615 Tasting Notes

84

I’m not feeling the chocolate flavoring as much tonight as I did the first time I had this, but I still find the strawberry flavor true and juicy and it’s the dominant flavor. The saffron adds almost a savory element and plays really well in here. Yum.

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67

Hmm. Seems like Amoda snuck this back into the box this year, too.

The primary flavor is bright, cooling mint, but there’s a definite nutty, woody note from the rooibos floating in there. The white chocolate is more of a creaminess and a sweetness than chocolate, but overall it makes a pretty decent cup.

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more

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84

I’ve been wanting to try these savory teas for near forever now. Our normal grocery store doesn’t carry them, so I didn’t have much hope, but the store near Fiance’s parents’ house did. So here we are!

I got the sampler with all six flavors and this once sounded the least weird, so it’s where I started. But it was still weird. Good weird. But weird.

On the front of of the sip is a salt and delicate pepper flavor, mingling with a brothy tomato with a little bit of lemon brightness. Then the mint hits somewhere in the middle and is pleasingly balanced with the other flavors. The tail of the sip is more straight on pepper and just a little bit of lemon.

This is so much like drinking soup, but it’s not nearly thick enough to even feel like a broth. I really enjoyed it, but I cannot emphasize enough how weird this is.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec
__Morgana__

If this is the least weird I can’t wait it hear about the others!

music27note

Remind me to bring over my lemon basil oolong next time I see you. I think that one is my introduction to savory tea :)

moraiwe

From Fava? I actually have some here!

music27note

Yes from Fava, I should have assumed you did XD

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56
drank The Pint by Adagio Custom Blends
615 tasting notes

First impressions: there’s some seriously potent gingerness to this blend!

There’s also a pleasant maltiness present, which overpowers the slight metallic feeling I find present in Adagio’s black base from time to time. The gunpowder lends a bit of smoke, and the cream offers more mouthfeel creaminess than anything. It’s a heavy, savory feeling cup that reminds me of a meal. This isn’t something I’d have picked up on my own, and I probably won’t pick it up again, but I’m glad I had a chance to sample it. (From the 12 Days swap, Day 9)

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec

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70
drank Butterbeer by 52teas
615 tasting notes

I’m in the minority on this one as I don’t much care for it hot at all. CK gave me some a while back, and I kept wanting it to grow on me, but I found it a little medicinal and I guess I was expecting something more butterscotchy. Also chicory and I have a mixed relationship (I like it in coffee, but on it’s own I think sometimes it can taste like a woodier, more bitter version of coffee).

And while I didn’t necessarily care for this, I didn’t dislike it enough not to drink it. I cold steeped as a way to use up more leaf, really. But by golly, I wish I would have done this in the beginning! I can get past the chicory this way. It’s a distant nuttiness to the primary butter and flat rootbeer flavors. I really only get a little bit of base at the beginning of the sip, too. The aftertaste is either butter or licorice depending on what part of my tongue it touches.

Still not quite how I pictured Butterbeer, but I do quite like it this way.

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more

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65

I might have to take red rooibos off my list of things I really don’t like, because I think I’m sliding back into a ‘rooibos is drinkable’ phase. I like the sweet vanilla aftertaste of this one.

VariaTEA

I also find Della Terra rooibos teas more palatable than others. Perhaps because they are loaded with lots of different flavors?

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74

I am so excited I found veggies my birds will eat. They’re so stubborn I just wanna shove it in their beaks and be like EAT. In any case, they eat acorn squash (uncooked and cut into chunks) and jalapenos (with all the seeds left in). Gandalf gets super stoked over jalapeno time. It’s pretty comical.

When I first steeped this up today, I had to doublecheck my parameters because all I smelled was bergamot. Holy man. Luckily it was the same cup as before. Mild base, mild bergamot, mild floral. This would work anytime of day, really. It’s just a lovely aromatic mild cup.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 30 sec
Courtney

Haha when we had our lovebird she was the same. She never ate any veggies and it drove me crazy.

moraiwe

I even tried organic baby food! I had limited success with pumpkin, but most of it wound up on the wall behind them. Not cool birds, not cool.

caile

jalapeños with the seeds! I never knew birds would like hot things!

moraiwe

Apparently they can’t taste or feel capsaicin so they only taste the peppers. Mine are apparently all about the hotter the better though, because they won’t touch bell pepper.

caile

haha! They know what they like!

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92

Sad, sad, sipdown.

But I need to get that number down to get myself out of my self imposed order hiatus (which is really the saddest part of this).

This was the (not-quite)EG that got be back into EGs. Sweet rose, immediately followed by malty dark cocoa goodness, all wrapped up in a tidy citrus bergamot package. The rose just kind of lingers on the tongue all coy and tempting you to make another cup.

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Terri HarpLady

Yeah, this is one of the EG types that is mild enough on the bergamot that I can actually drink it, :)

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82

So, I’m finally winding down and think I can write a couple reviews. I have a loaf of banana bread in the oven and a cup of tea, and it’s the first time I felt remotely calm in five days. I’m one of those people who would love to plan their week out the week prior and this week has been nothing of that sort. It’s mostly me running around like a headless chicken and wishing I could plan, well, anything.

The whole halves of cranberries are really nice in this blend. Not in the eat them out of the infuser kind of way, but in the ‘I know exactly what I’m drinking!’ kind of way. I love the tingly feeling this cup leaves in my mouth, and the cranberries and lemons pair really well to make a cup that’s tart, but sweet and fresh tasting. I’m really glad I was introduced to this one, as it’s definitely an herbal I can get behind.

Preparation
Boiling 8 min or more

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91

I actually drank quite a bit of tea over the last several days, but we had company so I didn’t get to logging any of it. Bah, oh well.

I turned this one into tea soda because the lovely music27note was over and we wanted tea soda. And then I didn’t get a chance to share it; which is pretty typical of me, but really quite sad, because it’s delicious this way. Hoppy and tart, with a strong vanilla cream and natural rhubarb flavor. The keemun provides a smooth base with no smoke flavors eeking through (though admittedly the subtleties get lost in the fizziness).

I need to get around to trying this one hot now.

music27note

Obviously next time I’m over I need to try this XD

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Profile

Bio

Intro:

Name: Lauren
Location: Wisconsin (previously a Chicago girl)
Occupation: Student by day and super hero by night
Super Hero? Yep!
Which One? I can’t tell you that! Secret identities and such. Just know I’m not the hero they want, but the hero they need.
Sidekicks: Fiance and two budgies, Skitter and Gandalf

Hobbies:

Reading, writing, cooking, video games, computers, drawing, crafting, papercraft. Oh and tea.

A brief history:

I grew up in a family where the only working coffee maker was in my dad’s office. So the name of the game for my mother and I quickly became (bagged) tea. In 2004/2005, I discovered Adagio Teas. I don’t remember how it happened, or why I decided to pursue a purchase but here we are. I haven’t looked back.

My tea tastes have changed over time and I’ve moved from liking solely flavored teas (mostly black and white) to enjoying Darjeelings primarily, though malty unflavored blacks, fresh tasting greens, and lightly oxidized oolongs come in pretty high on my list, too. Of course, I still enjoy a good cup of flavored tea. I prefer caffeinated teas, as I have a horrible caffeine addiction that I don’t plan on kicking any time soon.

Red rooibos and lapsang souchong (or other strongly smoky teas) are my arch nemeses and I will see them defeated and removed by force from my cupboard. Like all thing, there are exceptions, but I assume they’re guilty until proven innocent.

I really don’t like negatively rating things, because I feel like if you don’t have something nice to say, you probably shouldn’t say it. But in the interest of non-biased tea reviews I’m going to give it a shot. I view every tea as a potential adventure so I’ll try most things at least once.

I love trading and swaps are always welcome! Please note, though, what it in my cupboard includes amounts ranging from a couple cups to 4 ounces or more, so please PM me to find out if what you’re seeking is available in that trade amount.

According to my spreadsheet, I also have about 100 other 1-4 cup samples that are not in my cupboard.. Feel free to message if you’re interested in see the spreadsheet for possible swap options as well.

Tea Ratings:

100-95 Nectar of the teagods that has been bestowed upon my unworthy tongue. I will never let this tin run empty.

86-94 These are the teas I would like to keep regularly stocked, but sometimes life gets in the way. Lovely teas, but not quite god tier. I still get cravings for these.

74-85 Good teas, but not amazing. I enjoy these, but may or may not restock once they run out. I would still recommend these to others.

60-73 Not bad. I’ll gladly keep drinking my cup, and wouldn’t say no if someone offered me this tea. I probably won’t rebuy these as there is likely something else that is comparable and better.

47-59 Certainly drinkable and might even have some characteristics that I enjoy, but I won’t pick it up again

30-46 I’ll probably finish my cup, but this tea isn’t to my taste OR it’s just overwhemingly mediocre. Life’s too short for bad tea.

11-29 This cup is in the sink now and I will never willingly consume this again. If you see a tea rated this way, I probably followed it with mouthwash.

0-10 Please say a prayer for the cup I destroyed in the process of disposing of this tea in the quickest manner possible. I may need tea therapy before I drink a similar tea again.

Location

Wisconsin, US

Website

http://atinyteapot.tumblr.com/

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