LP

I just received a sampler in the mail a few weeks ago and tried it over the weekend. Hot, I found it to be fresh and crisp, a good green tea but not necessarily anything special. Iced though, it is really great! I might have to buy some soon…

No notes yet.

I worked with some Argentinians who introduced me to mate. I’d only ever tried it in the mixed versions they have in the US (teavana often has it included in their samplers, like white tea + mate, so grossssss) and have always had a strong aversion to it. Turns out when made on its own, its delicious! I bought a mini starter set with this tea (actually the version with stems) and a mini gourd and bombilla, and love it! I have never had straight mate in bag form or made like a normal tea, so I have no option for those options. For the traditional packed gourd/bombilla style of drinking mate, I’ve only so far made it straight, but will be trying it with honey in the near future. I’m still learning about mate so I’m going to give it a rating with room for improvement, but so far so good!

Say what you want, but this is still what I often think about when I think of “standard” black tea. Sure, there isn’t anything that special about it, but I wouldn’t say it’s bad. There is a certain advantage to being able to enjoy a cup of cheap lipton, because I can buy a box of 100 bags for a few bucks and at least know I can have tea whenever I want, which helps keep me away from other caffeine sources. A perfect “focus on your work” tea companion that keeps you warm and caffeinated, but doesn’t take up your attention.

I used to dislike chai, but I got used to it (even started craving it!) from this specific indian restaurant in Berkeley, CA. After moving I went on a hunt for that perfect chai blend, and this tea is the closest I got. Nowadays I’ve actually switched to making my own chai (very easy with a few basic spices, tons of recipe variations online) using some loose-leaf assam tea, but this is a decent bagged chai that I like to have at work. Its great with milk, and I tend to avoid adding sweeteners but its good with a bit of sugar too. My favorite part is that it is still pretty good without any additives either, so very convenient for away-from-home.

delicious, perfect, daily oolong. Definitely my favorite Adagio purchase so far.

As I was taught by a wonderful eccentric tea lady in my hometown, I usually steep oolongs for about a 1 min for the first time and make sure to take the tea out, then resteep at 1.30-2min for the second, 2.30-3min for the third, and you can definitely do that with this tea as well. One solid serving of loose-lease keeps me going for most of my evening. And definitely no milk or sweeteners needed!

I am a huge licorice fan so to find this taste in a tea is excellent and makes it an automatic favorite for me. Because I really want to get that taste out I prefer this tea steeped for several minutes, and it doesn’t taste as strong if you re-use the tea bag a second time (as I often do at work) so that brings my rating down a bit. I agree with the other notes that the mint isn’t a strong component, but its hard to say without a direct comparison to their non-mint version. I’ll definitely try that one as well. This tea is definitely flavorful enough on its own that you shouldn’t need any milk or sweeteners.

Although I prefer loose-leaf, this is a great tea for making a quick steep at work. I love the strong taste that lingers with you even after you’re done drinking it.

It smells amazing, and you can really tell the cassis and blueberry. Unfortunately, it doesn’t hold the taste nearly as well as the smell. Still good, but a bit disappointing against the smell.

This tea is delicious, especially for sore throats. Its like drinking honey cough drops, but its not over-the-top.