176 Tasting Notes
The smell of this tea hit me in the face right from the very moment that I poured my water over the leaves. It’s a heavier, stronger smell than I’ve ever experienced from a black tea before.
Oh, hmm. It isn’t bad at first, but it leaves a sour, bitter, very strong aftertaste. I can taste it all the way down my throat, and every time I exhale I taste it all over again. I’m not sure how much I like this; I want to like it, but that aftertaste is just too much.
Since I really like black teas, I went on ahead and finally ordered Adagio’s Black Savant Sampler. This is the first one that I’m going to try out.
This tastes really earthy and dark, like a good black should. It’s deep and rich. When I read that it has a peppery taste, I was confused. Do they mean peppers, like bell peppers, or do they mean pepper, as in paired with salt? I was nervous about either one. Turns out it’s the 2nd kind of pepper (paired with salt) and it’s nothing to be scared of. I hate pepper and never put it on anything, but I can hardly taste it here. It’s more of an aftertaste, and a very light one at that.
So this is good. I’ll drink it until my sample is gone, but it’s not a top favorite. I’m still glad I ordered it though, because I need other teas to drink so that I don’t drink up all my Dawn in a few days!
Yum. The description is right about the buttery mouth feel. This is some very light, delicate tea. I think I’m getting a bit of honey in the aftertaste, but it’s hard to tell for sure. The overall taste is so simple and harmonious.
As it cools down, I’m tasting a hint of some sort of very light fruit. This is probably my favorite unflavored white tea.
Another new tea. I hoped to like this one as much as I liked White Blueberry by Adagio, but something about this doesn’t thrill me. It is good, tasty, and fruity, but it also just tastes slightly… off. I can’t quite put my finger on it.
Even though the taste wasn’t mind-blowing, the color of the tea was! It was by far the most beautiful tea I have seen to date. Check it out:
looks like white zin!
Looks gorgeous – wait, I think I have this tea in my cupboard and now, I am going to have some because your photo is so enticing.
i was looking for the same thing and thought the same thing after trying it. It’s good but not what I was looking for.
This was my first ever tea from Samovar and I was quite excited to have this experience!
I rinsed the leaves like Samovar suggested, then let the 2nd infusion steep for 3 minutes (Samovar suggested 2-5). The resulting liquid was deep, deep brown. Unfortunately, I smelled the fishiness that some people have talked about. Not so much just fish, but a whole seafood store whose air conditioning broke in the height of summer. And some seaweed.
From experience, I knew that smells can be very deceiving when it comes to tea, so I wasn’t afraid to take a sip.
This one is a bit difficult to describe, as well as being surprisingly tasty and very complex. It is earthy, dirty, but not in bad way at all. It works for this tea. It doesn’t taste sweet right up front, but the aftertaste is lovely and lightly sweet, just enough to make you want to take another sip. And of course, the fishiness isn’t a part of the actual taste, but the seaweed is.
Overall, this is probably the most complex tea I have tasted to date. And I like it.
Oh, and if your immediate thought after hearing that the tea tastes like seaweed is one of revulsion, don’t be turned off! Seaweed is an ingredient of ice cream, after all.
Preparation
The discussion topic about milk tea inspired me to try this a second time, this time with a bit of milk and the smallest amount of sugar I could grab with my two fingers.
It is still wonderful, but now completely different from when I drank it straight. I don’t know how the The Simple Leaf hasn’t made millions just from this tea.
The sugar really brings out the subtle sweetness. Now instead of tasting a hint of cocoa, I really taste lots of caramel and a dash of…is it honey? Something floral? The milk really finishes things off with an extra-smooth, creamy texture. My, oh my!
Once again, you need to try this tea. Yes, I’m talking to YOU!
I got this in the mail from wombatgirl today! Thank you!
The dry mixture (dry tisane? Is that an oxymoron?) smells very fruity, as it should. It steeps to a nice pink/red color. It smells like warm cherries, and tastes like very tart cough syrup. How unfortunate.
Even though I didn’t particularly care for it, it’s not a bad flavor. It’s incredibly fruity and tart, so I’m sure somebody would like it. I’m glad I had this experience, because now I know what I don’t like. So once again, thank you, wombatgirl!
Oh wow.
Oh man.
Okay. So.
Wow.
I’ve found a new favorite tea. Dawn is a wonderful, full-bodied black tea. The dry leaves smell like cocoa, and when steeped, there is a hint of cocoa in the taste.
For such a simple tea, I’m having a hard time describing it.
The texture is so smooth and creamy. It is so simple and delicious. I highly recommend this to everyone, especially black tea lovers.
Wow.
Dawn is really an achievement. I’ve never had another tea like it. It’s delicious, but even more noteworthy because it’s delicious and unique. Nice review.
This I’s a tea I hope to try soon.
Man, I have to try Dawn! Maybe the Simple Leaf will offer free shipping soon?
The code “simple20” got me 20% off my order, maybe it will work for you.
thank you, harfatum!
Yay! Thanks Harfatum! I ordered samples of Dawn, Maharani and Honeybee.
I am confused where do you put the code?
There’s a box (called “Coupons/Discounts”) to put the code on the “Step 2 —> Payment & Delivery” page.
Backlogging from this morning:
Really oversteeped this one this morning. The taste is more sour and I don’t really taste the plum anymore. This one is really good when brewed properly, so I’m not going to change the rating.
This could have ruined my day, but luckily all my tea orders started arriving today. It was my birthday last week, so I used my birthday money to try out different tea companies that I’ve been wanting to check out. Boxes from 3 different companies were sitting on my doorstep when I got back from class. What a glorious day!
I have to keep telling myself that it is okay to indulge in my tea obsession, as long as it is birthday money. At least my obsession is with something healthy, right?
This is a bit too minty for my liking, but that could be a good thing for people who like teas with a whole lot of mint. I can hardly taste the flowers at all; it honestly just tastes like my peppermint tea from Adagio. It will be good for an evening tea, I suppose, but I won’t be drinking this too often.
