Oh, my, I like this tea.
The smell, as well as the taste, remind me of the scent of hay in the barn. A little like dried grasses, with an earthy dimension as well. Very little acidity, very smooth, soothing flavor and scent.
110 Tasting Notes
I am absolutely stunned by the amount of this tea used that other have logged. It seems to be a pretty forgiving brew. I used 6 balls to brew a one pint pot this morning. I decided to try a longer steep, to see if I could get a stronger brew that way. Sorry, just my cheapskate nature showing. Anyway, the tea tolerates a long brew well, and did not develop any bitter or acid flavors. I drank my first cup with milk and sugar, which is not the usual way I take my tea but I was in the mood for it, and it was absolutely delicious. The second cup I took black, and it, too was delicious. Then I prepared a second steep, again brewed for six minutes. It was a touch weaker, but still good.
It makes sense to me that a longer steep would work well with this tea, as it takes some time to unfold, and thus for all of the leaves to come into contact with the water. A shorter steep might very well require more tea to make a tasty cup.
If you want a tea that will kick your butt into motion in the morning, here’s your tea. Very dark, intense flavor, and I suspect a fairly high caffeine content. I tried their bagged version of this. The leaf is very fine – not quite dust, but pretty close. I think because it is so fine, it is very easy to oversteep and get a really nasty cooked flavor. There is a lot of tea in the bags, so I used one bag for a one pint pot. I found that a shorter steep, about 3 to 3 1/2 minutes tops, yielded a strong, malty but still very palatable tea that definitely had enough body to stand up well to milk and sugar. I suspect if you left the teabag in the pot you could polish chrome with this tea.
I have yet to meet a mint tea I did not like, and this one is no exception. Very simple and straightforward blend of green tea and spearmint. I bought the tea bagged from Pura Vida, but I notice that they sell it in loose leaf through the Choice Organic website. I may try ordering that next time.
This is a Southern summer evening in a cup – sitting on the back porch, breeze off the Gulf, and the smell of the night blooming jasmine wafting through the air. All the atmosphere and flavor, but without the mosquitoes.
Every time I find the bottom of a mug of this, I feel disappointed. Must buy larger mugs. Or maybe, just add milk and honey and drink it straight from the pot?
The dry leaves smell rather like pickle juice – a little off-putting at first. The tea brews up to a delicate golden hue, with a sweetly refreshing taste. This is definitely going on my favorites list!
Backlogging this – I decided to try steeping this at a gentler temperature, more like a white tea,as the base is white tea, green tea and herbals. It really did not provide a satisfactory steep. The same tea that tasted delicate and flowery when brewed at boiling temperature tasted weak and watery when brewed at lower temperature.
I wish I could think of something brilliant to say, but really, this is just darn good!
I’ve prepared this the last two mornings – short on sleep and not ready to face the day. This tea has a strong dark color, and a smooth, malty, smoky taste that makes it easier to face the day. I usually want my morning cup to be brighter and more cheery, but this is a good tea to relax with.
And I still think watching the tea balls unfold is great entertainment. Or, at least, as much entertainment as I am up for this morning.
This is the tea you want when a hurricane is bearing down on your dwelling – sweet, light and soothing.
I don’t detect a lot of pear flavor, but I suspect that is what is adding the sweetness.
The package recommendation for steeping was 2-3 minutes. My first try on this was 4 minutes. The color was a little stronger than other white teas I’ve tried, which may be due to the longer steep.
I am afraid that I am not a big fan of rooibos. This was one of the first I’ve tried, and I have not particularly liked any of them. It may be an excellent rooibos, it’s just not something that appeals to me.
Adagio must have heard my cry for help when this went out of stock, because it is back, and just as good as I remembered. Light apricot fragrance and flavor that blends very nicely with chamomile and mint. I don’t taste the rooibos in it, or see it in the color, which is a pale yellow green. I need to try steeping it at lower temperature.
Delicate, but very rich flavor. This definitely goes on my list of teas to reorder.
I decided to ignore the instructions on the box, and brew it at a lower temperature as for other green teas. It does improve the flavor quite a bit. Still, it’s rather – meh. If I needed extra room on the tea shelf, it might very well wind up on the compost heap.
It took several tries to get a good-tasting steep from this tea – it definitely does not benefit from oversteeping, and it is well worth while to time the steep and pull out the leaves after no more than 5 minutes. Oversteeping will result in an astringent aftertaste. It might benefit from a shorter steep with more leaves.
This looks like a black tea, but brews up very light and delicate. I added more leaves than I might for a Darjeeling or other black tea. During brewing, the smell reminded me of spinach – a strongly vegetal, mineral aroma. Even after adding more leaves, it brewed up a very light amber, with a light floral aroma. Once I got the steep right, I tasted a smooth, flavorful tea with a definite sweetness.
I like it very much, and think it is worth keeping on hand, even though it is a bit fussy to brew.
This tea has an overwhelming lemon taste. I drank it plain – no sweetener or milk. I don’t get any real impression of the tea. I don’t think I’d brew a whole pot of this – it leaves a rather sour aftertaste. It probably would taste good if I had a cold, when I seem to crave lemon, the more the better.
I tried brewing this at a lower temperature, and also added some peppermint leaves. The lower temperature does improve the flavor a lot, and the peppermint is a nice addition.
Using up the last of my sample of this tea. This time I used about twice the number of leaves, because I am discovering that I am too stingy with leaves in general when brewing. I also steeped it just a little less. Gorgeous, dark, fragrant, fresh tasting tea. I think I am discovering a preference for indian teas.
I tried this again, steeping it longer and at a lower temperature. This time, the spice is mellower, and the tea flavor shines through a bit better. It definitely upped the yummy factor a lot.
Dang. This is not making my next tea order any smaller.
The jasmine scent does not overwhelm the delicate oolong. It reminds me of warm humid nights with the scent of my night blooming jasmine wafting in the window.
One thing Adagio does well is their chai blends – the spice is always rich and well balanced. This green tea is not my favorite of their chai tea blends, because they are all awfully good, but it is well worth drinking.
Mmmmm, Darjeeling!
This has a lighter, more delicate flavor than Darjeeling No. 22. I still like 22 better, but I wouldn’t say no if someone offered me a cup of this tea. Lightly sweet, with a faintly grassy taste. This tea is very coarse in texture, so it pays to add a larger volume when I steep.
This is the first unflavored white tea I’ve ever tried, so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
I like it!. The first sip was a little grassy tasting, but I am surprised by the intensity and fragrance of this cup. It seemed delicate at first sip, then intensified, as though my palate adjusted to it. I read Cofftea’s notes, and I agree, there is something like butter or toffee in the flavor.
