Allegro Tea

My computer restarted and lost my tasting note! Ugh! The summary is that I wasn’t impressed with this tea. It was an Assam and okay, but not anything that struck me as special. Luckily I found it in bulk and only got a small sample.

The black base isn’t bitter and doesn’t oversteep, but the compliment flavours don’t seem to go with it very well. The hibiscus is acidic (not overly sour though) and doesn’t go with the spicy ginger aftertaste. Ginger should be paired with sweet or salty, but not hibiscus and fruity stone fruit (not particularly “peachy”, more like generic fruitiness) It is ok iced, but not something I would buy again.

Not bad for a bagged iced tea. It’s light, fruity, and refreshing. The peach flavor is subtle and not fake tasting.

The base isn’t at all astringent and bitter, so this may be good for people who don’t prefer black teas.

The taste of this tea is awesome. There is definitely a prominent licorice or anise essence for me, which I love. Fennel tea is one of my favorites for having this property. But when mixed with the citrus and mint notes, it’s refreshing to drink. I never get tired of it. But what really makes this tea, is the aroma. You smell it coming out of the packet, and it just makes you happy. Good go-to with low caffeine.

Grabbed this in the bulk section at Whole Foods because it smelled divine and the description said, “notes of apricot”. Oh, yum. Was surprisingly expensive though; a few cups of tea for about $4. Usually bulk tea is cheaper, but whatever.

Oversteeped in lower-than-normal temperature water, it’s surprisingly good. I definitely get apricot, and also a roasty, toasty kind of smell and feel, with more of that flavor coming through than anything. I don’t LOVE it, but, it’s quite nice, and I’m really happy I didn’t ruin it.

I bought this tea a few months ago and kind of forgot about it, so when I made it today, I expected to be disappointed. It’s not a tea I would keep stocked regularly, but it’s a decent bagged Darjeeling green tea. I used two bags for 16 ounces, and the taste was slightly light for my liking. It has a nice fruity Darjeeling flavor, and no bitterness, but I may try backing off to 12 ounces for 2 bags to see if I can get a little more flavor out of it.

Drank this for the first time because it was free at work and it ended up being something I drank at work for months because I didn’t bring my own tea. This tea is actually quite nice for a bagged tea this is quite nice and strong. While I enjoy this tea I have come to realize since I have drank it multiple times that alternative loose leaf teas with the same taste are significantly better.

What’s an afternoon without a little Ceylon tea? I found a stray bag of this tea in my stash…may have been the last bag in my possession, but not for too long, as I will buy this one again. It’s a nice smooth Ceylon…smoother than that Twinings Ceylon that I enjoy, but you guys don’t particularly like. :P I’ll still buy that one too, but I’ll probably rotate this one and the Ahmad Ceylon in the afternoon most of the time…if I can ever find the Ahmad Ceylon again! I’ll probably head up to the Raleigh/Durham area soon, so I’ll just go back to that random Turkish store in Cary where I found it last time, haha! Happy Saturday, everyone!

Backlog (last one!). On our last day we killed some time before dinner at that same café. Apparently in between the two times we went there, they got new tea, because this one wasn’t there before! This was interesting—I’ve never had a green Darjeeling before. The Chinese green is very vegetal but I do taste something that reminds me of the fruitiness of a black Darjeeling. It’s a little sweet and makes an interesting cup. Not bad!

Backlog. This was my second cup at that café. This is a really mild chai, probably thanks to the rooibos. There’s a surprising amount of ginger in it—it’s actually the strongest spice I taste, followed by cinnamon and just a touch of clove. As always I wish for more cardamom, but what can you do? It almost tastes like a candied ginger flavored rooibos, but as a chai I’m not impressed.

Backlog. After a long day of shopping we stopped into a cute little café on the square for hot drinks (coffee for dad, tea for mom and me). I had never had this brand before, or even heard of it, but this was not bad. I tasted more tangerine than lemon in this, but it managed to retain a little of the sweet hay tone I like in white tea—impressive for bagged!

Awesome tea. Solid flavour with some spice kick to it. I’m a fan