Bethany

Another one from the “drink it up” pile. I didn’t go to bed til almost 2am and was up at 7, so I wanted something strong. I wish I had looked at the description of this before I picked it up. It’s a light Darjeeling, erring more on the floral and fruity side. Not what I’m in the mood for. This cup is more bitter than I expected it would be, and I’m not a Darjeeling fan anyway.

1 bag left in my first box, and a full second box. Still think that will not be nearly enough to last me until next Christmas. My grocery store, which had a full display a few weeks ago, is down to a few Sugar Plum Spices and Nutcracker Sweets, aka the teas no one likes in the holiday collection. And they weren’t even on deep discount yet! Blergh.

Another tea from my “drink it up” pile. I wish I could taste the honey in this more. It always tastes like plain old roasted oolong to me, with some very light floral and honey notes.

Left the bag in the entire time I’ve been drinking, and it never gets bitter, just sweeter and sweeter. And with more matcha taste!

This is a little too tart to have a true raspberry flavor; I was hoping for something a bit thicker and more jammy, something with the sweetness of a real red raspberry. It’s not a fake raspberry taste, but it’s not great, either. I’d like to try combining this with Adagio’s Cream and see what happens.

If that doesn’t work, this is going in the “to swap” pile.

By the way, Cofftea, I have a running list going of whole or near-whole 1 oz Adagio samples I’d like to swap – I’ll type up and send tonight!

Has a slightly sweet and sour flavor, as well as a lot of grassiness. This was in my “drink it up” pile. Tasty.

Wanted to compare this to the Casablanca Twist I had earlier today, and there’s really not a huge difference. The only thing that’s lacking is that slight earthy flavor from the Darjeeling in Casablanca Twist. I think I prefer this.

I love smoky teas, so of course, I quite like this.

Never realized that there was Darjeeling in this – I guess that accounts for the earthy, vegetal, almost buttery flavor that I’m getting. I remember loving this when I first tried it, and I’m not quite as impressed now, but it’s still very good.

I agree with previous reviewers that this definitely has more of a bitter almond rather than a sweet almond taste, which is fine by me. I am a big almond junkie, so this was one of the first teas I ever ordered from Adagio. This pot means I’ve finished the tin … but I also have another sample-sized tin that I bought when I realized I was close to running out.

This isn’t amazing or astonishing, but it does taste like a bitter almond cookie and it’s a good comfort tea for cold snowy days like today.

I remember liking this more when I tried it last than I do now. Maybe I didn’t use enough in my teapot, because it’s a lot weaker than I remember. Before it was very bright and flavorful, with a taste of strawberry jam. Now it’s just weak with a hint of strawberry. Hm.

Got a hankering for this. I need something good while I clean out my tea cabinet. I just went through all of my Adagio sample tins and made keep, trade, and drink more piles. “Drink more” are teas that I seem to remember liking at one point but have only drank once or twice OR teas that are almost done and I want to finish.

I have a lot of tea drinking to do!

Like a lighter version of genmaicha. I’m a big genmaicha fan, but I might even like this a bit more. It has the same toasty, nutty flavor without being overpowering like some genmaichas can be. Yum!

Being lazy; don’t feel like making a new record for what I’m actually having, a Gingerbread Chai. I used to live right across the street from this Argo Tea, but I’ve since moved, so I always have to stop by when I’m in the neighborhood. It’s great that Chicago has a chain of tea shops like this, though most of their teas are sugared and milked within an inch of their lives. I’ve never tried any of their loose leafs available for purchase.

This one is really hitting the spot today. I didn’t have any tea yesterday because I was.. hurting from the previous night’s celebrations, so it feels good to have a cup. Valentines is one of the first teas I really loved from Adagio, or anywhere. Not too sweet but definitely has that taste of chocolate-covered strawberries.

Yeah, I’m being boring today. I wasn’t really in the mood for tea, but I wanted something hot, and remembered how delicious this was yesterday. Guess what? Still tasty.

I like this a lot more than when I made it at work; maybe water temperature had something to do with the odd flavors that I got last time. This time it’s a bit more straightforward: definitely tasting the dates first and foremost, with a hint of creamy vanilla. No coconut, though, which is sad and odd considering there are huge flakes of it in the sample I have.

I love love love Adagio’s Silver Needle, so I was excited to try this. Turns out, I like Adagio’s better. This has the same very silky mouthfeel, but it’s a lot lighter, crisper, and less sweet. Most importantly, it really lacks the buttery flavor of Adagio’s, which is my favorite part about it. It’s good of its own accord, but in Battle Silver Needle, Adagio’s wins for me.

Oh, you know. Awesome blah blah blah.

Mmm, so minty and creamy. Glad I bought two more boxes of this stuff. Do these Christmas teas go on clearance soon?

Upping the rating on this, because I’ve been really into coconut lately, as evidenced by my love of Mighty Leaf’s Orchid Oolong. Maybe it’s the bitterly cold weather. Steepsterites, what are your favorite coconut teas? I already love this, Orchid Oolong, and Adagio’s Coconut Pouchong. I’ve heard GM’s Coconut Pouchong is amazing.

Also, I have a 4-day weekend coming up, and I think I’m going to use some of it to clean out my tea cabinet and get rid of things I never drink. Anyone interested in a trade or two?

Very good, basic black. I like this a lot better than Adagio’s Irish Breakfast, which is odd, since I typically prefer my black teas stronger than this. The hint of smokiness from the Keemun is really nice. It’s inoffensive and not too exciting, but good.

Steeped a bit longer than usual today, and the green tea flavor has come out a lot more. The tropical flavors have been relegated to the background. Not sure if I like or dislike this development.

This taste more and more caramelly every time I drink it. Could I be hallucinating caramel where there is no caramel tastes? Seriously, this is now tasting like biting into a pure caramel candy to me. It’s almost making my teeth hurt it’s so sweet. Maybe I’m just going insane.

By the way, once again, I must praise Adagio’s customer service. Best in the tea biz. With a simple e-mail, they let my mom transfer the Frequent Cups points she earned when she bought my utiliTEA to my account. And they replied and did it in under an hour. Awesome.

Now I have $13 to spend at Adagio! Have no clue what I’m going to get.