Gunpowder

I’m usually never in the mood to drink gunpowder. In the tin, it smells a little like animal dung and in the cup it tastes like tobacco. Maybe I’m doing something wrong, or maybe I just haven’t found the right occasion for it yet. Any suggestions?

First Review. Thank you Emilie for this big sample of Gunpowder Tea! I’ve been off at St. Spyridons which had an added luncheon celebration after Liturgy for Greek Independance Day! A reminder that it’s time to sign up for the lamb on a spit dinner served on Pascha (Easter)! Double yum! Feasting after the Fasting! So, getting home later than usual in the afternoon, it was time to choose a tea to try out and I was tea thirsty! What to try?
Gunpower seemed like an interesting name for tea and I wanted to taste it to see if the name had anything to do with the taste. Smoke in those little green bullits? I set the water temp to 175 and steeped 3min. before pouring. The liquor is light canary yellow and smells a bit vegital, sour but not smoky. Took a sip. Medium light smoke, a little bitterness and a mildly salty finish. I’m not sure about how I like this. Looking up other reviews it seems that others enjoy 2nd or 3rd steepings more than the 1st so I’ll try that and see what unfolds.
2nd Steep Ok this is much better! Milder and no bitterness even after 4 min. steep.
Very low on the smokiness. I have to be honest in saying that unless you love really subtle tea this is NOT for you and it’s NOT for me I must say. Maybe if I was feeling poorly though. Color is good and taste not very complex. Bit of paper or cardboard finish. Oh and as for mint…well, I grow 6 kinds of mint and I do not think they add mint that can be detected! It’s hard to HIDE mint (if you know what I mean).

Desperately needed something for chapped lips and cold hands. My choices are limited these days. I accidentally spilt all my Earl Grey. The Yunnan Noir is past it’s due date. I’m not in the mood for Jasmine tea. Blood Orange tea is too sour for right now. The others were all samples and have been summarily drank. That’s really okay, because Gunpowder shines in moments like these.

I’m going to break a precedent and try and analyze Gunpowder’s character. The liquor is Orange-Red. Smells like good tobacco, smoked herbs and orange peels. It has a thirsty smoke taste. The slight vegetable notes that you can catch are very dry. It feels fantastic on chapped lips, I can tell you that. Has almost a scotchy taste. Yep, yep, that’s it, I’m done. I’m comparing it to scotch… And you have to understand that this cup of tea is so perfect right now, that I really don’t care. Regards.

I think I finally nailed the amount and length on this. I was VERY happy with this attempt. So-much-so that I am raising my rating for it a tad.

Made tea and mom wanted some so I had to make something I knew she’d like.

The rolled leaves in the Adagio brand seems smaller than in the Moroccan Mints that I’ve had… or maybe it’s because it’s been so long since I’ve had it.

This is the 1st time I’ve had gunpowder straight, not in Moroccan Mint. In the tin, the leaves smell kinda like cow dung from a cow that recently ate a LOT of grass thrown into a camp fire. It does have a very slight aroma of a pu erh, but yet grassy like a green tea and smokey like lapsang souchong.

I steeped 2.25 grams of leaves for 3 min in purified water heated to 175 degrees F. The liquor is a medium yellow which is more yellowish than I expected. The aroma is exactly what it smelled like in the tin.

When I taste it, I’m not suprised. It tasted exactly like it smelled both in the tin and after steeping. There is a lapsang souchong-esk taste to it, but that is soon enveloped by a grassy taste and finally a smokey flavor. But the smokey flavor isn’t the same in a lapsang souchong, it tasts more like cigar ashes had dropped into it.

Ran with the Gunpowder today and added a little Citron Sonata…that is what I do with pretty much everything now….add the Sonata.

The leaves (I love the shape by the way) smelled smoky and buttery and herby all at once. Nothing in your face, just a really nice green tea scent.
The leaves unfolded so beautifully when I brewed this! I love it when tea is visually appealing as well. The surprise of the little balls unfurling into pennants was delightful :)
The liqueur smells like caramel! I was so surprised by that. It has notes of brown sugar as well. It also smells like warm toast. I love buttered toast-like green tea!

Right before I could taste this I noticed a flea on my dachshund. I freaked out and sprayed him down with enough clove oil flea treatment to drown the bloodsuckers.
Consequently, I had to wait around 20 minutes for the clove scent to leave my nose. Note that my tasting might be affected by this!

Okay, finally getting to taste this!

The scent as I sip it is very present and wonderful. The initial flavor is kind of boring – the slightly metallic generic “green tea” flavour.
The immediate aftertaste was the nice toast flavor. Maybe slightly burnt toast. Not too bad. The lingering aftertaste is more like the initial flavor but with some sweetness. It’s almost sweet in the way artichokes are sweet on my tongue.

I made a cup for my sister too and she thought it tasted burnt, but in a good way.
The more I drink this, the more I decide I like it – Not bad, and certainly interesting enough!

ETA: I did a second steeping of the leaves, same temperature and time.
Wow – the scent really improved this time. I swear, it smells just like caramels. Magical caramels that you would eat on a rainy day in one of the forgotten rooms from The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. Seriously. It’s that good.
The flavor is more astringent than before and a little sharply herby. The liquour is still really nice and thick.
The aftertaste is really nice though. It goes back to the caramels. There is a seriously sweet flavour that just keeps lingering on my tongue, and again, the artichoke kind of sweetness at the back of my throat. The actual drinking of the tea is a mediocre flavor but the tastes/scents before and after make it absolutely worth it.

When I steeped this tea I wasn’t expecting something that I would love. The fact that everyone talked about its smokiness kind of turned me away from it. But I went in with an open mind, and, sure enough, the taste is actually pretty satisfying. The hint of smokey flavor adds to the body of the tea and leaves an interesting aftertaste that I can’t really describe. I think I nailed the temperature on this steep. Overall, a decent green tea.

I made a cup of this tea at work tonight, and it very much reminded me of miso soup. Then I wanted some miso soup. So I stopped by the grocery store and picked up a few packets, and when I got home started up the kettle to heat some water. Now, the instructions say to put the miso mix in a bowl or large mug (I opted for bowl), and add one cup of boiling water. So I measured the water in a measuring cup, and then proceeded to pour the water into the bowl, towards myself. Which was a very bad idea because it spilled right onto my stomach, and I now have 2nd degree burns. And a trip to the ER. All because of the tea, that I would still, even now, recommend. I guess I did inadvertently get burned from the gunpowder.

Still a noob, so this is the only Gunpowder I’ve tried. There are others I want to sample, but I’m happy with this one right now. Really happy.

I was warned about Gunpowder by my sister — too late. I had already ordered it. So I had this whole approach/avoidance thing going in my head when it arrived. Never fear. It became one of my faves from the first cup.

I get three infusions out of my Gunpowder, each one different. The first steep (3 mins.) renders a brash brew with a bit of bitterness and nice complexity. The second infusion (5 mins.) is my favorite. The bitterness is greatly reduced and the flavor is rich and mellow. The third infusion (7-10 mins.) is well worth hanging around for. The long infusion time is necessary to coax the last bit of flavor from the leaves. Round three is mild and tasty.

The thing I like best about this tea is the incredibly sweet after taste. It lingers long after the last sip is drained from the cup. Gunpowder afterglow. It keeps me coming back for more.

The other thing I like about Adagio Gunpowder is that it is the cheapest tea in my cupboard. Dirty dirt cheap. It’s almost like drinking for free.

And did I mention good?