Masters Teas

Adagio CommuniTEA – April 15th, 2023

What a relief to see a nice plain tea…

It’s actually been a little while since I’ve had a plain silver needle. I steeped it Western but kept the steep short, and the result is lovely. Soft and soothing hay and grain notes, accompanied by juicy honeydew melon and refreshing cucumber. There are some light and sweetly nectarous floral notes as well, such as honeysuckle. A bit of an autumn leaf profile on the back of the sip.

Lovely respite from some of the other communiTEA teas that haven’t been my favorites… :P

Adagio CommuniTEA – April 4th, 2023

I was wondering if they were going to include any Masters teas in the communiTEA, and lo and behold, here we are! I wasn’t sure if I’d had this type of oolong before, but I think I have as it seems to be the Cantonese name for “monkey picked”.

This is a very mellow oolong. The description mentions florals, but I’m happy that I don’t get a lot of floral notes here. It’s overall very smooth and thick, with a nice creamy texture to it. It has a sparkling mineral note that reminds me of drinking from a stream, and some gentle grassiness. There’s a touch of a toasty note, just enough to make it a bit cozy without overwhelming the flavor. A dried apricot fruitiness comes out in the finish, and lingers pleasantly on the tongue.

Definitely not a very complex tea to my tastebuds, but still very enjoyable. Though I think lovers of greener oolongs might be missing the floral notes here. Personally, I’m happy to be missing them. ;)

TTB Review #6: I’ve never had a yellow tea before so this was a very new experience for me. To be honest, I don’t really like it, though I did finish my cup. I dunno, something about it was like…pungent vegetable water. I normally don’t mind a vegetal presence in tea but this one just didn’t hit the right notes for me.

They’re so cute and fluffy! Squeeeee. I love the tiny hairs that stick to the package. A sign of good tea. I’m sure I have a few up my nose now too. sneeze Always look before sticking your nose in the bag. A very typical white tea aroma; barnyard, summer tall grass, hay. By the way, it’s November right now when I am writing this note, in MN, and I have our screen door open. Whoa. Just took my first sip. It is incredibly fruity. Juicy fruit gum but without the intense fake sugar. Melons and honeysuckle. Also bits of hay, a mix of wet and dry hay. As you let it infuse longer the astringency picks up a bit along with a weird metallic note. Some of the fruity notes remain. Like licking fruity jam off a metal board. The wet aroma is pleasant. Warming.

Yellow tea is one of the rare types of tea. If you find this tea cheap. Be wary. This tea is the only one to use sweltering during processing. And this is what makes yellow tea what it is (just like all the other types). This amazing tea is not to be taken lightly. With each note you will find, I am definitely finding, high vegetal and nutty notes. The dry leaves will be a mix of green olive and jade colors. Maybe not the most beautiful as compared with well-done Japanese green teas but they have their own. Rolled into a needle shape. The mouthfeel is smooth with very little astringency, even when you over-steep it a bit. There are some passion fruit notes similar to longjing #43 (this is a slightly different cultivar from longjing/dragonwell). With the second steep I am finding that the liquor blankets my mouth with an even silkier feeling. The first steep reveals the highest and more abundant notes whereas the second steeping is tapered and the vegetal notes are stronger. Asparagus and grass.

An exquisite tea that covers a gambit of flavors. With my first sip, I found gentle florals and with my next (on a longer steep) I found vegetal notes. Each infusion reveals slightly different notes. They begin much like above but a bit more vegetal and grassy.

On a side note, Davids must really hate dealing with emails because I emailed their customer service line and it was basically an instant don’t bother us ^^;

Sipdown 64

While this cup wasn’t as good as the first, it was still tasty. I’d definitely consider repurchasing this in the future.

TTB

Mmmmmm…this is tasty. Really sweet, with notes of honey, baked bread, and a touch of cocoa.

Do you ever have one of those moments where you are so engrossed in reading that you completely forget you are steeping tea? I have no idea of how long it was sitting in my gong fu but despite that this brew has turned out well. Soft mouth feel. A bit of minerality in the finish. Tropical florals in the aroma. Orchid, plumeria, a bit of jasmine. It very much reminds me if the air in Kauai. The flavor is subtle. Softwoods. Melon bits. Cantaloupe. The floral notes dance around like a slow tango.

Steeping the last bit that Vallhallow gave me. The first sip is very herbaceous. Thyme, oregano, Greek Mountain tea. About 3-4 minutes in the herbecous starts to dissipate and you find soft floral notes. Summer flowers in the dry field.

Prep: Cold brew
Tasting Note: Still has a white grape note, I think its less buttery cold brewed. Light and bright with an alpine flower sweetness but not as floral as scented teas or blended teas. Realizing that this is how I like my green teas also.

Sipdown theme: Grape/Muscatel tea

This month, I am going to try to sipdown more of my straight teas. Total sidenote, Steepster has been a really positive influence on keeping my spending habits in check this past month. I think being able to discuss tea, sipdowns and how much is being spent on tea has really helped me enjoy the tea I have in my cupboard more and be more mindful of what i want to spend on and putting a hold on my wishlist. Also, I am really grateful for all the tea swaps, and community discussions, its really nice to be able share a common interest. Thanks everyone! :)

Preparation: Western
Tasting Note: After tasting so many blended teas lately, it is a slight adjustment getting back into straight teas. It will take a while to get a more nuanced palate again. I think with this tea, i get that slight fresh sweet aftertaste that reminds you of a muscatel grape. This tea is light and spring watery. It has a floralness to it too. I think it is closer to a green tea than white but it is characterized as yellow. Anyways, I like it. I had got a sample of it last year and really soon after reordered for a larger portion.

Steeped this one up earlier this week. I actually thought I’d pulled a different sample out of my box of Adagio teas and I didn’t realize until I was straining the tea leaf that I’d actually grabbed this tea and not the black tea I’d intended. As a result, I steeped this as I would have a black tea. However, it came out really lovely! Nice and sweet notes of warm golden grains and breads with floral undertones. Just calming, smooth and really well rounded mouthfeel on top of that great malty floral body.

Thank you to Adagio for sending this year’s production to me as part of a package of other Masters Tea samples – I steeped myself up a nice Western style cup this morning and I was really enamored by how melon-y it tasted. I know that honeydew is one of the tasting notes described by the company, but they truly got it spot on – the smell emenating from the cup was the same green melon sweetness of cutting into a fresh honeydew and the taste more in line with the slightly sharper rind of the same melon. This was complimented by notes of honeysuckle and fresh hay – just lovely and soft, and really appreciated on this Friday afternoon.

Grandpa Style!

Yesterday I steeped up these absolutely gorgeous Huang Shan Mao Feng leaves grandpa style in my pretty new Pieces of Porcelain cup!! It’s the perfect size for me to bowl brew or steep grandpa style in & I foresee it getting some great use during work from home days!! Thank you again to Masters Tea for gifting the tea; I found it very light and fresh, which made for a perfect vegetal cuppa to sip on this hotter summer day!!

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CP6B72pA16R/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nxV3vuxM2k&ab_channel=BIRP%21BIRP%21

Sipdown (1390)!

Adagio/Masters Tea reached out to me on IG last week to see if I would have an interest in trying a selection of their 2021 production straight teas, and of course I said yes! I am not really a big fan of green tea in general, but out of all the various spring tea in the assortment, it was this Long Jing that I felt immediately drawn to! I love nutty flavours in teas, and the aroma of buttery chestnuts coming from the dry leaf was off the charts!

Historically, I’ve found most Dragonwell on the spectrum of “unpleasant to unexciting” but I thought this one was pretty good. I mean, as I sipped on it Grandpa style throughout the afternoon, the taste of the liquor does not match the incredible chestnut aroma of the dry leaves. However, it was very smooth with a really pleasant mouthfeel and the taste had some more bean-y and creamy corn silk elements alongside a hint of that chestnut that caught my attention to much.

I shared the rest of this sample with coworkers who I knew would appreciate it more than me, but I’m glad I tried it!

Photo: https://www.instagram.com/p/CO3E_fogZ-S/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykmSJbiri4E&ab_channel=BigWildBigWildOfficialArtistChannel

This tea had the same fruity smell as the anxi wulong low fire, but way less flavor overall. It looks like this has gotten really good reviews, so it might just be me but I didn’t taste much but a mild fruityness. There’s a floral aroma too but everything is just way too toned down for me. Will try again later with more leaves.

Long time no tea! I’m trying this meng ding mao feng from Adagio Masters again today – using up the last bits of my sample. I steeped for way less time in way cooler water this time, and it’s helping me to appreciate the fruity-peachy-green-ness of the tea. It’s very very mild and probably way too weak for most people’s tastes, but I like it! I’ll remember to brew green tea this way while I’m getting used to the new flavors :)

Another sample for Adagio Masters Teas. When I smelled the leaves for the first time, it initially reminded me of cream cheese danishes that the boy scouts would sell as a fundraiser. They were really good, but I was surprised to have tea leaves smell like it! As the tea steeped, I could tell this was going to be the kind of green tea that’s supposed to be really good but I think smells like creamed corn. And, it did smell like creamed corn. Imagining it as a “peach” smell did help though. It is very very fragrant and peach-y. The tea itself, to me, is sharply bitter. It reminds me of nail polish remover. I followed the steeping instructions, but maybe I would like it better steeped for less time or at a lower temperature? This seems like a fresh, quality tea but so far I am not a fan personally.

Just got three samples from Masters by adagioteas in the mail. I’ve only opened this bag so far, and oh my gosh, it smells so good. It reminds me of strawberry-orange-banana smoothies I would get at lunch in highschool (in a really good way). Really fresh, fragrant and light. There’s also something really floral there. After brewing, the tea itself holds those similar smells (but fruity-ness is less prominent) and the taste is sooo clean and fresh. This is a real treat. I’m trying to think of what the “clean, fresh, green-ness” could taste like, and my first guess is just really good, fresh crisp lettuce, where it’s almost a little sweet.

Cold Brew!

I’ve been sipping on this throughout the morning and it’s super refreshing! The taste is surprisingly intense for a silver needle, and filled with fresh Spring/Summery notes of cucumber water, honey, and lemon peel. Honestly taking me back to warmer times this year – and IMO better tasting than when I last tried it as a hot tea.

Modified “grandpa style” in the park from this weekend – by which I mean brewed in a small, shallow teacup a few times – not the fanciest way to drink tea but it does the trick.

This is, I believe, the 2019 harvest of this tea – it was a Christmas present from a relative. For over a year old Bai Hao Yin Zhen, I thought this was pleasant. It felt fresh and flavourful enough to satisfy me, with fragrant honeysuckle notes and a flavour a little bit more cucumber-like…

This wasn’t the best brew method for evaluation, so future tasting notes to come with other preparation styles. However, for tea in the park it was good.

Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CCQrx7FAmFy/

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiXfzapc2Js

From the Samurai TTB.

So I forgot to write my note while I was drinking this. Just drink drink drinking away, no thought at all for my notebook or tealog. I can say for sure that I really enjoyed this one from SkySamurai. It had such a unique fruity quality that I can’t say I’ve tasted before. I couldn’t pinpoint the fruit, but I kept thinking how remarkable it was that this tasted so fruity. Anyway, maybe if I’d written my note while drinking I could have come up with more, but this is all I’ve got. I liked it!

First Flush Darjeeling has become very tricky to acquire this year; however, I was lucky to acquire this early harvest Rohini! I’ve been working with a few purveyors to try and sneak in a some packages of tea, but they may not arrive until mid May or possibly June. This tea slipped through and proved to be an amazing start to the first flush Darjeelings. The leaves are everything you want in an early spring harvest. You’re immediately greeted with a fresh floral and toffee aroma. It’s a delicate but encompassing aroma that easily filled the tearoom. I brewed this in my wedgwood for a nice clear and clean brew. The cuppa is full with a syrupy sweetness and fruit blossom exhale. You can pick up a clarifying pine tone that works well with the sugared background. It’s a straightforward brew with pleasant tones and aftertastes. This is not an overly complex leaf, it does fade quite quickly after the first infusion; however, this is sold for a bargain at $8.50/oz! Honestly, I don’t think you’ll find a readily available first flush that matches up to this tea at that price. I’ll be stocking up ;)

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_LBAB2AGRn/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-ukhapg4tV/