Adagio Teas

I hadn’t read any reviews of this tea prior to my first cup, and was very surprised. I get a smokiness from this tea (but, of course, it’s not smoked). That may be what others interpret as “fishiness,” as the descriptors for this tea are all over the place, I see. It has a rather tannic bite as an aftertaste, but is pretty smooth otherwise. The wet leaves smell very grassy. Overall, very good. I won’t make a mad dash to buy it again but it’s enjoyable.

This tastes spot-on like spiced apple cider. It tastes precisely like something one would buy at a farmer’s market from an Amish person. You could imagine them hand-mashing it, mulling it, and dropping in a dallop of cinnamon. Totally real ingredients, all the indulgence, with none (or almost none) of the calories.

To read about pumpkin-based vengeance on a cider-hog, read this: http://sororiteasisters.com/2017/01/07/spiced-apple-chai-from-adagio-tea/

“I’m a caffeine lunatic that’s a little hesitant about maté (it sometimes tastes dry/musty to me). So I was holding off on this until a Day of Great Urgency.

Today was such a day. I spaced out in the shower and was late to a meeting with wet hair. The files I needed for a bunch of projects were unavailable to me. The Internet was down. I considered turning to my nemesis, coffee, for a much needed jolt."

Spoiler: I didn’t turn to the coffee.

Full review here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2016/12/31/jump-start-from-adagio-teas/

Very vegetal and bright, almost salty. It’s alright.

A bit earthy, nutty, and smooth – this makes a good cup. I prepared it as I would a typical green and am happy with the result.

I’m a fan of pouchong/baozhong oolongs. That’s the only reason I chose this tea when Adagio contacted me with a gift card offer. I had in the past some incredible pouchong oolongs from Taiwan and they have set my standard and expectations. Did Adagio’s pouchong meet the ante? No. No it didn’t.

But that’s not a bad thing! It’s a reasonable tea for the price and again sets a decent baseline on how to measure your teas. I’m finding this a lot with Adagio, nothing spectacular, but nothing terrible.

These leaves offer a decent amount of creaminess and that telltale milky/grassiness that I’ve come to expect. Does this tea have a a returning sweetness? Nope. But its suffices in a pinch and I wouldn’t hesitate to brew some for my friends.

Overall the leaves do have a quality to them: unbroken, sturdy, and hardy. So at least you can be sure you’re not getting ripped off.

Try a sample and enjoy!

My full video review can be found on my website!

https://worldteapodcast.com/videos/2017/5/16/world-tea-podcast-review-adagios-gyokuro-genmaicha-pouchong

It’s goods for the price. Admittedly I much prefer buying my own bancha leaves and genmai seperate and mixing to my own personal taste. Of course it doesn’t look like Adagio used bancha leaves here. Of course bancha takes a different definition depending on which part of Japan you’re in. Of course I come bearing my own bias. Of course, of course, of course.

Is this tea good. Yeah. Should you buy it. Sure, give it a shot. Is it special and will it take you to your happy place? No, and maybe……but there are much better genmaichas out there. I prefer older, thicker, and larger leaves in a genmaicha as they contribute to the sweetness of the brew. Using the sencha leaves here makes for a more bitter brew.

Again, like in my Adagio Gyokuro review, forgo the offered brewing instructions and brew much lower. 180F is much too high. Try 160F instead.

My full video review can be watched here on my website!

https://worldteapodcast.com/videos/2017/5/16/world-tea-podcast-review-adagios-gyokuro-genmaicha-pouchong

If in doubt, give this gyokuro a try. It seems to be lightly steamed (asamushi) and not deep steamed (fukamushi). At least not as deeply steamed as I would like it to be. This is of course a personal preference. Many do enjoy a lighter steamed gyokuro as it offers more of a “true tea taste”. Also, I disagree with the recommended brewing parameters given on the website. I’d much rather brew at 140F and not 165F so as to decrease the bitterness and up that umami charm.

Overall, I’ve had better. But if you’re starting out I’d give this sample a try to make yourself a baseline of sorts. What I enjoyed more than the tea was Adagio’s website and transparency via their ROOT program.

My video review can be found here and offers some more insight into this tea:

https://worldteapodcast.com/videos/2017/5/16/world-tea-podcast-review-adagios-gyokuro-genmaicha-pouchong

Latergram. Received it as a sample with my throw pillow sized pound of Earl Grey Moonlight.

Large, not-paper bag of mostly whole leaves. Not a lot of scent.
Put it in my Hario cold brew pitcher with 4 cups of filtered water and left it in the refrigerator for ~18 hours.

Diluted, rusty red black tea color. Light tea flavor.

Added a good amount of simple syrup and ice. Had to shake vigorously to mix the syrup as a spoon didn’t cut it.

Not terrible, as far as iced tea goes, and no astringency at all, very smooth; however it had next to no flavor, unlike other not-meant-to-be-iced teas I’ve cold brewed previously. (Still a hobbyist cold-brewer, not an “expert” by any means).

I tossed the baggie of tea, although I probably could have either left it in and refilled the pitcher, or transferred the remains to another large glass and steeped a new batch with the bag, but it wasn’t worth even experimenting with a resteep.

It was free, it was ok for a cold drink after a hot day and sugary sodas at the Renaissance Faire; I could get the same flavor from cold brewing Tetley or Luzianne.

This mate is pretty good! Out of all of the mate I’ve tried this is my favorite. There is a bit of smokiness that you can taste while drinking it, and it’s really smooth. I can also taste hints of chocolate. Overall I like it, but I probably wouldn’t drink it everyday.

This is my absolute favorite chai! I have occasionally gotten the spiciness that some of the other reviewers have mentioned, but usually it’s perfectly smooth. The rooibos doesn’t manifest itself too much, though I wouldn’t mind if it did. The smell of cloves and cinnamon is usually the main thing I smell while it’s steeping. I usually add a little milk to this one to have before bed.

Many thanks to whoever sent this to me (its been such a long time that I do not remember. How sad is that?), it was neat to try. Not coffee-ish, which I was glad about!
But it is now sacrificed to the sipdown fever! Another tea gone.

I have been nervous to try this. Mocha. That involves coffee, doesn’t it? Eeep, I don’t like coffee. In fact, I hate it. (This is only my opinion, I think nothing less of anyone who does happen to like coffee, its just not for me).
So I’ve been worried that this tea will taste like coffee, so I’ve been putting off trying it.
There is something ever so faintly coffee-ish, but mostly I taste hazelnut. That’s alright, but I’m not overwhelmed by it.
So, no need to fear this blend, but its not quite the blend for me. Enough for one more cup, though, so maybe the next cup will have a different opinion.

Sipdown. I usually don’t care for white tea of any kind. This wasn’t awful, but I wouldn’t reach for it again once I finish it off.

I cold brewed it, because of the “short” time needed for a white cold brew tea. About 6 teaspoons in 32oz of filtered water, popped in the refrigerator for 6 hours. I’m leaving the leaves in the jug until its empty.

From the scent in the bag, I sort of expected it to be a very watered down “pina colada and tea had a baby” kind of beverage.
While I know cold brewing makes for a smoother, less tea flavored tea, this was barely ok, like very watered down juice. I added a spoonful of honey powder to my glass of it, and that made it slightly more drinkable (I’m at work and there’s not a good way to make or store simple syrup until I get home).

I’ll finish off what I’ve cold brewed and maybe it’ll grow on me by the end of the jug.

EDIT: Ok, leaving the leaves in the cold brew thingie overnight (ok, nearly 24 hours because it was at work and my schedule is bonkers) = GIANT improvement. Still not my favorite tea ever, but way better than yesterday.

This is one of my favorite teas. It tastes like a nice chocolate covered strawberry without being too sweet.

This is one of my favorite teas. The chocolate chai makes it sweet on it’s own while the hazelnut and Irish Breakfast make it strong.

Shared with me by the only other tea drinker at work!
Sweet black tea made better by a little sugar and lot of milk to bring out the caramel. Like drinking a caramel sundae.

Did not inspire me to rise up to the challenge of our rival, but it did thrill me enough to fight my way through getting ready & go to work, instead of flopping into a pile of blankets and cats.

This has caramel and coco nibs in it, but all I could taste (before the additions below) was a light caramel/sweet flavor – no chocolate.

Package said to steep for 3 minutes with 212F. I like a slightly more longer steep, so I’ll go for 4 minutes next time. Would make a good early dessert tea.
I added sugar & milk. Then added about a spoonful of caramel flavored syrup because I am 80% sugar water. Still can’t taste the chocolate.

This is one of my favorite teas. It has a weird effect where it can actually help my chronic migraines, which I’m all about. Doesn’t hurt that it tastes fantastic.