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This tea is definitely one of my favorites from Adagio. It was also my first WuYi oolong. Might I say, what a pleasant experience!

I got 2-3 good cups out of this stuff, which is good for the price IMO. The first and second cup yielded that mineral, rocky flavor with some sort of fruitiness. I can’t quite put my finger on it — perhaps lychee? Anyway, the fruitiness was somewhat prominent and added to the complexity. There was also a nice, lingering aftertaste.

The second cup didn’t quite have as prominent of a fruitiness, but a lot of sweetness came out paired with the rocky taste. On the third cup, things started to quiet down as a whole.

Interestingly, I used about 2 tsp. / 8 oz. of water, and my first two steepings were at 1 minute each. I wonder if I should have steeped them for longer? Oh well, only time will tell when I obtain more.

All in all, this tea is very refreshing, in the sense of its unique flavor and just how the aftertaste coats your throat. While I want to explore more WuYis, I don’t want to stray too far from this one!

This is the best Dan Cong I’ve ever tasted. The smell and taste of Magnolia is simply beyond words. It has a delicate sweetness with the Magnolia, and it has a strong vegetal aftertaste I love in great oolongs.

While it is a bit pricey ($13 for 1.5 oz.), if you are looking for a good Dan Cong this is it. I was able to yield 5-6 good infusions before it started to really die down. I drank it out of a 6 oz. glass teapot from Intelligentsia, with about 1/3-1/2 of the teapot full of this tea.

If you are unsure whether you want to drop the money or not, what’s cool is if you have a coffee shop that serves Intelligentsia teas they’ll probably have this stuff. That’s how I first tried it.

The first cup I had was amazing. It tasted so strong of lychee and honey with the lingering vegetal aftertaste so characteristic of many oolongs. It also had subtle floral notes I’ve had several types of Dan Congs before, so I was excited to see what the second cup would bring.

Much to my dismay, everything I tasted was largely lost the second time around, except a little sweetness with the vegetal aftertaste (which was, of course, significantly weaker). The third cup tasted like water.

I was very disappointed given how expensive Dan Cong Aria is — I’m glad I got only a sample. However, after reading the reviews on here, I’m thinking I should have added more tea. Perhaps Adagio is being conservative on this one.

Simple, bold, and delicious. Want that brassy, malty black tea taste with a good caffeine kick in the morning? Here you go.

While it only stands up to 1-2 infusions at most, when you can buy a half a pound of this stuff at about $12, this is definitely one of the best teas you can buy if you’re on a tight budget. My fiancé devours this tea.

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.

Purchased this on Amazon for $15 for 8 oz. bag. What a deal given the taste! The leaves are long and intact, so you’re not getting a low grade tea here.

I find this tea to be very fresh. It has a clean taste, but without too much grassiness. Best enjoyed in the late morning or early afternoon.

Like all green teas, this one is delicate. I don’t like much bitterness at all, so I steep this Dragonwell at one minute.

Could you buy a higher-quality Dragonwell? Of course. However, you’re really selling yourself short by not trying this out a few times. It won’t disappoint you — or your wallet!

Let me start off by saying that the price of this tea is great considering the flavor. It smells sweet and woodsy, with a hint of malt. The taste is a sweet start with a peppery-woodsy finish. The cocoa notes famous in Yunnan teas seem to appear 50% of the time, but that might have something to do with my water. While it has a good flavor, it is considerably bitter for my taste. At boiling temperature the astringency is even more apparent. I would classify it as semi-bitter, and some people might like this.

My main concern with this tea is that it’s sole strength comes from in the first infusion. The second steeping is very noticeably weaker, and the third steeping tastes like a very lightly-flavored water.

Again, a nice Yunnan for the price, but my heart is set on the Black Dragon Pearls. If I note anything else of importance with this tea, I’ll post an update.

This is my favorite tea to drink. I am a big fan of Yunnan black teas, so this fits my palate nicely.

I love the smell of this tea. It’s earthy with notes of cocoa and malt. There is also a honey-like sweetness to the nose.

The taste is excellent: the malty and cocoa notes are quite obvious, but they are present after that honey-sweet earthiness mentioned before. One of my favorite things about this tea is that there is little to no bitterness at all (Personally, I have found that 195 degrees is a good temperature for black teas that bring out flavor without causing bitterness).

The second cup is just like the first, except the honey and malt take a backseat to the cocoa and earthiness. This tea doesn’t get noticeably weak to me until the 4th+ steeping. However, it is not a hugely apparent loss of flavor. In short, you’ll get many infusions with this one.

Although the price may be a breaker for some, anyone who has tried many Yunnan teas knows the difference in quality with price. Also, $15/ 2 oz. is a reasonable buy for this delicious concoction. I use three pearls per 8 oz./water, and I haven’t used mine up in weeks! Go buy this stuff and enjoy. There’s a reason it has such a high rating on Teavana.com