Cream

Not sure why this one gets so many low reviews.
I am admittedly – too much probably – not a fan of Adagio however this one is rather nice!
It smells JUST like cream soda, I even smell the fizziness!
The taste is a nice mellow cream flavor, a hint of maple, cocoa notes even, but mostly just a creamy goodness.
I taste the black base, I mean its just a Ceylon but its good.
I could see this being excellent in blends as well – which I created a couple using this tea and am eagerly awaiting them to come!
I can see this being a staple for sure just to have a nice light morning creamy tea.
Good one Adagio, I may have to reconsider my previous feelings about you.
I will just stay away from the white fruit teas – had bad luck with those.

Sadly, this is a sipdown. When I first got into loose leaf teas I order a lot of the sample packs from Adagio since there were so many different flavors to try. This was one of my most favorites, and I turned to it time and again. I don’t really drink Adagio teas a lot anymore, but I do still have a cupboard full that I want to rate. I am hoping that this one isn’t bitter and is just as heavenly as I remember it being! The dry leaves smell milky, like a whipped cream. Ahhh, this one is just as good as I remember. It is very creamy even before any milk is added and has the perfect whipped cream flavor. I think this is one that I will definitely be ordering more of. Just what I needed to start my day before venturing out into all of this rain!

-Medium size black tea leaves.
-Dry leaves smell of dairy, like whipped cream. Tea liquor aroma is of black tea and cream.
-Tea liquor is a clear dark brown color.
-Robust malty flavor with a sweet milky finish. Smooth and creamy mouthfeel.
-Best with milk and sweetener.
-Very good tea. Smooth whipped cream flavor.

Rest In Peace…my darling Sammy…I miss you like crazy!

Yes, we had to bury our 19 year old Cockapoo Sammy on Wednesday Night…the hardest thing EVER. That’s why I have been MIA.

I’m still ‘not with it’ so I apologize in advance for my ’off tasting notes today.

As for this Cream from Adagio – I’m not really a fan. It smells like Coffee creamer before you put it in the coffee and it kind of tastes like that too…

Although I could probably finish the cup I wouldn’t buy for myself.

I’m going to have a dinner of tea, popcorn, and maybe some Cheetos Puffs.

Do I need to even say it? I’ve had one Hell of a day. Rather than go into the sordid details, I’ll just try to move on with a hot cup of tea in hand and maybe a sappy romance movie to go with the popcorn. I’ll save the Cheetos for dessert.

I’ve had these Adagio teas sitting in my cupboard for what seems like forever. Adagio was one of the first (maybe the first) online tea vendor that I tried when my obsession with tea began two years ago. No, Lupicia was the first. Oh well, then maybe Adagio was the second. Needless to say, I really need to finish up these teas.

First up is Cream! It’s nearly eight o’clock, so I really shouldn’t be drinking caffeinated black tea. But that’s always my excuse for not drinking my black teas when I get home after work. And I never make them during the day because I don’t have my ideal tea making apparatuses at work. Plus, then I’d have to bring milk. I can hardly ever drink black tea without milk. But I digress.

Tonight feels like a cream night. If I wasn’t so lazy, I might go out and buy some whole milk to make a chai latte. Or maybe I’d buy some fresh strawberries and whipping cream and make myself a treat. But alas, I am lazy and don’t plan on leaving the comforts of home even for a minute. The tea kettle is whistling and now it’s finally, months later, time to try this tea that claims to taste like cream.

First whiff of the dry leaves is cream. Second whiff is chocolate. Third whiff is…Robitussin? Yep, smells like cherry cough syrup. How weird. Adagio suggests 1 tsp per cup at boiling water for 3 minutes. I didn’t think 1 tsp of leaves sounded like very much (or looked like very much), so I made it more like 2 tsp minus a little bit because I didn’t want it to be too strong.

The aroma of the brewed tea is now just black tea. I’m expecting to have to add milk and sugar like I always do. But it’s called Cream, so I’m hoping I’ll like it straight, or at the very least without adding milk. It’s still a little too hot to try. I don’t want to burn my tongue and ruin the rest of what could be a fun tea consuming marathon night.

Contemplating the warm aroma while I wait, I think this will be a good one. It has a nice, solid, “I am black tea!” aroma. Hopefully, it will be a good morning tea. I’ve been making coffee lattes to go with my English Muffins for breakfast lately. I know, I know. How can I cheat on tea? Well, sometimes tea just doesn’t cut it. Or more accurately, my tea strainer is almost always still dirty from the night before, and I never want to clean it when I wake up. Coffee seems the only choice.

Okay, at the risk of burning my taste buds off, I’m going to try some now. Wow, it’s still pretty hot. I blew on it and the steam fogged up my glasses. I’m probably going to regret this, so I’ll wait a few more minutes. I should just stop writing and come back in a few when I can actually blog about the tea itself. But as I said, it’s been one Hell of a day. I need to keep myself occupied so I don’t dwell on the negative. I have a habit of downward spiraling into oblivion. I do have to say, something smells excellent in my apartment! I wish I could say it’s this tea (not that the tea doesn’t smell good), but this is something else. Bread? Honey? Butter? I can’t figure it out. Maybe I should eat a more substantial dinner than I have planned. My nose could be trying to tell me something. Nah, where’s the fun in that? ;)

Okay, enough’s enough. (Man, I hate it when my fiancé says that, and now here I am saying it). Enough waiting. First sip…wow! I’m pleasantly surprised! This actually does taste like cream! Sweet cream ice cream to be exact with a light background of black tea. This is insane!!! I can’t believe it! I really wasn’t expecting this. Maybe it’s my dark mood or my empty stomach, but this is just fantabulous! I’m even drinking it straight and enjoying it! I wouldn’t have bet on this, but clearly my instincts were on target the day I bought it. Oh, and that aroma I was smelling earlier? Pie crust. It’s definitely pie crust. Like from a chicken pot pie. Man, I’m hungry.

Anyway, the more I sip on this, the more the black tea begins to take center stage. There’s a slight hint towards bitterness at the end of the sip, but nothing I can’t handle. At the risk of turning this into a normal blah cup of tea, I’m going to add milk and sugar. Nope. I just can’t do it. Walked all the way to the kitchen, opened the fridge, pulled out the milk, took the cap off, and held it over the cup..but no. Maybe on the second steep. I hardly ever re-steep black teas. Don’t ask me why. Okay, now I feel like I have to give an explanation. I’m not really sure why. I guess I find black tea too strong on the first steep (thus my solution is to add milk and sugar) and too weak on the second steep (thus my solution is to not brew it).

Man oh man, this is going to make a great base for something! Maybe I’ll try my hand at creating my very own Adagio custom blend. I also still have some pure peppermint leaves left over. I bet just a touch of those would be great with this! Pretty much anything would be great with this. I’m really impressed, Adagio. I didn’t think you could do it. But this truly does taste like cream! Well done!! :)

And I’m buying a chicken pot pie for dinner tomorrow. :)

hhhhmmm, i’m not sure how this one is in my tealog lol

Mmm. Thanks JennyFur for the sample. This is quite excellent. It smells a little like cocoa or caramel, but it tastes like subtle creamy vanilla in a nice smooth tea. (which apparently is Ceylon based?) I could drink this one quite often just as it is.

Oh, Adagio! I would give you so much money if you would have reasonable ship costs to Canada! :|

Hmmm okay what to say about this one. Well the dry leaf smells delicioso just like cream but I smell maple in there too and this is a good thing because I like maple.

Steeped the leaves 5 minutes in boiling water as per Adagio’s steeping instructions and once steeped the leaves smell a little less creamy and maply the leaves have really grown once steeped and filled up the infuser basket. The liquor is dark black typical of a cuppa Ceylon. I know I don’t care for Adagio’s Ceylon base so this one can go either way.

My first sip taste good on the front of my tongue but as soon as it hits mid tongue and back of throat I’m totally grossed out by a strong astringent, BITTER taste that I DO NOT LIKE! Ewww how could something that smells so good go so wrong.

Anyone who enjoys this tea or thinks they may enjoy this tea PM me and I will happily send it your way (it’s a sample tin).

This was from MeghannM. It smells delicious. I added some milk to this, which made it extra smooth. The tea was very dark, almost like coffee. I was expecting yuckiness like I normally get with Adagio’s flavored blacks, but this one was a pleasant surprise. I’ll definitely be making this one again. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the dryness in my mouth afterward. But other than that, I liked it a lot! Thanks MeghannM!

This was good on its own, but I also think it would would be good to add to other teas. I’m thinking of adding it to strawberry.

I don’t think I care for Adagio’s black base.

I got a sample of this one from akgrowngirl, because I was somewhat curious to try it out. I also have limited options when it comes to Adagio, since their shipping to Canada is ridiculous. So it’s fun to sample it when I can.

Anyway, I preferred my second steep of this, when I added a bit of coconut palm sugar and a sprinkling of peppermint.

Thanks, akgrowngirl!

“This smelled heavenly at the shop and my husband (who normally drinks only greens) dropped a bag of this in my basket. I love O’Conner’s Cream from TeaGschwender and was hoping this was similar since this store is easier for me to get to. I normally brew my blacks in 200 degree water since that’s the temperature my husband uses for hiss coffee but since it was just me I used boiling. I think that may have been responsible for the slight bitter edge to it as my second steeping today was much smoother. Overall, even with the second steeping at a lower temperature this tea was just okay for me. I wish the smell translated into the taste more but I think this will be great to blend with other teas, perhaps chocolate chip.”

Used 2 tsp in 16 oz of water, boiled for five minutes while infusing. My husband commented that the kitchen “smelled like IHOP” while this was steeping. The aroma certainly has something in common to Maple Syrup.

Tasting this tea right out of the pot it is a sweet black tea. After it cooled a bit I get a maple-y taste with a slight edge to it. I think this tea may have to be added to something for me to really appreciate it. It is certainly sweet all on it’s own, just wasn’t expecting the maple syrup taste.

Hoping for better things to come with blends of this tea!

There’s nothing inherently wrong or bad about this tea, it just doesn’t taste much like cream to me. The tea in the packet smells like cream, but not as strongly as I had expected, and by the time the tea had steeped it didn’t smell like anything other than black tea. When I tasted it, it didn’t have any cream flavor. I fervently hoped that when I added my spoon of sugar it would help the cream pop out, but the hope was in vain. I was really hoping to find a nice cream I could like, and am glad I only got a sample of this…Sad.

This is the last of the Adagio flavoured black samples I bought a while back. I quite liked the strawberry, but wasn’t all that sold on the coconut. I’m not sure how I’ll feel about this one.

The dry leaves smell sweet, which is fine, and I can catch a hint of creaminess. It smells more like warm UHT cream than the real thing, though. There’s also a sharper, rather unpleasant scent that I can’t quite place. I noticed the same thing with the coconut, and that was one of the things that put me off it so thoroughly. Still, for the sake of fairness, I’ll give this a try.

I brewed it for three minutes in boiling water. It smells much as it does dry. Definetly creamy, with perhaps a vanilla-ish undertone. A little sickly. I have to say that, as it cools, it smells increasingly sweet. It tastes a lot sweeter than I was expecting — too sweet for me, really. This has come as a bit of a surprise, as I was expecting the bitter aftertaste of Adagio’s other flavoured blacks, but this one doesn’t seem to have it. In this respect it’s actually quite nice, but it’s too sickly and cloying for me to really be able to enjoy. It’s the kind of sweetness that seems to coat your mouth and hang about for a good long time. I’m not going to be able to finish the cup, but, hey, I tried!

This isn’t bad tea by any estimation. It actually tastes okay, and would probably delight someone with a seriously sweet tooth. I’m not one of those people, and this is just too much for me. Another one chalked up to experience!

Oh I love this so much. You know how the best desserts have just a touch of saltiness in them? Yeah. This has that. It’s somehow sweet without any added sugar and it has such a great creamy mouthfeel. Can’t confidently comment on the quality of the black tea itself because I have an inexperienced palate, but I can say I like how it tastes!

Huh. This is very tasty, though I wouldn’t describe the flavor as “cream.” Maple, or maybe coffee, toasted marshmallow. G, my resident convert-in-progress, says it tastes like a stroopwafel and gives it a thumbs up. There is a creamy smoothness to it, and a pleasant aftertaste (and the addition of actual cream goes quite well), but the flavor itself is too… obvious, to be called cream. Maybe a cream flavored jelly bean?

I received this tea today courtesy of MeghannM (thanks!) I just couldn’t resist trying it right away. The dry leaf smells like caramel, vanilla, and maple syrup. I was a bit concerned that the flavoring would take over a knock back the tea base. I was wrong! This tea smells strongly of sweet caramel and vanilla goodness, but the taste is thankfully very much a black tea with a good amount of a vanilla/caramel kick. It was good plain, but I think it is best with milk and sugar which helps the caramel note to come out fully. This strikes me as a dessert tea, but I could see myself drinking it with breakfast on most days. Thanks again MeghannM!

This smells heavenly as soon as you open the zip lock bag, a sort of vanilla and honey fragrance.

I think this would be a better tea if it was part of a mixture, such as strawberries and cream because it’s missing that wow factor by itself. It tastes similar to how it smells (vanilla) and is very light. The black tea is more in the background of the flavour but without being too earthy or bitter, the cream takes that away.
It also reminds me of Irish cream drinks (similar to Baileys) but of course in alcohol free tea form.

This tea smells just like lucky charm’s marshmallows. I definitely detect that familiar Adagio black tea taste and the entire cup actually tastes very similar to other signature blends I’ve tried that have cream as one of their components. I have found that I like Adagio’s black tea when it’s cooled slightly. Today I used cooler water and steeped the tea for about 3 minutes. It’s very sweet and somewhat comforting. I don’t taste CREAM specifically, but more of a heavy sugary flavor. Not a bad tea, but you certainly have to be in the mood for it! Thank you, brandy3392 for a sample!

Wow, the reviews for this tea have a range!
I’m going to rate it higher…I think it needed a little bit of sugar to help the creaminess come through. I think Adagio could have put a little more effort in this one…maybe instead of just a Ceylon (AGAIN), they could have maybe blended it with an Assam for maltiness and a touch of vanilla?
I kinda like it. I probably will not drink it on it’s own again. I’m going to hunt down some marshmallow root and add that with some vanilla and experiment. Maybe I’ll add some licorice root?
Ok, my high grade comes from the fact that it’s a good base to add some herbs to it. It’s nice, though. little boring & slightly disappointing, but I’ll still drink tea. It’s Vegan, that’s a bonus

the cream taste is a bit artificial, so I added a tsp of half & half. Would be great if I had not over-sugared it. For some dumb reason i put in about 2.5 tsp. 1-1.5 would suffice.