I absolutely love this stuff — it’s my all-time favorite tea to drink. Anytime. Anywhere. You can’t deny the cocoa malty goodness, combined with the honey-sweet earthiness here. I also wrote a review for the Teavana BDP, where you’ll find a more in-depth review. Although I think they get this tea from the same farmer, what’s nice about Adagio’s is you can get 3 oz. of this tea for $15, rather than 2 oz. for $15 at Teavana.
There are a few things a I want to note about difference between Teavana’s and Adagio’s BDP. Let me preface: I’ve only ordered this stuff twice (the first time being from Teavana, this time being from Adagio). Anywho, here’s some points of difference:
- Adagio’s is significantly lighter than Teavana’s. Adagio’s resembles a deep, golden brown, whereas Teavana’s was almost black like coffee
- With Adagio’s, I don’t really taste the sweetness that I did out of Teavana’s batch.
- I can only manage to get 2-3 strong cups before it starts getting noticeably weaker, whereas with Teavana’s I wouldn’t taste huge weakness until the 4th cup or more. Those are the main differences. Now, I do understand each year the harvests can be different. I did get the 2011 batch from Adagio, so if both Adagio and Teavana get this stuff from the same place then I’m sure Teavana’s has these characteristics, too. When I’m done with my Adagio batch I’ll have to get a sample from Teavana and report back here.
In any case, you’re really making a mistake by not grabbing a bag of this tea!! I use three pearls for 8 oz. of water.
