Adagio Teas

I dunno, my impression of this blend seems pretty different from other folks’. Possibly my smell/taste isn’t fully back yet, or the smoke in the air was already stronger than I realized when I had this yesterday. A loose leaf sample of this came with my recent Adagio order. I brewed it up yesterday afternoon and was thoroughly underwhelmed. It primarily tasted like orange oil on a vegetal green tea base. Not a fake orange taste per se, but an extremely overdone one that tipped over into feeling like I was drinking the rind (in a bad way). Not really something I feel the need to keep around. Sipdown!

I’m amazed this doesn’t have a higher rating on here. Then again, if a tea is marketed as any kind of “fall-winter-holiday-xmas” type, there’s a great chance I’m going to adore it. This one was no exception – I thoroughly enjoy the blend of cinnamon, cardamom, clove, and whatever other spices are included. It might be 90 degrees here today but this tea brings me back to cool winds and fall scarves.

True to tea fiend form, I can’t help still placing new orders even when my sense of smell is busted. I specifically targeted Adagio for a recent order to put some middling teas in my cabinet so I won’t feel wasteful drinking them. I timed my order so I’d get a free sample of this blend, which looked so promising! I love hojicha, plus mint is an aroma that I can currently pick up. The smell of the dry leaf must be pretty strong – I picked up chewing-gum-like spearmint with an undertone of clove and a hint of cardamom. Unfortunately, the brew just doesn’t seem very balanced. It tastes, to me at the moment at least, like there’s too much spearmint and not enough hojicha. Which tracks, because there’s not a lot of hojicha visible in the blend either. The taste of the spearmint reminds me of gum too, but I’m willing to chalk that up to my currently being more sensitive to the sensations teas produce than I usually am.

No flavor for me

Sample from a TTB. This just tasted like sort of bitter lightly flavored black tea. I think the mate combined with the black tea to make it taste more bitter than it really is. This was okay with milk and sugar, but I didn’t really like it.

The tartness that shows up in some sips here is a little startling. Other than that, it’s pleasantly spiced and nutty. It’s desserty and fun with sweetener and milk. The fruitiness just doesn’t fit with the rest of the flavor. I don’t think I’d buy this again over other similar blends. Some sips are just fruity in an unpleasant way when you’re here for nuts.

Couldn’t taste the mango, only bitterness from the black tea. Shame, although its not the worst

Adagio CommuniTEA – April 30th, 2023

The last one! \o/

Not the biggest fan of first flush Darjeeling in general, but this is nice enough. It definitely has the floral and fruity notes that I would expect, and then the foundation is a somewhat musty hay flavor. Overall, it’s a bit too floral for me, and there’s a hint of bitterness that sort of accentuates the sharpness of the floral notes.

But yay, I finished the month! It was interesting to try, not something I would do in the future. I wish they included more custom blends as I feel like that would be more interesting.

Sample from a TTB. I was going to add milk, but I tried it first without, and I’m glad I did. The vanilla is pretty authentic and nice. The base tea brings a bit of a toasty flavor to round it out. I enjoy how desserty this one turns out. I don’t usually like oolong, so I was surprised by all the negative reviews.

Adagio CommuniTEA – April 28th, 2023

Ooh, an interesting one today. I think I’ve had one of Adagio’s other arabica tisanes before and I remember enjoying it. The mocha one maybe…?

Anyway, this is nice. I’m actually not big on plain Earl Grey these days, I find it to be a bit much usually. But the bergamot here is fairly mellow, and makes an interesting pairing with the hay-like herbaceous notes of the coffee leaf. Reminds me a bit of an Earl on a white base, with those same light & crisp sort of vibes. A nice one for the afternoon, or I guess even for the evening since apparently coffee leaf is low in caffeine.

Seems Adagio is discontinuing their arabica tisanes, which is a shame as I thought they were some of the more unique blends they carried. The lemon turmeric version doesn’t say it’s being discontinued though, so maybe they’re just swapping out the flavors they offer.

Only two more days of communiTEA to go!

Adagio CommuniTEA – April 27th, 2023

Just a plain spearmint tisane today. I do happen to like spearmint, even though it reminds me of toothpaste and chewing gum ha ha. This is a nice enough rendition, sweet and refreshing with a nice lingering finish. I think my favorite might be peppermint and spearmint combined, as it lessens that chewing gum quality a bit but also sweetens up the peppermint.

Anyway, a pleasant and relaxing cuppa for the afternoon!

Adagio CommuniTEA – April 26th, 2023

Why is there rooibos?! The cynic in me wonders if it’s included as a cheap filler.

The rooibos here just makes this taste so medicinal, like some vaguely berry-flavored cough syrup. And the white tea is quite musty, though I can hardly taste it under the rooibos.

Boo!

Adagio CommuniTEA – April 25th, 2023

Because of the “spice flavor”, this tastes very similar to that puerh custom blend from the other day. I can’t really detect the green tea base at all, just strong potpourri cinnamon and some clove. I suppose there’s a hint of dry grassiness at the end of the sip? The flavoring is overall too strong IMO, although I don’t really approve of flavored chai anyway. Regardless, I feel like here the flavoring is overpowering the actual spices and making them a bit pointless.

I got this for free and wish I had ordered more. The blend of mint and chocolate is delicious. Smells super strong but tastes smooth. Added chocolate oat milk, which enhanced the flavors

Adagio CommuniTEA – April 24th, 2023

I find it interesting that Adagio included multiple of their core black teas in a single month of communiTEA. Maybe they repeat them often?

Anyway, this is a tasty Chinese black tea. I will say, it actually reminds me more of a Golden Monkey or other tippy Fujian hongcha. It’s very malty and smooth with starchy potato notes, a satisfyingly thick texture, and those hallmark caraway notes that always make me think “Fujian”. I would expect a Qimen to be more heavy, maybe a bit smokier or with those wine-like fruity notes.

Not a bad thing, still a yummy tea, just not what I expected.

Adagio CommuniTEA – April 21st, 2023

I’ve actually been curious about Adagio’s zodiac teas, and probably would have ordered a sampler if they offered one. So I’m happy to see this in the communiTEA today! For some reason I thought it was a green & white blend (it’s oolong & white) so I steeped it using green tea parameters. Not that it makes a huge difference, I just would’ve used slightly hotter water if I’d known.

This tea is honestly quite boring. It taste like any other generic peach white tea I’ve ever tried, though there is a hint of autumn leaf in there from the oxidized oolong. The peach is fine, but nothing special. It doesn’t taste like a gummy ring, but not quite like a real peach either.

To be fair, I think I’ve been spoiled by Lupicia’s excellent peach teas. This is fine and definitely easy drinking, but it’s just so uninteresting IMO.

Didn’t love this. It was subtle however, and had a grass undertone and aftertaste

I very much enjoyed this tea. Almost tasted like a lighter version of dark roast coffee

Adagio CommuniTEA – April 20th, 2023

Yay, I caught up to today! \o/

I’m not really a fan of first flush Darjeeling, so this isn’t my favorite. It has some nice hay notes to it, but it’s also a bit sharp and floral. I tend to like later flushes better, as to me they’re a bit more malty and smooth.

Still a pleasant cuppa, even if it’s not my personal favorite type of tea.

Adagio CommuniTEA – April 19th, 2023

I like this one much better than Foxtrot, it seems more balanced to me.

I can taste the lemongrass and chamomile fairly equally, and then the peppermint adds a nice lingering cool finish. The chamomile makes it light and airy, and then the lemongrass adds a citrusy sweetness. And not a wet rag in sight!

A nice herbal tisane that I could see myself drinking regularly. However, I would just blend it myself.

Adagio CommuniTEA – April 17th, 2023

I haven’t historically been a huge fan of shui xian, it tends to be a bit too floral for my tastes.

However, this just tastes like a very generic Wuyi oolong, so I needn’t have worried. It has that trademark mineral flavor that makes me think of cliff teas (not unlike licking a cliff, LOL). And then there’s some toastiness and autumn leaves, along with a clear sweetness. The description mentions apricot and spice, but I definitely don’t taste any of that.

Not a bad tea, but completely lacking in personality. Very drinkable though.

Sample from a TTB. This one is pretty enjoyable. It’s mostly biscuity with hints of maltiness and raisins. I enjoyed it sweetened with milk, and though I wouldn’t order it, I’d drink it again.

Adagio CommuniTEA – April 14th, 2023

Ugh, a decaf black tea? I’m not even a fan of Adagio’s standard black base, so a decaffeinated version is scary indeed lol…

It’s definitely extremely bland, even compared to the caffeinated version. It tastes a bit like cardboard, and then there’s a hint of sweetness that I suppose is coming from the “cream”. To me, it almost tastes more like almond extract?

Sad bland almond cardboard tea. :(