45
drank White Tropics by Adagio Teas
2036 tasting notes

Moving on in sample land from honeybush to some of the whites.

It was hard not to notice the unfavorable reviews when I searched for this tea in the database. I am trying to keep an open mind.

There’s a strong coconut aroma to the sample tin, and I smell pineapple as well. I’m not smelling suntan lotion (thankfully) except to the extent that coconut is always a little reminiscent of suntan lotion.

I’m not sure what tea is used in the base. I can’t find any info on the Adagio site other than white tea. I whipped out the unflavored white samples for a comparison and I think it’s a mix. I see a few leaves that look like silver needle, and some that look like the White Symphony sample which are white peony. A lot of them are broken. There are bits of color among the leaves like in the picture, though I’m not sure what they are and my guess is they add atmosphere rather than flavor.

The infused tea has a golden, brown tinged liquor and a very light nose. I agree with the note that identified a sweet, bread-like fragrance which I think is how the coconut and pineapple aromas smooth out. I didn’t find them to be differentiated or pronounced after steeping.

And frankly, I don’t taste them much in the tea. There’s more coconut than pineapple, but really it’s more like a generic sweet flavor than anything else to my tastebuds (which are, admittedly, suffering from some flu-like virus at the moment). I didn’t have the aversion to it that so many others have had, but it’s kind of meh. I think one could achieve the same result by adding a drop of sweetness to a plain white tea, if so inclined. I’d rather drink plain white, though.

ETA: The taste becomes sweeter as the tea cools, so that it is more like a boatload of sweetness than a drop. I must remember to drink while hot. The coconut shows up in the aftertaste, and it’s not overly sweet. I sort of wish I could skip the drinking part and get right to the aftertaste.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 7 min, 0 sec

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I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes

Location

Bay Area, California

Website

http://www.jjroth.net

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