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TeaEarleGreyHot drank Honeybush Banana Nut by Adagio Teas

169 tasting notes

Another winning Adagio sample packet! Prepared as directed, infusing all 3.2 g of material in 8 oz boiling spring water for 5 min. The aroma of the dry blend was pleasant, if powerful, but it softened considerably during steeping. I was skeptical here because there is no actual banana ingredient, only a flavoring. And I’m wary of cinnamon which often overwhelms.

But my fears were wasted and, as Steepster @Kaylee mentioned a few months ago, the banana flavoring was short of being candylike. In fact, my overall impression was of flaming, buttered Bananas Foster in a banana-nut bread context, which I adore. Kaylee couldn’t identify the nut, and neither could I except for having read of the chestnut flavoring ingredient— another dubious flavoring that turns out to work quite well. I was unaware of any cinnamon unless I tried to taste it. The sweetness was quite forward, and undoubtedly results from the honeybush and the dry apple pieces. Forward, but perfectly sweet in my opinion! I counted 14 small cubes of diced apple, and the resulting flavor was of baked apple dumpling, rather than sharp green apple (nor artificial flavor), which was warming, mouthwatering, and terrific. Steepster @Ashmanra reported some time ago about having liked the chocolate flavor (from the cocoa nib ingredient) in her sample packet, whereas my sample must not have gotten any nibs, since that element was undetectable. No matter, I do like chocolate with banana and/or apple, but this tisane was fine without. The marigold petals added no flavor, but imbued the liquor with golden color to brighten the amber honeybush tint.

A re-steep following the same parameters had a softer aroma, wherein the cinnamon was gently asserting itself. The banana was less impressive, but still notable, and the sweetness vastly reduced. Still no chocolate notes. Nevertheless, it was still an enjoyable echo of the original result, and a soft landing for the evening. I will include more of this in my upcoming Adagio order, and play around with combining the first and second steeps for an improved 2 cups of ‘tea’. It’s really now one of my favorite non-caffeine dessert drinks. I’ll rate it at 89 for now, and recommend.

Flavors: Apple, Banana, Bread, Butter, Chestnut, Cinnamon

Preparation

Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 3 g 8 OZ / 236 ML

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MadHatterTeaReview
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I always enjoy this one when I sip on it!

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MadHatterTeaReview
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I always enjoy this one when I sip on it!

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Life is too short to drink bad tea!
Pan-American: Left-coast reared (on Bigelow’s Constant Comment and Twinings’ Earl Grey) and right-coast educated, I’ve used this moniker & Email since the glory days of AOL in the 90’s, reflecting two of my lifelong loves—tea and ‘Trek.

Now a midwestern molecular biologist (right down to the stereotypical Hawaiian shirts), I’m finally broadening the scope of my sippage and getting into all sorts of Assamicas, from mainstream Assam CTCs to Taiwan blacks & TRES varietals, to varied Pu’erhs. With some other stuff tossed in for fun. I enjoy reading other folks’ tasting notes (thank you). I’ve lurked here from time to time and am now adding a few notes of my own to better appreciate the experience. Note that my sense of taste varies from the typical, for example I find stevia to be unsweet and bitter. My dislike of rooibos may be similarly rooted in genetics, which impacts perceptions of many flavors, from asparagus to stevia to cilantro.

I don’t work for a tea vendor, and I’m not a professional tea sommelier. And I don’t taste every nuance, hint of flavor or note of aroma, nor am I trained to describe those that I do detect. But I taste enough to have opinions, and do my best to be descriptive. Sensory preferences can shift from day to day and person to person, so numerical ratings are kinda bogus, especially between and among various people. But there are individual trends, and I try to reflect that. As reference points for my ratings, I give Lipton Black Tea bags “orange pekoe and pekoe, cut black” a score of 65 because it is widely available and profoundly consistent. I view it as just okay. I would give plain, hot, quality spring water a rating of 25, and I buy Crystal Geyser brand for brewing because my local well water is stinky and discolored, and my filtration & softening system leaves it salty and unpleasant. Tea should make the commercial Spring Water better, not worse, so a rating below 25 speaks for itself.

I am conversationally friendly but absolutely not here looking for dates or money, nor to sell anything. If I’ve started to follow you, I don’t mean to be creepy, it only means you posted something I liked reading, or it was about an interesting tea or event. And I’ve recently discovered that the Steepster system only notifies me of new posts written by people I follow. If you follow me, I won’t assume anything. If I do not follow you, it isn’t a snub—you’re still a good human being!
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Avatar:. Arrival in Athens, Greece, on vacation.