Anji Duet

Experience buying from Adagio http://steepster.com/places/2897-adagio-teas-online-naperville-illinois

Date of Purchase/Amount of Leaf: Bought a sample (11 grams) in late 2011, brewed up March 2012.

Appearance and Aroma of dry leaf: Similar to a H&S sample I had of Anji Baicha, but overall not as impressive looking: dark, pale-green color, otherwise somewhat standard looking (like pine needles); vegetal and somewhat spicy aroma, and not too fresh.

Brewing guidelines:Glass Bodum pot, leaf free to roam; stevia added; my standard Chinese-green tea steeping times and temperatures.

Aroma of tea liquor: very little.

Flavor of tea liquor: Pretty good for a green tea. To me, this style of tea tends to have somewhat of a white tea flavor profile, in that it is light, sweet, and pleasant (with a mild spicy note).

Appearance of leaf during and after steeping: The leaf basically stayed on top during the first steeping, then some of the leaves floated from bottom to top in the later steepings; it was fun to watch the animated-like forest scene. The wet leaf was somewhat pale looking, with a number of tiny pieces here and there, but it was mostly composed of whole leaves and bud sets; it may be a little old, but it’s clearly a quality pluck.

Aroma of wet leaf: good aroma.

Value: From what I have seen, Anji Baicha typically goes for anywhere from about $8/OZ – $20/OZ, and is one of the most expensive ‘recognizably named’ teas I have seen on the market (other than very high end Long Jing). This tea is $6 for 1 OZ, or $24 for 6 OZ ($4/OZ). Not bad for what this tea delivers: you get what you pay for.

Overall: I assume this is their version of Anji Baicha, a version of which was one of the best teas I have ever experienced (H&S version). The first three steepings of this one had reasonable flavor, but there wasn’t much flavor on the forth; as I expect at least four flavorful steepings out of a tea at this price range I was somewhat disappointed in that. Although Adagio’s version doesn’t measure up in appearance, aroma, or taste to the H&S version, at least it is affordable. Still, having had the real stuff, I think I’d rather wait until I can get my hands on something that has real merit.

This tea is exquisite. I love the nutty tones to it and how they mingle with the floral notes. It is sweet and delicate. The mouthfeel is thick and creamy-ish. Very pleasant.

The dry leaf smells fruity. Like peach and apricot jam. It’s very, very sweet. There are light floral notes with melon and apricot notes. MMmm I could see myself buying a little more than a sample of this.

Another offering from the Travelling Teabox (which’ll hopefully go out this weekend). The leaves were long and thin and a mid-green colour, making them look a bit like conifer needles of some sort. The length of the leaves made it diffcult to fit them into the tea scoop so I guesstimated the amount. I don’t have a scale sensitive enough to measure by weight unfortunately.

I found that the first steep was rather weak, likely due to me not adding enough leaves. It began with a slightly vegetal taste at the beginning and changed into a surprisingly sweet taste.

For the second steep I added more tea and steeped it for 3 min, which produced what I’d say was a good, normal-strength brew. The flavour profile was pretty much the same going from greenly vegetale initially to delicately sweet, but I also picked up a slightly bitter herbal taste at the very end. It was quite faint and it didn’t make the tea unpalatable – quite the opposite actually, since I think it kept the tea from tasting too cloying. The whole thing is nice and smooth-tasting without any unpleasent astringency or weird aftertastes.

In my opinion it’s one of the better green tea that I’ve tried – I’d rank it in my top five at least.

I knew I would love this tea the moment I opened the tin. I am not a big fan of Chinese greens, most of them taste too sweet and bake-y to me to enjoy on the regular basis. This one is extremely different. The dry leaf has a very green, flowery and a tiny bit spicy aroma, it actually reminds me of freshly-cut-grass smell or fresh hay. I don’t really get any sweetness or creaminess from it which is exactly what I’ve been looking in green tea for quite a while.

The brew has a light yellow-greenish color, even somewhat similar to sencha and maintains the same aroma the dry leaf has. The flavor is absolutely amazing, it’s green with a very pleasant bitterness and leaves the back of my tongue tingling after each sip.

The flavor is also highly addictive -once I tried it I got hooked and can’t really stop. Three pots in a row talk for themselves…

Thanks LiberTEAs for this! It’s one of the few Adagio Teas that I haven’t tried and have been wanting to try!

This is pretty good! It has a slight butted veggies aroma and taste. Maybe more of a mellower broccoli aroma just to compare it to something. There seems to be a gentle floral aftertaste that is pleasant, too!

The liquor color is a bright but see-thru yellow…very springy feeling!

I should start by saying that I truly got into green tea when my college roommate came home from study abroad in China. She brought home a few bricks of green tea and we spent the rest of college (1.5 years) drinking green tea sunk to the bottom of a cup of hot water. This was crude, but it was college and we were obsessed. When the bricks ran out, we ran to Teavana and chose Dragonwell as our replacement. I have been drinking that as my green tea since.

Recently, I was introduced to this tea and I have been won over. It is a delicate tea with gentle flavors, similar to a white tea. It is fantastic. I highly suggest getting a sample to try for yourself. I have been sharing the joy of this tea since I got it with all of my tea drinking friends and family and everyone has thoroughly enjoyed it.

(Drank hot, no sugar necessary)

No additives.
I will probably never give a tea a perfect rating. This tea took me by surprise; the leaves look plain and don’t smell special at all. They have the annoying characteristic of greens and whites in that they are harder to measure because of their size and shape.
The flavor of this tea is beyond excellent. Take the 3 major qualities of green tea (toast, sweet, vegital) and blend them together so that all of them are distinct and compliment each other simultaneously while maintaining a very full mouth.
Just try it. I can’t even explain properly.
Awesome

Buttery and vegetal and the slight chestnut overtone is there as well. This is a very nice green tea, mellow and brothy.

The “chesnut” overtones mentioned in the description are what took me by surprise when I first tried this mellow green. I like.

Very nice! Puts a big smile on my face

Tea is light bodied, sweet and delicious. Not my favorite because it is on the light side but i would drink again.

Tried this a few days ago. It was very similar to a decent An Ji Bai Cha, only far less expensive. It tasted “older” to me, and judging from the leaves, I’m guessing the leaves themselves are picked when they’re grown as opposed to the younger ones I am used to. It did not taste as “fresh” as a more expensive variety, either. Still, wonderfully light tea, not a hint of bitterness. Forgiving. I enjoyed maybe four steepings of the same leaves, then it was nearly flavourless. The leaves are pretty to watch but a bit brown-edged compared to the younger stuff. Oh, the taste is slightly (very slightly) vegetal, more nutty if anything. Would definitely buy again but I’d prefer the better stuff. (Who wouldn’t?)

Not an especially strong tea, tastes more like slightly flavored water than anything else. However, the notes that do come through are all relatively pleasant. Slightly sweet, a little earthy. Okay in my book.

Brad – ok, but some weird elements I didn’t like.
Sarah – thought it was ok. 

Drinking this for the first time from a sample pack.

Wow. A a perfectly balanced green tea.

Somewhat surprised…as I did NOT like Dragonwell. Much more grassy then the green tea I normally enjoy, but, it steers clear from overpowering my senses which is a big key for me.