1220 Tasting Notes
I bought this from ZenTea’s shop, so it just says “organic Darjeeling,” but on their site it looks to be “Darjeeling Avongrove (organic)” so now I have at least some idea more of the tea. (Although not much since the description just talks about the different kinds of Darjeeling and not about this tea itself. Agh. I should have asked but I had been there to brainstorm and I was too excited by my idea.)
I’m guessing it’s a second flush, because I’ve seen the liquor of first flush Darjeelings and this is much darker, and that Muscat grape flavor is really, really there. This tastes more like grape than teas I’ve had with grapes in them and it’s creeping me out…in a good way.
I cannot believe some teahouse in Atlanta has this tea. I have been dying to try some, so while on my way out of town for Thanksgiving, I stopped over for some.
I am glad I got it. This stuff is amazing. It’s so light yet there’s this amazing creamy aftertaste. This is definitely going to be a splurge tea, it’s a good thing that I don’t live too close because when I run out I’ll probably immediately want more.
Preparation
Look how cute this tea is. Not only does it have snowflake sprinkles it has dragées! So pretty.
Additionally it has chunks of marzipan and slivers of almond. The liquor smells just like marzipan, I can even smell the sweetness.
It even really tastes like marzipan, but as a bonus it isn’t as sweet as it smells. It’s just slightly got a medicinal taste, put I imagine if I steeped it a bit shorter that would be gone. Doesn’t bother me since I love rooibos, but the sweet almond flavor kind of brings it out a bit more.
Preparation
Yay for nearby companies with awesome tea! I wanted so many of the seasonal holiday teas that Georgia Tea Company has. I figured this would be the best one to have first since it’s more fall than winter. The dry leaf smells like Halloween candy in the bag, you know, when it’s all together in there. Seriously reminded me of sticking my head in my bag of candy looking for what to eat first when I was a kid. Kind of awesome to get such a memory back from tea before even drinking it!
It’s a pumpkin spice tea. I thought I wasn’t a fan of pumpkin drinks, but I tried pumpkin spice coffee and loved it, so it was only natural to then go to tea. It’s a nice flavor, not overpowering, which is how I like it. There’s a bit of nutmeg and cinnamon, and just a little sweetness and even citrusy notes. It’s so awesome. This is totally how you do it if you’re going to add hibiscus to something.
There are of course sprinkles in this tea, which is an automatic winner in my eyes. And the name is awesome.
I cannot wait to try more of the teas I ordered. I will not drive down the interstate and raid your warehouse, Georgia Tea Company. I swear.
I love this. The first steeping was really earthy, and really light. Second time around, it became very fruity and a bit floral, with a lot more depth. I hope to have a chance for a third steeping before I have to go out for the rest of the day!
It has not been bitter for me either time around…so far. First steeping was 4 minutes, second I kind of lost track but think it was around 5 1/2 minutes. More more more!
All I really want to say is omg.
This is amazing. I love it. It’s just the right amount of sweetness, it’s got a great raspberry flavor, and HOW does it taste like tart cream cheese in my tea?! Fruity, tart, and creamy, and the honeybush is just the right sweetener it needs, at least for me.
I am actually getting hungry for a danish from the aftertaste that’s lingering in my mouth.
Preparation
This is interesting. I made enough to be able to taste a bit hot, and then have a glass of it iced later. I wasn’t really a fan of it as a hot tea. Something about a cola flavor being hot just messes with my brain.
But iced, it’s good. I added a splash of club soda and a pinch of vanilla sugar and now it is even better. I didn’t get much vanilla, but I get cherry followed up by taste of cola. I don’t think I put enough vanilla sugar in for it to really make a difference and bring out the vanilla flavor, but I am definitely going to experiment with this a lot as an iced tea. It’s very unique.
I know the feeling! I once had a root beer flavored rooibos tea. Drinking hot root beer flavor messed with my brain too. I tried to enjoy it, but it was just too much. However when iced it was fantastic.
I added a splash of cola to it when I made it iced. I liked it. But I agree I need to experiment more with it as an iced tea too.
I love blood oranges. I love tea. Teavana’s Tarocco Ruby Orange is one of their only teas that doesn’t disappoint me. I prefer that one to this one, hands down, in an herbal blood orange tea battle.
This just tastes sour. Nothing else. It smells so good, but it just doesn’t deliver. Oh and when it was first brewed it REALLY smelled like cereal, which creeped me out. I might give it another try and steep it a minute or so longer, or maybe use a bit more. I used a half tablespoon, knowing that Adagio recommends just one, which to me is not enough for a big chunky herbal.
My friend has not led me astray in all the other teas she gave me to try, so I hope I can work something out with this one, especially since it’s my favorite citrus fruit involved!
Preparation
I too don’t care for this one on its own. But blended with lemon or something (like my Vampire Lemonade!) it’s much, much better.
I’ve mixed the tarocco orange one with some kind of lemony tea before (strawberry lemonade I think) and that was good, especially iced. It’s hard to drink something straight tart like that on its own most of the time, but for some reason I can manage it with the other one, probably because the orange is more prevalent and not just TART TART TART.
A friend made sure I had some genmaicha after I told her I’d never had it. I’ve always been curious about it, and I figured I’d like it because I do enjoy other nutty flavored teas. It did not disappoint, I love it.
It’s very different, and I can see how it wouldn’t be someone’s cup of tea (hurr hurr pun intended). It’s just like cereal meets green tea in a beautifully unique way. It’s got that slightly grassy taste of green tea with the very different flavor of popped rice and corn. Almost smells like toasted seaweed, which I love, so all around I really enjoy this and when I run out of what I was sent, I’m definitely getting more.
When I did a second steeping, I liked the toasty flavor even better.