Kai Hua Crescendo

Very nice, especially because I don’t usually go for the greens. Good vegetal flavor, not too grassy/earthy or bitter. Light and airy with a touch of sweetness. The brew is surprisingly light in color, just a hint of green (unless you let it sit in the pot too long :) ). I think you green and non-green lovers might like this one.

I’ve got to agree with everyone that’s put this tea experience in between a green and white. I was actually tempted to steep it longer than 3 minutes because it was so pale in color, but it does just fine here. I really wasn’t in the mood for any of the many flavored teas in my stash, and I’m really glad I chose this instead. It’s so slightly sweet, with a very pleasant buttery greenness to it, but it’s lighter and not as drying as I’ve found most of my greens to be. A very enjoyable, comforting Sunday night cuppa.

Meet the stronger, bolder and more sophisticated cousin of Adagio’s Green Needle.

Both teas seem pretty similar with pleasant bitterness and refreshing taste, Green Needle being cheaper though. Kai Hua Crescendo tastes more refined, has more pronounced flowery notes mixed with stronger bitterness. I don’t have any Green Needle left to compare them side-by-side but I do remember it being woodier and spicier than this one.

Overall I like Kai Hua Crescendo a little better but would definitely repurchase both of them in the future.

Photo-report: http://tiny.cc/CHqng

I wrote down my notes of this tea and then went back through to see what others said in their reviews. I’m wondering if I’m even drinking the same tea here. This is one of those teas I got as a sample and the package certainly says Kai Hua Cresendo from Adagio. The leaves are a brownish green, and like long needles. To me it smells very light, predominantly of straw with a hint of pepper. The wet leaves smell like malty straw, like it’s from the Darjeeling area, but when I go to the Adagio site it says it’s from China. So, I think maybe it’s just the smell. After all tea doesn’t always taste like it smells. So, I take a sip and my first thought is I didn’t add enough leaves, it tastes very watered down. Then I taste the malty straw and have a slight pepper aftertaste. This definitely tastes like it was grown in the Darjeeling area, it has to be, but the website says no that it’s grown in Zhejiang, China. It certainly doesn’t taste like it to me.

To me, this tea tastes somewhere between a green tea and a white tea. Flavor is less mellow than a white, but not as vegetal as a green. It brews up a yellowish color, like watered-down apple juice. Tastes sweet, and slightly floral. I probably steeped it a little too long, but what else is new…?

Helped me get through my work day (with some gunpowder tea). Not a tremendously full-bodied tea, but that isn’t all that unusual for a green tea.

One thing I like about this one: Its hard to mess up, unlike some other greens I’ve tried.

I have some teas I keep at home, and some (mostly green) I use at work. Mostly the work ones are ones that are hard to oversteep, in case I get distracted and forget to stop steeping them or that are getting towards the end of the supply and that I won’t use at home much any more. This one fits both bills, as this cup was the last of my supply.

Argh. Oversteeped it. Non-committal rating until I prepare it right.

Prepared in Adagio IngenuiTEA teapot.

A green (veggie) green. Not sweet, but not astringent either.

A real light, delicate flavored tea.

Very delicate in smell, sight and taste, but with a nice full mouth feel. I added about 2 drops of lemon juice and that brought out a bit more flavor in the nutty/floral department.

hm. I usually love this stuff, but I think I oversteeped it today.

A light tea. I agree with comparisons that suggest it taste like a cross between a white tea and a green tea. Solid.

Pretty good. Flavors are just subtle enough.

This I’s green tea. And the green leaves a a fair sized. I’t smells slightly like green tea also. I steeped I’t a really short time. The taste a light not heavy or overly strong green tea. I’t luckily I’s not grassy to me also. Being a got this from a buddy and green tea I’s usually drank by me when I’t has fruit in I’t. This I’s really drinkable but not going to become a favorite.

Very light taste. Very light color too. At first anyways. Color and taste got deeper (darker color, stronger taste) over time, after steeping. Very interesting.