Adagio Teas

Well…
A good, smooth brew, yes. Water has a nice color, much more brown than most greens, and the flavor is a bit roasty. A nice tea to suit a taste that you might have, so a good tea to keep around. Hardly vegetal tasting, and the flavor isn’t too bold or mild.

Now for the kicker:
I compared this to a Bilouchun I bought at Mountain View Tea Village, a Bay Area store that I’m pretty sure is independently-owned by a Taiwanese family. The tea I got there was competition grade – I believe it placed first.

So how does it match up?
When compared, there’s a notable lack of nuance and delicacy. The Adagio tea seems to have a bolder leaf, keeping a good flavor in a broader temperature range. The competition-grade leaf, however, has a much narrower range of acceptable temperature – but, with that narrowness comes quality.
The flavor, truly, is rather different. They’re in the same realm of course, and a less discriminate tongue could probably find them pretty identical. The differences are really in line with the general comparisons that can be made between mediocre and quality tea. As I’ve mentioned, the delicacy, nuance, character, etc.

When it comes to the leaves, there’s an immediate visual difference. The Adagio leaves are a much lighter green before and after brewing, and I noticed there’s a lot of broken leaf, as well as a few stems. The comp. grade leaves have a much deeper hue, and are composed only of while leaf and there are no stems. As for smell… no comparison. the competition tea is very fragrant, rich and characteristic, while I find the adagio to be a bit light and generic-smelling.

This has been a bit of a beat-up on Adagio’s Pi Lo Chun, but keep in mind the scales were immediately tipped against it. As a basic tea, I enjoyed it, really. I’d say, though, if you really enjoy this tea, and you have the money, give the quality stuff a shot – you’ll be pleased by this tea at its finest.

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.

A delicious berry tea with bold flavor and beautiful color. Even the kids like this one.

It took me several cups to really like this, but like it I do, it is soothing and refreshing. Now this is a staple in my tea pantry.

Today I’m getting hints of peach in the aroma (both of the leaves, and from the tea) as well as in the flavor. This is a very interesting tea, as it has a sweetness to it, but also a mossy/earthy flavor that balances that sweetness. The result is a complex flavor that unfolds with each sip, as well as while the tea cools. Good stuff!

This tea has a flowery sweetness upfront and a honey finish that is accented by just a touch of bitterness that lingers on your tongue. It’s not an especially aromatic tea, though the leaves do have a kind of woodsy, cinnamony smell to them that is pleasant but subtle.

The tea I got had been steeping for a while, so it has a bitter taste that doesn’t compliment the flavor. Will give this one another try.

Yet another sample that is now gone. This one is a perfect example of how I end up with tons of little bits of teas left… when they go away, they make me sad. Flavorful and smooth, it’s not got a heavy mouth feel or much thick feeling to it. I will miss it greatly. Must order.

Thanks to Lena for sharing some of this! I’ve had this before, but it was right when I first started drinking tea and I didn’t appreciated it so I’m glad to have a chance to try this again now that I like Yunnan.

Teance’s Yunnan Gold is the only Yunnan I’ve had recently but I think this one is a little better. It’s still smooth and tastes (what I think of as) peppery. But I think the overall taste of this one is richer than Teance’s version by a hair. I might break out some of the other stuff later today to test for sure.

Very tasty! This tea has a fantastic coconut flavor, and it’s the flavor of real coconut, not a super-sweet fake flavor. I agree with the other reviewer that it makes a delightful dessert tea.

I like this tea. It’s a little bit tart, with the just the right amount of fruit to balance the black tea. Refreshing in the afternoons, for sure.

kind of boring. its nice for an anytime tea. my fiancée LOVES this i just bought him a large tin today

had a gigantic cup of this while doing my photography project. taking 36 pictures of the same thing is killing me lolz

i had to have a cup of this this afternoon. as always it did not disappoint! :) i dont have much to say other than i love this tea :p

i will be editing this post with my re-steep i plan on doing so stay tuned :) (i know i said i wouldn’t but check my gingerbread review and you will see why)
everything about this tea is amazing! b4 i head over to my parents tomarrow for our family christmas party i may try this shaken with ice! the smell of this tea alone is enough to get my mouth watering like crazy, only to realize it tastes almost the same as it smells!!
so im sitting here nursing some stitches and a bruised knuckle (darn snow shovel) and thought that strawberry would be perfect right now for the situation. i was right :) this tea never fails me if steeped right.
the color is a medium amber.

EDIT
re-steeped this and surprisingly enough it isnt bad, i re-steeped for 10 mins and theres no bitterness but i can tell its not the same, it lost some of its strawberry flavor and gained an extra sweetness. i enjoy this. :) maybe ill get brave enough to do a 3rd sometime soon.

i love this tea! its just so relaxing and makes me feel like im drinking candy :) almost like a guilty pleasure. i tried it re-steeped…well it isnt bad, just not strong enough for me, it reminds me of watered down strawberry bath water, i drank it…i just dont plan on doing it again.
i over steeped this about 2 days ago and wow did i regret that! this is a very touchy tea 5 min steeping not a second longer or it will taste like your drinking bitter apple spray (its a training aid for pets you spray things you dont want them chewing on…unfortunately ive sprayed it in my face and know what it tastes like) but if you get it right WOW. this is a tea i keep coming back to over and over again!
time to get the travel mug set up and get ready for work!

another one of my favourites this one is amazing iced.

backlogging :)

<3 well i havent been doing as much lurking because ive been doing research on betta fish because i have a 10gallon tank and wanted more than 1. i knew you could put females together but i read that you need 4 or more in a 10 gallon so no1 gangs up on another 1 :p because i felt my brian was fried from reading about fish i wanted something good and easy for my fiancee to make me. :D this is an all time back up! i LOVE this tea i swear every time i drink it i get reminded of how much i enjoy this

:D another cup today! it is very late but luckly for me i have a very high tolerance for caffeine and will more than likely doze off to sleep without a problem. oddly enough my consumption of tea has increased and i seem to be sleeping more soundly at night (im weird lol) i really like how much the blueberry flavor comes through with this tea and the fact that i LOVE blueberries helps too :D

so i have a head cold thats so weird and is messing with my mind (i seriously thought today was Wednesday) anyway. to comfort myself i decided on one of my favs! <3 the color is a nice amber, the scent is blueberries and it tastes amazing :) LOVE this!

i LOVE this, maybe too much :p i got distracted and this cooled down ALOT as in its now cold. its still delicious! the color is such a nice pale golden brown and smells like dried blueberries…more please!