This is the first time I’ve tried one of Adagio’s standard flavoured black teas. Initially, they seem fairly impressive. The dry leaves smell very strongly of strawberry, and I can see pieces of fruit among the black tea base. Closer inspection of the ingredients list reveals that the fruit pieces are actually raspberry, but I probably wouldn’t have known. They smell right, and that’s what counts. What they’ll ultimately contribute to the flavour remains to be seen.
I brewed this tea a little bit longer than the recommended time – more like 4 minutes than 3. It still smells wonderfully of strawberries, although there’s an underlying “green” scent I can’t quite identify. This carries through to the flavour, too, but I don’t mind it as it’s quite fresh and complements the creaminess of the strawberry pretty well.
I’m actually pretty pleased with the taste of this tea. Before this, I’d only tried Adagio’s holiday flavoured blacks, and I wasn’t universially impressed. This one is strawberry all right, and it comes through pretty well. The base tea isn’t too strong or astringent. It’s all just fine. I have a couple more of these in my stash, so I’m interested to try those as well now. Overall, a good experience. A pleasant afternoon quaffing tea.
