Adagio Teas

Gemini. Adagio.
Lot no. 94008. F.B. (illegible)
When cutting open the pouch, my fingernail scraped off the “Fresh By” date, which is why it was illegible. Oops.

I used the entire 2.5 g leaf from the “Portions Packet” which was part of a gift arriving with my first order. Steeped as directed, Western-style: 2 min in 8 oz. 180°F alpine spring water, using a stainless micropore infusion basket. I re-steeped once with the same parameters. The aroma of the dry leaf was reminiscent of Adagio’s “White Peach”, but somehow a bit more complex and a lot more restrained. As the steeping progressed, the aroma became more vegetal, and I worried that the lovely peach flavor would be lost, but it wasn’t.

Wow, this was just mouthwateringly delicious to me! The peach and apricot tastes were there, but without overpowering; the apricot and apple pieces lent a subtle sweetness to the tea such that I didn’t bother adding any sweetener; although I saw fragments of rose hip, I did not experience any tartness (probably masked by the apple’s sweetness), and there were floral notes wafting in my nose suggesting the rose petals were contributing in balance with whatever the base white tea was providing. I’m not real experienced with white teas, so I could not identify the base of this blend, but I did get notes of tea-like flavor, adding to the complexity. As I greedily slurped, I noted vegetal depth arising, likely from the tea leaf, the marigold flowers, and possibly the fruits. The second infusion (re-steep) was almost identical, so I would combine the two liquors in the future, for simplicity. No bitterness or astringency was noted. The lingering aftertaste was similarly complex and pleasing. I definitely recommend this tea, rate it as 95, and have already added a big bag of it to my Adagio shopping cart for the next order!

White Peach. Adagio.
Lot no. 75932. F.B. n/a.

Who knows what’s actually in Adagio’s teas?
Adagio’s website ingredient listing for this tea includes “peach pieces” but does not mention apricots. But my “portions packet” lists apricots as an ingredient, but only natural peach flavoring and nothing about peach pieces. Such discrepancies seem to be rampant with Adagio, and I find them unacceptable.

Steeped Western-style, as directed: full content of “portions packet” (about a teaspoon) and 8 oz spring water at 180°F for 3 min in a stainless infusion basket. This is a very gentle and delicious tea! The white tea flavor was present in the mild lingering aftertaste, and despite containing a flavoring, it was quite soft and pleasant. Nothing chemical or artificial about it. A good blend which I recommend and rate as 88.

Coconut Grove Pouchong. Adagio.
Lot No. 81375. FB: n/a.

One “portions pouch” of leaf, steeped Western, as directed: 3.6 g leaf in 8 oz 190°F alpine spring water, using a stainless infusion basket, for 3 min. Re-steeped 4.5 min and 6 min.

I’ve never sipped a pouchong before, let alone a flavored blend of pouchong, so I studied the reviews of Adagio’s straight pouchong (a type of oolong from Taiwan) in order to help parse out the flavors and know what to expect. I do like coconut (esp. in piña coladas), so I was optimistic. And the fragrance of the dry leaf was nothing if not potently coconutty! Whilst steeping, I noticed the leaf was a bright olive green in shade, and was pretty finely chopped, with only a few small intact leaves, but quite a lot of stems. Not sure how folks can enjoy watching the leaf expand, but since those notes were 15 yr old, perhaps the quality of the base tea has been changed.

Sipping on the first infusion blasted me with delicious aromas and flavors of coconut, to the extent that I did not really taste the base tea except for a flowery note. Well, prior reviewers did say the pouchong was delicate! But as the tea cooled, the coconut potency declined, and by the end of the cup I was noting some floral and green tea flavors that were quite pleasant.

While steeping the second infusion, I pulled out a strip of white coconut flesh and popped it in my mouth. What a surprise to get hit with the flavor of a mouthful of flowers! I wonder if Adagio hasn’t dosed the coconut with floral flavoring. In any case, as I began sipping this 2nd infusion, the coconut was now sharing the stage with the flavors of the base tea and floral flavoring. I could discern some bitterness and vegetal notes, and appreciated the golden yellow color of the clear liquor. There even seemed to be a note of fruitiness as the tea cooled in my cup. I tossed in a half lump of sugar to the quarter cup or so remaining, and enjoyed a nicely tropical two mouthfuls, and noted the coconut humming away at the back of my tongue.

The third steeping retained a golden yellow hue, and a soft coconut aroma. Flavors of both the pouchong and the coconut were very gentle here, but passably pleasant. I never really got the burst of sweet pouchong flavors that others reported long ago for the base tea. I won’t push for another re-steep of the largely exhausted leaf. If I were to have another session with this tea, I would combine all three steepings and sweeten slightly, possibly icing the tea. Recommended, with a rating of 68, but only if you like coconut!

This tea should be called “Red Fruits Punch”—to be served sweetened and chilled!
If one adds a bunch of sugar (or whatever one’s preferred sweetener is) and CHILLS this for a few hours, it is a delightful cold beverage. The flavor profile is completely different than when it’s merely cooled to room temp, UNsweetened.
It’s still hard to tell exactly what it IS—perhaps that’s why they kept it as Mango Melange—but it’s cold and tasty. I’ve revised my opinion to Recommended.

This is the third of four teas in Adagio Teas’ Summer Teas Sampler. A couple days ago I reviewed The Secret Garden Organic Mango Green Tea—the first tea I truly liked from the Secret Garden Organic gift box. I’d already opened this 3 oz packet of Mango Melange, and liked the fragrance. But boy, are they different teas!
Like the other four Secret Garden teas I’d tried, the Organic Mango Green was simply green tea and natural flavors. It smelled and tasted like mango (also a little apricot and peach)—but it actually tasted fruity, nicely so.
Adagio Teas’ Mango Melange should be instead be called “Hibiscus and Rose Hip Melange”. Tho the smell within the packet itself has a slight perfumy whiff of hair pomade—just in the packet!—it’s mostly pleasantly sour. I found myself wondering how it would taste to have the packet be cold-brewed (no pun intended!) in some lager beer. There are some Northern Europeans who enjoy the juxtaposition of fruit and beer, and I think the flavors in this ‘melange’ would work with that.
Why? Because it’s lightly sour! Between the hibiscus, rosehip skins and dried fruit pieces, which are edible, none particularly taste like the mango this is supposed to be based on.
Once I added some sugar, though, there was more mango-y essence.
This has the bright red color of hibiscus, which is always eye-catching. Maybe after straining out the fruit, one could make some kind of mocktail out of this. It’s got possibilities. But even cooled, I found this tea more like a project one could make something out of, rather than a drink I’d want by itself.
I will neither “yea” or “nay” this. [>>CHANGED BY MY SECOND REVIEW OF THIS.] Mango Melange is more likable than the Key Lime Herbal, also in Adagio’s Summer Teas Sampler, but it’s still not an immediate hit which should have been included in a Summer Sampler. Maybe Adagio should come up with a more accurately titled “Teas Not For The Faint of Heart”, or “Not Your Usual Summer Teas” sampler. Then they could let this and Key Lime Herbal find their proper audience, while those of us who think more of Mai Tais and Fuzzy Navels can enjoy more predictable flavors of summer.

This is the seventh/ last tea sample (July 29) in their “Week of July 27th” which Adagio sent with my order a month ago. Being a neophyte regarding oolongs and other varietal teas (I hope I’m using the phraseology correctly), I don’t yet have the proper vocabulary to go into depth of description here.
This is mild, yet stands on its own two feet. So it’s nicely between green and black teas. I taste a toasty quality, as in genmai cha, but of course there’s no toasted rice in this cup. It’s a clean, clear mouthful, that’s a flavor I wouldn’t mind drinking all day.
When I saw the leaves of different colors I was impressed. I like the fact Adagio points out this has low caffeine. It feels good, I feel good, after drinking this tea. Well worth looking into and learning more about! Yes, I definitely recommend this tea!

Here’s the second (of four) samples in Adagio Teas’ Summer Teas pack. Quite an unusual tea to review! When I opened the packet, I got a whiff of the citrusy, acidic profile similar to key lime pie, but with an edgy note of dry mustard! Here’s a flavor note that should be added to that list: “Cosmetic”. It reminds me of whatever face powder is scented with. As someone who worked for a company which would occasionally test different fragrances to see how they would be perceived in products, smelling this tea before brewing reminded me of flavor test strips. Maybe that’s where “key lime pie flavor” came from.
My husband who has anosmia, liked this tea. “I can taste something!” But that’s not a criterion we’re looking for.
To be blunt, this is one weird tea. It doesn’t taste natural to me, nor does it taste like key lime. It has a tart, acidic profile similar to key lime, to be sure. But it falls short of being identifiable as such. I’m trying to think of something positive to say, but all I can say is, at least we finished the packet!

This (Aug. 1) entry from Adagio Teas “Week of July 27” box of samples is unsurprisingly somewhat more robust than the Apricot Green sample (Aug. 2) in the same gift box. I taste-tested the Apricot Green first, since I wanted the milder tea to hit my palate first.
This one being the black tea, even though decaffeinated, had a stronger tea flavor right from the start. Adagio uses the same “other” ingredients in both blends: apple pieces, natural apricot flavor, apricots, and marigold flowers. Yet this black tea is quite gentle; the lack of caffeine renders it a not-so-different version of the green.
Adding a bit of sugar to this tea does not result in a “oh! there’s TEA in here too, not just the apricots” feeling that happened when adding sugar to the green tea. Because the black tea had more of a presence from the beginning than the green tea does, all the sugar did was to sweeten it (duh).
When I sniffed the first-opened packets of tea, I actually liked this one better; the black tea gave it more odoriferous effect. The Apricot Green smelled more like being in the fruit section at the grocery. Yet in the drinking, I actually preferred the green.
Both are very nice cups of tea. But even though I usually live for decafs, since I’m affected by the caffeine, and usually prefer the flavor depth of black teas—I have to give the edge here to the Apricot Green.
I won’t “Not recommend” this tea, since I did like it. Just not enough to push it into an outright “Yes”.

Another Adagio Teas little bag from the “Week of 7/27” sampler box (Aug.2). Since a black tea Decaf Apricot was also sent (Aug. 1), I decided to “compare and contrast”, as my elementary teachers used to ask for in book reports.
This is a green tea, so it’s unsurprisingly much gentler on the palate. It’s a light, lovely vegetal apricot tea, almost buttery. Very pleasant.
That’s before adding a bit of sugar to see how the flavor changes. Oddly enough, while the green grocer aura of the apricot is still mild, the flavor of the green tea is advanced by the sugar. There’s a very nice after-taste of apricot in the mouth. Quite a gentle little tea.

I ordered Adagio Teas’ "Summer Teas " 4-sample pack because it was in the 90s for a week and a half. Feeling as if summer was going to linger longer than usual, “Watermelon Cooler” seemed like a good choice. It was!
It is! This cooler is a light, tasty tisane which tastes like summer. The directions read, “Steeping: 1 teaspoon per cup / 5-10 mins @ 212 F / 100 C”. There were 23 grams in the packet. I made 2/3rd of it first in 50 oz of hot water, let it steep for a little over an hour.
As it cooled, all the little dehydrated apple cubes were at the top of the pot, where I strained them out—then ate them. (Why waste them? Quite tasty from their steeping, too!) But even after all that steeping time, the tea itself was on the weak side.
I drained off some of the finished tea into a smaller teapot, which went into the refrigerator.
I boiled some more water, threw the last third of the packet into the original teapot, then poured in 25 ounces of boiling water. To make sure this batch would be stronger, I added the previously steeped tea leaves & (what was left of the) fruit, plus maybe 10 ounces of the first batch of tea. (The last of the first batch which wouldn’t fit in the pot going in the fridge.)
Not unsurprisingly, the tea has a much greater depth of flavor. I can taste berries, more sweetness, more of the watermelon flavor, and a slight rose petal hint, which I hadn’t before.
Next time I would make the entire 23 gram (0.8 ounce) packet, let it steep for at least an hour, then strain and refrigerate it. I’ve found any time I’ve had to make a delicately flavored tisane it ALWAYS takes more time and literal concentration of the ingredients to bring out more flavor. This is a tasty, summery drink that’s worth the work. Enjoy!

Got this little packet of Formosa Ruby 18 (July 28) as part of the “Week of July 27” sample box from Adagio. I’m on the second steep, and have not detected any of the flavors described by the company’s notes. (By the way—those notes are verbatim the ones from Masters Teas—at least they are the same ones posted on the Formosa Ruby 18 from Masters Teas. Which came first? As hard to know as the chicken/egg question, in my book.)
I find it a smooth, readily drinkable black tea. Now I detect a mere hint of smokiness, but that’s all. The finish seemed tannic, dry when drinking from the first steep, but the finish now, after the second steep is gentler, not as dry. Brisk on the first steep, mellow on the second.
I find this quite an enjoyable cup, and appreciate the chance to have tried it. I recommend it for a tea that would be a good cup, day in, day out.

Got this as a sample for July 27th, but here it is August 20th. (Guess I’m not going to join Adagio’s “Week of” Club! Grateful to be able to try all 7 free samples, though…!)
First of all, I do enjoy cherries, cherry-flavored goodies of all kinds. I was looking forward to testing this sample. Opening the packet, there’s a strong aroma of cherry—but alas, a strongly artificial cherry. As a child, our family doctor would give me a little Charms brand sucker for having been a good patient. This reminds me strongly of that artificial flavor.
Still, I was willing to give this tea a chance. After all, only a few months ago I discovered Republic of Tea’s Spring Cherry Green tea, and declared I had a new favorite! Well, that’s NOT Adagio’s Cherry Green, I’m sorry to say.
The artificial quality of the cherry flavor is so strong, it reminds me of nail—or even furniture polish! I’ve had artifically-flavored candy cough drops which tasted better to me than this tea. At least with those, I knew what I was getting and accepted it was to cover any medicinal taste. I generally like—and trust—Adagio Teas’ flavors and sources. If this was truly a “natural wild cherry flavor”, then they should find a different source for it, or else use a lot less. This had no subtlety, did not taste natural at all.
I’m really disappointed. I cannot recommend this tea at all.

Almond Oolong. Adagio.
Lot no.: 85421. F.B.: n/a.
Single-serving portions packet, steeped as directed with one re-steep. Adagio seems to spend much of their description extolling the nutritional and health virtues of almonds— which this tea does not contain, being made with mere natural almond flavor. It kind of feels like test-driving a Nissan in the presence of a talkative Cadillac salesman. On the dry leaf, aroma was reminiscent of Amaretto Liqueur, giving me hope; but I am already prejudiced against Adagio’s base oolong used in blending. The flavor was potently of macaroon, but without any sugar, reminding me of when mom served us a children’s punch in which she neglected to add any sugar: unsweet and rather bitter. So I sugared-up the infusion and tried to enjoy the almond-flavored drink, in which the rather woody notes of a poor oolong kept announcing themselves. Sometimes I just have to accept something as “it is what it is” and move on. The re-steep was a more subtle unsweet macaroon in which the oolong now tasted less woody and more like cardboard. Yes, no, I did not enjoy the re-steep at all. I’ll rate the initial steep as a 45, and not recommend the tea, instead suggesting you either drink some amaretto or nibble on a real macaroon.

Gunpowder. Adagio.
Lot no. 85003. F. B.: n/a.
Brewed Western, as directed, the entire 3g from a Portions pouch, in 8 oz. 180°F spring water for 2.5 min.. I’ve never been a Gunpowder Green fan, and this tea neither impressed nor disappointed me. Smooth, sweet, vegetal, non-smokey, non-astringent, and rather boring to me. No serious defects though. The leaf pellets didn’t really fully expand until the end of the second steep, which I ran for 3 min. Both steepings tasted and smelled the same to me. I’ll neither recommend nor dissuade this tea, and rate it as a 70 for being an acceptable green that you might like more or less.

Recently got adagio teas’ mid-summer special of a free 2-sachet pack of one of their iced teas, after a $29 order. For July 27 it was Blood Orange Iced Tea, which I made hot. But before I chilled it, I drank some as a hot beverage. It’s on the sour side, with the deep copper red color of both the blood orange and the hibiscus. This is a tea which does better with sweetening. You don’t really need to use a lot, but the sweetener brings out a lot more of the fruitiness as it dissipates the sour notes.
This was sent to use as an iced tea. It’s not bad either hot or cold—just make sure you give it a little sweetening unless you like a sour tea.

Here we are, nearly 2/3s through the summer, and adagio teas is sending a 2-sachet-pack of one of their iced teas with every $29 order. Last week in July it was their Blood Orange Iced Tea. Opening the bag, there’s a deep orangey fragrance with a hint of hibiscus. I prepared it hot and chilled it.
Unsweetened, it’s decidedly sour, with a slight grapefruit note (as a couple reviewers at adagio observed), even though there’s no grapefruit in it. But sweetened? Ah! Much more enjoyable! So I only recommend this tea if sweetened!

Adagio sent me small samples (box of “Week of July 27th” – this one was July 31) with a recent order and the ‘paradise’ in its name made me try this one first. The smell upon opening the packet was subtle, delightful. Once made, I ate the apple bits that floated to the top of the cup. This is very much a soft version of pina colada, modified, I think by the rose petals. Not too many of those, so they blended into the mix very nicely (I’m normally not keen on rose in tea). Since they were not a predominating note, just a light presence, they added dimension to the tropical mix. I’m not familiar with green rooibos, so I honestly couldn’t identify its taste. That’s why I didn’t notice it in the flavor profile; it was just ‘greenery’ to me. Seems to me I ‘sort of’ sense a bit of pear? – only there isn’t any there!
I did enjoy this tea. I tried it hot first, since I only had the small sample, then chilled the other half of the cup. I did enjoy this tea unsweetened, though I’m sure the flavors would’ve been more pronounced in the chilled sample had I added some.
Small sample, not exactly a fair tasting, but I did like it. It’s worth another try.

Green Rooibos Bonita. Adagio.
Lot no. 85435. FB: n/a.
Sweet, floral, juicy. I taste and smell the orange, peach, and strawberry. The green rooibos takes a back stage role here, but still contributes. Nice finish. For some reason I got the impression of ginseng, but that’s not a listed ingredient. I steeped this today Western, as directed, because I wanted to sip something without caffeine, and this sounded good. And it is. Rating as 78 and recommended.

Sipdown

First sip down in August (July sip downs coming soon)! It’s colder out today but I wanted an iced tea. This is a lovely blend – orange cream & herbs – which works well iced. I didn’t take any notes on the first cup (hot), so I can’t say whether it holds up hot or not.

Maple Creme Oolong. Adagio.
Lot no. 85415. FB: n/a.
This works better as a potpourri than as a beverage. I find nothing in it I like. Even the base oolong offers me naught but twiggy blandness. Not recommended, and rating it a 15 (because the water tasted better before the tea was steeped!)

Golden Monkey. Adagio.
Lot no. 92816. BB: 12/2029.
As directed, Western style, 2 g dry leaf with notes of cocoa on the nose, in boiling alpine spring water, using a stainless micropore infusion basket. Infused tea aroma of stewed malt and cocoa powder. Tea had flavor notes of roasted grain, vegetable broth and, oddly, keemun black tea. But nothing particularly delicious. There are many better blacks out there, including Lipton’s tea bags. Too indifferent to recommend; rate as 55.

FLASH-ICED PREP: I steeped the rest of my pouch and then flash-iced it, with a yellow pack of sweetener, because it’s another hot day and caffeine would be uncomfortable. Unfortunately the flavors in this blend are much less impressive when cold, compared to yesterday’s infusion. The flavors all returned as my cup warmed to ambient, and in the finish in my mouth. So I recommend this only for hot/warm sipping.

Green Rooibos Blueberry. Adagio.
Lot no. 85440. FB: n/a.
Went into this with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised! I used 1 tsp dry herb (1.5g) which amounted to exactly half the portions pouch, in 8 oz boiling water, as directed, except I got distracted and it went on for 10 min. But they say you can’t oversteep rooibos, and I guess I agree. The blueberry was close enough to real-tasting to satisfy me, and the green rooibos gave it a nice depth, fruitiness and sweetness. The hibiscus and cranberries were subdued enough to stay in the background. I would call this a real win for Adagio, and has utterly removed my anti-rooibos bias. Recommended and rating it 85.

Green Rooibos Citron. Adagio.
Lot No. 86163. FB 03/2029.
My first impression upon opening the sample pouch of this was “lemon pledge” furniture polish, which is another way of describing lemon verbena. Yet there is no lemon verbena in this, and no full lemon, either— just lemon flavoring! Well it is potent to the nose. Fortunately, steeping (as directed) tempers down that lemony flavor a skosh, and allows me to appreciate the actual orange content, as notes of juiciness. The background green rooibos was indiscernible to me, which was probably a good thing. Yet something else was rounding out the sweetness and flavor profile, which must have been the apricot and mango content. Subtle, but there. Yeah I liked this, but still wish they’d turned down the lemon flavor a few notches. It might have been better if replaced by bergamot, but maybe that is another blend. The lemon dominates the long finish, and so I’m torn. I don’t want to praise nor impugn this. It is a very well done lemon, I just don’t care for that. I’ll rate this a 60 for now, and see if it grows on me when iced, during my next encounter.