Tamm

So somehow I got all caught up on my reading and homework about an hour early today. O.O It is a strange feeling! So I’m spending my time figuring out what to do about needing 2 new tires. Yay for car registration time! (jk it is awful).
So this tea is very flavorful, cheap, fruity, and basically awesome for people like me who like tartness in their cuppa. It is perfect for easy steeping and nearly impossible to get wrong. I need to make iced tea with the last serving of it. I would suggest this for people who share tea with non-tea people, simplicity seekers, and people who, like me, love herbals.

I have to say that I started reading Cloud Atlas the other day and I’m quickly eating it up. Although I’ve had limited reading time I’m already 200 pages into it. After Cloud Atlas I’m looking forward to jumping straight into Children of Hurin. :)
I’m surprised that this one is so unpopular. I have to admit that straight up lavender might just be an acquired taste that I’ve come to enjoy. (Slightly off topic) I used to hate Turkish Delights, but something may have changed now that I prefer such overtly floral overtones.
This tea has very little white tea and would do better with a lower price tag and an herbal label. The additions of roses, violets, and carrots aren’t really helping with that. The smell of the liquor is very herb-like and floral. It is a bit more hay like than other straight up lavender teas due to the inclusion of some white tea. This tea packs much more of a punch than what I at first expected at such low steep times. The flavor is calming, but potent. I love this one for reading time or movie watching.

MMm notes of strawberries, lemongrass, and lychee. This is really great warm, but would probably do really well as an iced tea as well.

So today was just awful. I wish I could say that I get to sleep in tomorrow and start off fresh, but alas! School day.
This one is almost gone! It smells excellent and I’ve been saving one last, gigantic banana chip for my last cup. This one is excellent and the flavors all pair really well. I love the banana and coconut flavors paired with the hojicha because it gives it just the perfect crust-like flaky/baked flavor. A personal favorite from 52teas.

Fruity, light, and herbal is how I would describe this one. It is perfect for calm days like today. I am avoiding my coursework this weekend and spending all my time relaxing and being with my husband. It has been very nice. We’ve even shared quite a few pots of tea (I normally just brew for myself in my Teavana contraption). I love sharing tea so it has been really fun!
I have to say that out of the fandom blends that I’ve tried I really favor this one and Tardis. I have been rationing my last bit of both so I can pull them out on special occasions.

mmmm snowy day here in Utah! I’m having the last of my sample and this tea is sooo good! I love watching it steep; it’s like watching stars at night with all the sparkling bits. I’m still mainly getting vanilla with light citrus. I used slightly warmer water this time and the flavors are a bit stronger than the last time I tried it. I steeped it for an amazing 7min. and I can’t believe how smooth it is. If anything that is impressing me as much or more than the rest of the flavors. This is a great tea and perfect for a day like today.

Wow. thanks Marcel! This one is so good! I think that I’d like a little more clove in this; but I’m a clove super fan. Wassil is what comes to mind when I drink this one. I’m actually really happy with the orange flavor in this. It has an almost bitter edge that reminds me of orange rind as opposed to straight up orange juice flavor. I think that I will be purchasing some of this one because it is just awesome. If I were to make it again I might have steeped it for longer than the suggested 3 min. Excellent spice and orange flavors without being overly “chai.”
I also turned in my dental calculus paper today!!! Wish me luck!

thanks Marcel for this one! I have only had a few of David’s Teas blends and I’ve been a bit half and half. This one smells really wonderful and the idea seemed pretty fun. I can’t quite put my finger on what the smell reminds me of though. Maybe vanilla cupcakes? There are some deep chocolate/citrus notes that are reminding me of that orange blossom oolong I had once. The shimmer in this is quite fun!
I think that my water may have been just a bit cooler than 195F, but the resulting tea was still very flavorful and I really enjoyed it! I was surprised that the black tea was not bitter at all after such a long steep. The main flavors that I am getting are a bit like that vanilla and slight citrus cupcake. I even get small hints of chocolate, but that may be the base. I think that to really be good it needed a thicker mouth feel that I seem to be missing here. Overall, I do like it, but I don’t think I’d order it for myself.

Wow. I may have put a bit too much in this time! I used almost 3 tsp for 16 oz and it is super powerful. This tea does not mess around in the flavor department. Like I’ve said, the closest thing I’ve tasted to this is Kashi cereal; which isn’t a bad thing! It is strongly blueberry and a little tart. Great for relaxing and pairs well with toast.

Sorry all, I’ve been off of Steepster for the past few days. I was finishing my essay for paleopathology (all done aside from my bibliography!). I have to admit that I am not feeling my best; headache, neck kink, can’t sleep, feeling dizzy atm and it’s probably just because I’ve overextended myself. So this cup is here to relax me!
After having so many wonderful, cheaper herbals from Adagio I’m not sure if I’ll be purchasing this one again. It does bring to play a very unique flavor that I really enjoyed. But the price tag kills me! I’m hoping that this gets discounted later this year because I would be purchasing a large amount. I am also wondering if I should attempt to steep this for a much longer time, similar Adagio herbals. Overall this tastes like lemongrass, lychee, and strawberry. Pretty good for days where you are avoiding caffeine.

This is easily one of my favorite fandom blends. I think that the cherry and chamomile go perfectly with one another. The only thing I would caution is that I had my stored in my zip bag and when I moved it to a tin, the bottom of the bag was comprised very heavily of chamomile dusting. It reminds me of the dregs of a cereal box. So this makes the cups very gunky, and I hate that. So if you purchase this, try to mix it up so you don’t just have a few cups of chamomile at the end.
This is one of only 2 cherry teas I have ever really enjoyed.

So. Good. I think that this one is beguilingly simple; just notes of black tea and hazelnut. But that is why it is so great! It isn’t trying to be some crazy blend with 1,000 ingredients. It is simple and easily pleasing. Again, super awesome kudos for Adagio’s Zodiac line, which I seem to be the new spokesperson for.

Blah. This is the one tea in the box that I wasn’t looking forward to. It tastes kind of like this grapefruit chapstick in a little pot that I was given once as a gift at church. I do not enjoy eating grapefruit and so this is a total no for me. I think the only grapefruit or grapefruit thing I’ve ever enjoyed was Lupicia’s grapefruit green, which is simply amazing.
It is sweet, fruity, a bit sour, and a ton of grapefruit. The underlying notes remind me a bit of their citron flavoring that I really love. But nothing can match the other flavors so it is just overpowering. It is not awful or terrible, just not what I like.

Another Zodiac tin it is! The coloring on this one is particularly beautiful. The main smell coming from the tin reminds me mostly of the Not A Rabbit blend, which was one that I really enjoyed. I’m guessing they used a large amount of the white peach tea in the blend. I’m always a bit baffled at these multi-tea blends that have things like white and oolong mixed together. The steeping instructions suggest 212 at 3-5 min. so I did it at 3 min. I’ve had the white peach tea before and used boiling water to no ill effect so I’m not too worried.
My husband commented that the tea in the tin had a very calming color palate and smell to it. I tend to agree, the overall ascetics of this line are pretty off the chart compared to their competition. I have to admit that I also prefer the long, box type container compared to other shapes. Although Harney and Son’s kind of multi-sided boxes (forgetting how many atm) are beautiful, they are just not made for really dense cupboards like mine. Teavana tins are just HUGE. These are easier to store in my cupboard so I guess that is a plus.
Oh gosh. I was worried I wouldn’t like this one as much based on the description, but this will not disappoint. Yes, it is mainly peach flavored, almost reminiscent of peach rings. There are some really great oolong tea notes and it is a darker tea. I love that they paired the peach with something more substantial instead of going really light. There is also a tiny hint of sweetness. It is nowhere near the power of Teavana’s blends and it is really nice to have a fruit blend that doesn’t have to also be potently sweet/tart.
I have to say, these Zodiac teas are really where it’s at with Adagio. I think that they should really advertise them more. I know they’re getting tons of business through the fandom blends right now, but this line has some advantages. Mainly being that they a) have a tin without extra costs b) the tin is lovely and well presented c) the tins are better blended and imo have a more consistent ratio than some of the fandom blends I’ve tried d)many have more tea for the cost when compared to the fandom teas. Not to mention all three that I have tried are excellent.
These should be must tries for people new to Adagio and tea in general.

This is right on par with the raspberry patch tea. This smells and tastes very much like blueberry bagels. It is sweet and has a little bit of a punch. I think that this one may be a bit lighter than the raspberry patch one. I love both and I’m pretty sure that I’d love to have these as a staple in my cupboard just because I seem to crave herbal/fruity teas often. It is a truly easy tea to make and likely tastes great iced.
edit I know just what it tastes like! There is this Kashi cereal, I think it’s berry fields or something like that, but that is exactly what this reminds me of.

The smell of this one is more than just a little intimidating. It doesn’t really scream apple to me; but it does taste good once steeped. The smell is perfume/chemical. The flavor is fruity though and pretty good. I just had my husband try it and he loved it. He says that we’ll have to buy more in the future. So I’m a bit half and half and he loves it. :p

Woot! My teas came today and this was part of the Orchard Sampler. This tastes like juice! I think there may be hibiscus in it because it is a bit tart. There are lots of fruit flavors in this with some sweetness. I really loved this and it would be a great staple in my cupboard because I just adore straight up fruity blends. It was also one of the least artificial smelling of the bunch. Two of the others got me a bit worried, but I’m still excited to try them out!

So I’m still craving that lemon flavor and found this sad little sipdown in a box. I didn’t know I still had any left. I accidentally steeped this too long so it may be really bitter. Not too bad actually!
This tea is predominantly black tea with hints of crystallized, sugary lemon bits. It is pretty good and always gives a kick of caffeine. I’m always surprised that I like this one so much, but it really is one of Adagio’s better flavored teas.
And speaking of Adagio, I wasn’t supposed to get my next box until tomorrow, but I just saw that it is out for delivery today! I’m actually really excited that I’ll have something to look forward to tonight. My husband is going to be out and so I’ll need this little push to get me through my essay.
edit blah. As this cooled the bitterness seemed to come to play. The last sip of this was pretty bad. I have to say, the black base on some of their teas are very finicky and sometimes not worth the risk. I love the flavors when they are steeped correctly, but can be a terrible mishap as well.

I picked this one up last night because I’ve been craving lemon tea. It was $2.50 a box. I was supremely disappointed to find that most store brands aren’t just straight up lemon (which is what I wanted). There were many more honey or spice variations though. I think I’ve had this one before, but I was unsure. The smell of this one is very strong! It smells a bit like cleaner if I try to sniff to much…but also like these lemon+honey cough drops that I had recently. To be honest this freaks me out a bit. A small note: this also seems to have an added 20% vit. C. O.o interesting move there.
This is…interesting. I think what is wrong here is that yes, it is pretty artificial tasting. The ginseng is the most distracting part of the whole cuppa because it imparts this kind of granular taste/feel that I only like with particular teas. The first half of the sip really isn’t that bad and the lemon takes the forefront. It is when you realize that the other players (honey and lemon) want in on the gig that it is a bit unpleasant. The white tea in there really isn’t helping either. If I was sick I bet this would be great because it is kind of soothing on the throat and I wouldn’t be able to taste it so well…

This one is just okay for me. It has some chai notes, the green tea really gets buried and it is a bit potpourri like. I’m sad the pomegranate taste is not there because it would bring a really interesting element to this one. I’d suggest this to people who would like to try a green chai.

sipdown This has been a wonderful tea. Honey, stones, sweetness. A very long lasting, multi-steep tea that has a very clear flavor and would go great in any oolong lover’s cupboard.

Today: extra leaf, accidental long steep of ~7 min. This creates a very deep, mahogany colored brew. The flavors are smooth, herbal, woodsy, and lightly citrus. This long steep actually reduced the amount of citrus flavor in the tea. The flavor becomes much deeper and brings out the chamomile. A very good tea.

Huh. I just had a cup of this and it has been quite a long time since I last had a sip. It was actually pretty good! I still would argue that Adagio’s oolongs are oily and it is nothing compared to other renditions of coconut pouchong, but it is pretty thrifty and not all that bad. I think as a newcomer to tea someone could enjoy this one. The leaves are large, wiry, and dark. The flavor is consistent and you do not need too much leaf to get a good cup. I guess I feel a bit half and half on this one. On one hand I have a pretty satisfying cup of coconut, but on the other it doesn’t wow.

gah. I need to finish this one! It is very heavily apple, carrot, and almost a peppery flavor. I can’t tell quite what that is coming from, but it is interesting. I would suggest using a bit less than they suggest or it is a little overpowering.