Tabby

I’ll admit right now I have a weakness for this stuff. Where I work, we make a drink called a Lightning Bug that is based on this tea vodka, and it’s amazing. Anyway, I haven’t tried any of the other flavors, but I aim to soon. The raspberry and peach intrigue me the most.

This tastes just like sweet tea with lemon, but with the burn of vodka. I did a shot and I think it’s too sweet for that. Right now I have it in a lowball glass, mixed with Minute Maid Citrus Punch. It’s delicious. <3

I forgot I had this! I’ve been delving deep into my tea stash, trying to burn through it so I can justify buying more sometime soon. I plan to be giving a lot of my money to Arbor Teas and Adagio, especially.

This tea was originally created on my account by Jeff Van Wie, before he had an account with Adagio of his own. Anyway, it’s a green/white/fruit blend, and the liquor brews up to a pleasant yellowy green. The leaves smell so sweet in the tin, almost minty, but mostly fruity from the dried blueberries.

The taste is light and clean, much like a white tea but with a hint of green tea flavor behind it. It’s mild and refreshing, and would be good right before bed, or when you’re in need of a gentle tea first thing in the morning. I’m not entirely sure what “spiced” indicates in the Spiced Green, but I can definitely taste it. I just can’t put my finger on what it is. There is also a hint of mint in the flavor as well. The blueberry taste could be stronger, but it’s good in the aftertaste either way. In short, I really enjoy this tea.

And that’s the end of that. My last pot, served with sugar and a splash of French vanilla cream. Topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Does anyone know if Adagio’s tea tins are dishwasher safe?

Made another pot of this tonight. I’m going to miss this sample when it’s gone!

We’re having our first truly cold night of fall here in Atlanta. I volunteered to make a pot of tea for my friend and brother, and my friend suggested I make something that would be good for a sore throat. This tea immediately came to mind. I served it with a little sugar and a good dollop of honey. It’s wonderful and soothing.

I know, I put honey in everything!

Alright, Organic Special Grade, take two.

This time I’ve steeped it for seven minutes. Last time it was just a tad too mellow for my tastes, so this time I decided to experiment. (Especially since a friend told me I could just let it go for as long as I wanted.) It brewed up incredibly dark as usual, and everything the leaves touch turns dark amber.

I also added sugar and honey, a tablespoon of each. And this is so good. The extra two minutes have made a great difference. It is still not bitter in any way, but the flavor has strengthened. It’s so incredibly smooth and sort of buttery. It does dry the mouth out a little, though. And it does definitely taste roasted and earthy. I might have to add this to my shopping list…

Upped the rating. And I will see what happens at nine minutes eventually. :D

Had this again, brewed strong and blended with just a little French Vanilla Coffeemate. It’s so good like this. I added a small amount of sugar and extra cinnamon as well.

Sadly, I can see the bottom of my tin. :(

My second pu-erh from Arbor Teas! This one didn’t brew up as dark and coffeelike as the Ancient Palace, but the taste is very similar.

The tea leaves smell stronger, however. I steeped mine at a little over 5 minutes, but next time I think I’ll try for longer. This infusion is delicious, don’t get me wrong, but I am in the mood for something very, very flavorful. It has that “aged” flavor that I described earlier with my first pu-erh, and it tastes just as smooth. It has a very soothing quality to it, and the flavor makes me feel sort of nostalgic for some reason, though I am still unfamiliar with these teas.

All in all, this is definitely worth trying and experimenting with. Which I will. And I’m sure these experiments will involve honey. Mmm. Off to work!

First of all, on the back of the packet, it says to only steep this for 1-2 minutes. Only 2 minutes for a black tea? I’m lost.

Anyway, I mostly grabbed this because I was in a hurry this morning and didn’t have time to prepare a loose-leaf tea. (But after a long night of drinking, I was craving tea as soon as I woke up.) Upon first sip, I was glad that I let it steep the normal amount of time.

It did get pretty strong, but the flavor is nice. It’s a keemun, I think, and just tastes like your standard breakfast tea. It’s good, but not really noteworthy. I wouldn’t turn it down, but if there was something else, I’d probably leave this one behind.

Backlogging from the day before yesterday. (I’ve been a busy cat.) Made a pot of this to sip on all day, ended up sharing a lot of it with my brother. Just as good as usual. Not amazing, but good.

I feel like I shouldn’t be the first one to review this tea, because in a minute, I am going to come off sounding like an enormous newbie. This is my first real pu-erh, as the cheap bagged chrysanthemum blend by Asian Taste I tried earlier doesn’t count. (Even though it was very tasty.)

Upon first sniff, I was a little intimidated. Not to be offensive, but this tea smells exactly like fish food to my inexperienced senses. As it brewed, I was stunned at how dark it became. I had never seen tea so black before, almost like coffee. It had a dark ambery red tint to it as well. I was so intrigued at this point. And the liquor itself lost the fishy scent.

For a tea this dark, I would never have expected it to be so smooth! It’s not bitter or sharp at all, and hardly astringent. It just tastes like mellow, good black tea. I really like it. It has a sort of taste in it that I can’t identify… it’s a sort of “aged” flavor that’s hard to describe. There’s also something in this that sort of reminds me of pekoe. Anyway, I think it’s great! And the caffeine content makes it a lot of fun. Honey would compliment it well, I think. EDIT: I think I’ve tasted something like this before in a bottled Thai tea.

I was a little wary of this tea, mostly because I’ve tried a mint tea before and was appalled. But when I saw it on the sample list, I decided to go for it anyway. I love the taste of spearmint, so I figured I would try it again. (This time from a reputable source…)

I’m very glad I did. This tea is milder than I expected, but in a good way. It’s not overpowering at all, as I was sort of expecting to be hit by it like a stick of 5 gum. No, this is smooth and fresh tasting, almost as if there was fresh mint used instead of dried. The gunpowder green tea’s taste itself is overshadowed by the mint, but I don’t mind. It’s especially soothing since I’ve had a sore throat all day. It was nice coming home from working a double to a cup of this on the couch.

It leaves a very clean feeling in the mouth, sort of like the feeling after brushing your teeth. Again, another winner from Arbor Teas’ Fair Trade department. I could see myself keeping this around for when I want a cup before bed.

I’m not usually a huge fan of white teas… well, at least until now I wasn’t. I’ve had some negative experiences with it in the past, but this tea sort of pushes all that away.

Upon first look, this is a beautiful tea. I don’t think the picture does it justice. The brilliant red-orange flower petals mixed with the silvery and green tea leaves compliment each other well. I steeped it by the book, exactly 180 degrees for three minutes flat. The liquor is a pale and clear yellow, as one would expect. And the smell of it brewing… like others have said, just like candy, but without the artificial qualities. It just smells deliciously of sweet fruit. Ever so pleasant.

The taste is very light and delicate, almost apple-like. It seems very clean and smooth to me, and has hardly any aftertaste aside from the pomegranate flavor. I can imagine this would be fantastic over ice. It is definitely going on my Shopping List. I have been very impressed with Arbor Teas since I’ve had the opportunity to sample them, and this tea was no exception.

Hello, old friend. I’ve been drinking this tea on and off for about five years now. I always come back to it. Been slowly making my way through a 1lb.-bag I acquired not long after Adagio stopped producing this for the east coast. It was my first loose leaf tea.

As usual, it’s a very potent Ceylon blend with tart plum and a hint of vanilla. Having it hot tonight. Is there a term for having cups of tea back to back, like “chain smoking”, only with tea? Because that’s what I have been doing today.

This tea comes across with a sort of fierce confidence compared to the calm, mellow darjeeling I tried earlier. The leaves are more tightly rolled and darker, almost black. The scent is sharper as well, and it has that distinct Ceylon signature.

Within seconds the water turned a deep reddish amber. I was impressed. This would be excellent on a cold morning, as the caffeine level feels pretty high. As usual, I added sugar to compliment the pleasant bitterness. I personally love Ceylon, so this was a real treat. It’s much better than any of the Ceylons I’ve tried from Adagio and other random places.

Also, I’d like to mention that not only is this tea certified organic, Fair Trade, and delicious, it comes in a compostable bag. Everything about this tea is biodegradable. I highly recommend it.

I’m celebrating Fair Trade Month early with my first darjeeling. Thank you, Taylor!

I knew I was going to like this tea the second I opened the bag and sniffed. It smelled so deliciously sweet and enticing, but dark. Like the woods in fall. The leaves don’t look like a traditional black I’m used to. They were a lighter brown, and had bits that remind me almost of a white tea mixed in.

I could hardly wait the five minutes I let it steep. The initial flavor is a cultured, smooth black tea with a hint of honey. It also has a sort of fruity zest to it, sort of lemony. There is no bitterness at all, and it is not astringent in the least. I can suddenly understand why people call darjeelings “the champagne of tea”.

This might be my mainstay black tea from now on.

Brewed this double-strong and used 1 part water, 1 part milk. Added sugar and topped with whipped cream. It’s almost like a chai latte this way. Should have sprinkled cinnamon on top of the cream… hmm.

I may have used water that was a tad too hot, but I like the outcome either way. It’s exactly like one might expect. Heavy on the lemon, light on the ginger, and even lighter on the herbal tea flavor. It brews up to a pleasant shade of yellow. The scent of the tea itself is almost purely ginger, but then again, I have a cold, so I’m sure a lot of subtlety is being lost on me. If I get a chance, I would like to try this again with honey or agave nectar.

I’ve noticed that a lot of us have been trying this tea when we’re sick. Hmm.

My friend gave me a bag of this when I left his place earlier. And, wow. This is exactly what I needed today. (I’ve caught a cold.)

I admit I can’t really taste the chrysanthemum, but the pu-erh’s flavor is amazing. It’s sweet and honeylike, and incredibly smooth. Completely non-astringent or bitter. It’s malty and I know this may sound strange, but buttery. In a good way. Like a warm honey-buttered croissant. It’s going amazingly with my intensely spicy Thai ramen.

I’m going to have to buy a box of this.

Alright, I changed my mind. After brewing a pitcher of it to have iced, I feel like I should add that it’s delicious cold. While the rooibos flavor seemed stronger when it was hot, it takes on a different and much more refreshing note when it’s cold. My brother and I went through the whole pitcher in one day. It’s sweet and summery, with a hint of something creamy in the aftertaste like vanilla.

I’ve upped the rating score just a little because of this. If you have this tea and haven’t tried it iced, I highly recommend that you do!

Also, I should note that though I mentioned before that this tea smells VERY strong when you open the package, it doesn’t describe what it’s like to make half a gallon at once. My entire apartment REEKED of blueberry. In fact, one of my roomies asked me if I was making muffins within the first minute steeping. I wonder if the neighbors could smell it, it was so strong!

Happy to have a cup of this again. This brand is what Celestial Seasonings wishes it was (and tries to make up for it with flashy packaging).

Slightly tangy, delicious blueberry flavor. Smooth in every way without that odd herbal tea aftertaste. Think the taste of blueberry yogurt without as much creaminess. It brews up a neat shade of dark pink as well, I assume from the dried blueberry content. Yum! Too bad they don’t have this flavor on black tea…

Of the three Republic Of Tea flavors I’ve tried in the past few days, this has been the best. The peach taste is not overwhelming, and it balances well with the black tea. The ginger is a little more subtle than I was hoping for, but it’s there, and it’s nice. It gives the tea a more satisfying finish and makes my mouth tingle a little.

Ginger is something sort of new to me in teas, so I’m still getting used to it, but in this case I like it. It reminds me of ginger ale. Like maybe some delicious ginger ale/tea/peach cocktail. I’d love to try this iced.

Alright, I seriously need to stop picking random teas I find in my grandparents’ cabinet. I have no idea how old this is, but judging by the smell, it’s not at its freshest. Also, I could find nothing about this tea or the manufacturer online, which is another bad sign. The image you see was taken on my digital camera for proof that it exists.

Surprisingly, I like it for what it is (cheap off-brand bagged tea). It reminds me a bit of Tazo’s “Awake”. It’s malty and smooth, not too astringent. There is a bit of a honey-like aftertaste that I really like. I added sugar, but I could imagine this would be good straight too. I’ll probably never see another bag of it, though, as I assume it came from a hotel breakfast or something similar…

I took it as a bad sign when I opened the little paper package and sniffed. There was no scent at all coming from this tea. As it brewed, dark and cloudy, there came a hint of aroma finally. It reminded me of the big tea brewer I used in my waitress days at a country club. I tried to keep my expectations positive, as I love Ceylon.

I added 2 teaspoons of sugar and tasted it. I mostly tasted sugar, with a bit of a Ceylon aftertaste at the end. It tastes cheap and mass-produced with lots of filler. Leaves a sour taste in my mouth and is pretty astringent. I do not recommend this unless it’s a last resort.

First of all, there is nothing “delicate” about the peach flavor in this tea. It’s peachy like a smack to the face. And by that, I mean peach candy, not the fruit. It reminds me of those orange gummy rings you find in gas stations. (Or Peach Nehi, which is pretty scarce these days.) Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing, since I like those things every once in a blue moon.

Anyway, it’s a black tea, so after a cup I’m caffeine buzzing. (I think my addiction to tea has a lot to do with the fact that I’m caffeine-sensitive and even one tall cup of Starbucks coffee sends me into jitter-fits where I can’t shut up.) See, I’m doing it now. But like I was saying, it’s a plain black tea, nothing spectacular. But it gets the job done.

This time I was wanting peach iced tea, so I brewed 8 bags of this and 3 or 4 teaspoons of Adagio’s English Breakfast to make sure it would be strong enough to make a gallon. That worked perfectly, and even came out pretty strong in the end. I eyeballed the sugar again and look forward to a big glass when it’s cold.