it isn’t listed among the current Flavors samples. It might be that they’ve changed the sampler since I ordered this a few months ago. I think that’s what happened. As I look at the reviews of the sampler on the Adagio site, it appears some of them had coconut in them.

In the tin, it has a sort of greenish coconut fragrance, rather than the toasted coconut I’ve enjoyed in other blends (typically also with chocolate or another flavor included as well). The tea’s aroma has a sort of suntan lotiony smell, which I love in suntan lotion, but the lotion part isn’t great in tea.

The flavor is similar to the aroma, in that it has a greener coconut taste. I suppose it is attempting to capture fresh coconut flavor rather than toasted. I have no quarrel with that being the goal, I just prefer the toasted coconut flavor. (Fortunately, there is no lotion in the taste.)

Still, this is tasty, and it’s nice for what it is. I wouldn’t rule out buying more of it. I’d probably be more likely to buy one with a toasty coconut flavor, or a coconut combined with chocolate or something else, though.

It has been a while since I have written about a tea… This one is worthy of the attention! I have had a tough tough week. I am in charge of the marketing in my company, and with mother’s day coming up, all craziness took place. It is finally over, and now I get to sit back and watch things happen (if I am lucky, watch things sell)! It feels great to see your work finally all come together. So for now, time to go back to relaxing with my tea!

The dry leaves are a beautiful mix of coconut and black/brown tea leaves. It smells smooth and coconutty with hint of bitter tea which in my opinion rounds it up pretty well.

Once brewed the dark liquor retains most of its smell. It tastes smooth and creamy. It would be better with a hint of vanilla, but thankfully that can easily be arranged. It is a bit astringent for coconut tea, so I added a bit of milk and sugar and it was delicious. Creamy and sweet coconut tea is exactly what I needed this morning! So yummy in my tummy!

I finished this cup too quickly… I wish it had lasted longer. It is a tasty tea, but I can’t see myself drinking it too often due to the milk requirements I seem to not be able to do with out. Worth trying if you are looking for a coconut tea that will stand up well to milk!

Now back to tea sipping and relaxing!

Me and Adagio’s flavored black teas do not seem to get along. I ordered many to test the base teas that are used in the blends, before even thinking about making one (if I don’t like the ingredients, I won’t like the blends). This one smells amazing in the package (if you like coconut). Based on past experience, I decided to lower the steep time on this one (by 30 seconds), hoping it wouldn’t end up bitter like the rest.

The brewed tea has lost it’s strong coconut aroma, but it’s still there…almost buttery now. Gosh darn it, I’m still getting a bitterness with this (like all the other Adagio flavored blacks), but it’s not as bad (so maybe it helped to lower time). The coconut has morphed into an almost almond flavoring, if that’s possible. I added some honey, so that’s probably my fault.

Overall I’m not liking this, because of the bitterness. I’ve found so many other teas that aren’t bitter …

-Dry leaves are small and twisted with slivers of dried coconut. Wet leaves expand to reveal medium sized leaf pieces and full pieces of coconut.
-Dry leaves smell strongly of lightly sweetened coconut. Tea liquor aroma is nutty.
-Tea liquor is a medium amber color.
-Nice malty flavor with a wispy coconut finish.
-Best with sweetener, milk optional.
-Very good tea. Creamy coconut flavor.

Upping the rating on this, because I’ve been really into coconut lately, as evidenced by my love of Mighty Leaf’s Orchid Oolong. Maybe it’s the bitterly cold weather. Steepsterites, what are your favorite coconut teas? I already love this, Orchid Oolong, and Adagio’s Coconut Pouchong. I’ve heard GM’s Coconut Pouchong is amazing.

Also, I have a 4-day weekend coming up, and I think I’m going to use some of it to clean out my tea cabinet and get rid of things I never drink. Anyone interested in a trade or two?

I haven’t had many (maybe any…can’t recall) coconut tea so this is going to be a first. I do love coconut. (I enjoy cooking Thai food…using coconut milk and making curry).
I followed the 3 minute steep instructions to the letter and I’m glad that I did because the brew was without any bitterness whatsoever! Success! The dry tea was sprinkled with coconut pieces and the leaf was very dark. You could smell the flavoring but not too overdone like some tea that you want to leave outside with the stinky sneekers. Without any additions the liquor is light and slightly coconut tasting and tingley on the tongue.
A bit creamy on the finish. Clean. OF COURSE I ADDED CREAM AND SUGAR! THIS IS DESSERT! Why would I even drink this unless I was going to indulge! No pristine tea for me. Ramp it up with additions and drink it down like coconut bonbons in a cup. Yeh! This is pretty darned good!

This is a tasty little tea. I’ve had a horrific week at work what with a piece of equipment not working and causing a backlog. Luckily, we’re getting it worked out and I can finally quit stressing over it! Using this as a relaxation tea (but really, aren’t they all?) It really did the trick. It was a little bitter. I have lots of floaties for some reason and I think they oversteeped. I’m overlooking the bitterness for the tasty coconut flavor. I’m really enjoying this and the de-stressing it is providing.

Traveling Tea Box C #17
Hmmm, I love coconut, and you can definitely taste it here, but hmmmm….. maybe it is too plain? Maybe too artificial for my liking. I’m not too sure what I didn’t agree with in this tea. I never seem to agree with a lot of adagio teas so maybe its just mental ha ha. Sorry for the short notes, but I am so behind with everything steepster related. The travelling tea box, swaps, Secret Pumpkin Group Swap, and drinking tea in general, School is becoming consuming as well as my everyday early early morning shifts at the bakery are wearing on me after recovering from the flu! I apologize to everyone! I’m trying! and Wednesday is my deadline to try and get everything done and out the door!