Tamm

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.

I just realized that this is my 403rd tasting note!!! balloon drop
So today I have been trying to get to work on my paleopathology paper. I only have 1/10 pages down so far, but that is a great start! :)
This tea tastes mainly of burnt sugar, black tea, and a hint of bitterness. Now, I know most of the time bitter=bad when it comes to tea, but I’m starting to get that it may just be a part of the experience type thing. It actually is not too prominent that it is terrible or anything, but it gives it a bite that I may just be starting to appreciate a little (think coffee). I’m going to be getting my next $10 Adagio card tonight so I should probably go search what is in stock!

I can’t believe I never logged this tea! I’ve had it for quite some time and although it says that the expiration date is 6 months after shipment, these smell beautiful much after that. This is a truly beautiful tea. In the back the tiny flowers have a smell of light umeboshi, salt, plum/cherry, and floral hints. It is simply amazing to watch them steep. I wish I had a decent camera because you can see the veins in the translucent skins of the flower petals. As much as I enjoy watching blooming teas, this feels much more organic. Since I couldn’t find any official steep times quickly I treated this very similar to an herbal. I used only 6oz of tea for one slightly larger and one medium blossom.
Once steeped this actually has a much strong smell than expected. It has a very light liquor that reminds me of white wines. It has a very unexpected ume plum smell. It is very distinct and reminds me of my favorite Japanese ume gum. Any sense of floral smell is very subdued. The flavor is very much the same, very light, subtle, and most of the flavor is on the back end of the sip. It is a very fun and amazing tea that I would advise people try at least once.

This tea smells much more enticing than it tastes. The flavor is much more subtle. One of the upsides to this tea is that it can be steeped upwards of four times and still tastes very much of white tea. The flavors here are mainly white tea, some sharp pineapple, and maybe a slight hint of floral.
Small edit I noticed that since my first cup of this the first time I made it I’ve been getting less and less of the sharp pineapple aspects that I liked about this tea. I may try making this at a slightly higher temp. to try and bring this characteristic out.

Really wonderful tea. I had a cuppa this along with breakfast. It is actually very strong in the caffeine department. I strongly advise people who love black teas, cream, and nut notes to try this one out. It is a great deal and tastes wonderful.

I take back my semi-lower rating of this tea. After subsequent cups I’ve been having the lemongrass has really toned down a lot. It tastes like lychee! I don’t know if that is what they were aiming for since dragonfruit is so difficult to nail, but it is good. I’m raising the score to reflect how much more I’ve come to enjoy this one. I’m just glad it is lychee without soapy flavors (cough davids tea cough).

I actually closed my eyes and took a big whiff of this today and you know what? This smells like a slightly lemongrass and floral lychee candy. I don’t know how I really missed it yesterday, but it reminds me a ton of those soft jelly treats in the cups that have the flavored coconut chunk things. I love those! If someone was better at their job they would have named this something lychee flavored and it would have made perfect sense!
Today I used slightly hotter water than last time. It smells pretty strongly of lemon grass. I was trying to coax the other flavors out a bit, but this is not really the way to do it for this tea. The flavors are still mainly lemongrass, tartness, and some fruit flavors. It does remind me exactly of overly sweet strawberry/lychee candies that I love. Is this tea really an authentic play on any fruit flavors? Nope. Is it tasty? Yes! If you want to try something really heavily flavored then here is your ticket. This may end up being something that really grows on me, but for now I’m keeping the rating the same.

This tea…I had really high hopes for it because it really does smell nice! The problem for me is that the flavor is very, very strong and it may be one of the flavorings, but it just doesn’t agree with me. This has very little to no white tea in it, so avoid if you are looking for a white blend. The only reason why I’ve been able to drink this recently is that I’ve had it in my cupboard for a very long time now and it is getting just a bit weaker.
The main flavors are orange and spice. The main spice is a peppery warmth. While I think this addition is unique there is just too much of it. There are also something akin to baked goodies in there too.
My advice with this one is if it sounds good to you, try a cup! I’m guessing there are people who would really love this one; it just isn’t for me.

I never expected to like this tea this much. It is actually very solid! I still hold that it is not the best replacement for almond biscotti, but it is very good nonetheless. I think that it is a bit like marzipan, but mostly it has straight up black, rose, and hints of light almond with spices. One of Teavana’s best really.

I actually have a hard time resisting something labelled dragonfruit. But the funny thing? Nothing labeled dragonfruit ever tastes like dragonfruit. I find it to be a bit bland/watery. So I’m about 80% sure that anything called dragonfruit is to strictly be exotic.
To be honest, this mostly smells like strawberry. There are lots of fun little components to this tea. It really does smell good, even if it isn’t really authentic. Once it is brewed the smell reminds me a bit of the Raspberry Riot Lemon mate; probably caused by the lemongrass (:O and btw they list lychee bits in this. I could totally get behind a really amazing lychee tea).
It finally got cool enough to sip! little dance yup! At this steep time it is mainly lemongrass and tartness; not that it is a bad thing. It is a bit fruity and I can kind of taste the strawberry. But the main flavors? Hibiscus, some kind of lemon, and lemongrass. huh. Not exactly what I was wanting or hoping for really. I expected the rose flavors to come out a bit more. If anything THIS should have been mixed with the champagne rose oolong. I am also thinking that the calypso mate would be an excellent tea to mix with this one, but alas, I have none.
Endnote: not really bad, not really good. If you’re looking for tart’n’fruity go for the Raspberry Riot. It is cheaper and has almost the exact same profile. Note that this one is also really popular (at least at the store by me)and they were just about out of it. They were actually complaining a bit about having to order more of it already.

I had a coupon for a free cuppa this one so I went and got it today. I had it iced, no sugar. This tastes a bit under steeped to me. My husband thought so too. The peach is the first thing I taste. It is followed by the strawberry and rose notes. The rose is pretty strong and very, very floral. I’m not sure I can really give this a good score because of that. I think if there was more peach I’d like it a whole lot more. Maybe I’d also like it more warm instead of chilled. It is an ok blend if you like floral teas. Otherwise stay far away.

sipdown! Finally. Although I think this is a pretty decent tea, it isn’t overwhelmingly good or anything. I drank a whole ton of it when I first purchased it and I think I got burned out. I’m lowering my score on this one just a bit. The flavor is mostly oatmeal cookies, light spice, and warmth. This tea can take a real battering heat wise and that makes it easy for people to make. :p If I got sick I’d ask for this one because of that.

Oolong, where are you?! This is pretty dang tasty. I think that it has grown on me quite a bit since yesterday. Maybe I’ve just been lacking strong, full bodied teas. I love the spices and warmth that are this one. Pretty awesome!