Featured & Popular Tasting Notes

78

Eventho I was thinking a black tea to start my day – I did this one instead. Upon opening the tin – the aroma of mini mint chocolate chips or maybe even ice cream seems to be the thought that first enters my mind. It seems to steep fairly quickly. As you steep it is smells more chocolate and less minty. At first sip you can taste the Rooibos but the Chocolate follows it and the Mint is the caboose. The after taste is more minty than anything. As the tea sits in your cup for a while it gives off a slight coffee sent but doesn’t really taste like it. Nice, creative blend. MIGHT be one of my favorite flavored Rooibos Blends from Adagio so far…but I am still pondering that for sure. In the meantime…a thumbs up!

Cofftea

I’ve learned I can’t stand the smell of rooibos, it smells like licorice. Their green tea version of this is AMAZING!

TeaEqualsBliss

I have tried that one as well…like it the first time I tried haven’t liked it as much the last few times…but still good.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

75
drank White Blueberry by Adagio Teas
161 tasting notes

I’m a huge fan of this tea iced…but this morning in my sweat pants and hoodie, I’m drinking it hot. And it’s great! I think there are one or two blueberries floating about that I might have to fish out and eat. Tasty cuppa!

Although, after looking at the fuzz covered blueberries in the picture, I might pass on eating them today.

takgoti

SWEAT PANTS AND HOODIES FTW.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

40

Egh. it was one of those mornings when you wake up too early and you can’t fall back asleep… well for those deep sleepers out there i guess that is pretty unimaginable, and i am envious. But yes, it was one of those mornings. As a result I ended up eating three cream puff pastries… and was wanting something wheat-like but instead continued on my sweet tooth rage by brewing a fruity black tea.

I was automatically a little off put by the fact that the aroma was not too strong and there were no bits of real fruit in the loose leaf mix. After a slight steep you could smell the hint of apricot more than the peach… and the taste was more black than fruity. I guess that is good for me as those cream pastries were too sweet anyways, but if i grabbed this tea on a day I was craving a fruity kick of goodness I would have been disappointed.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

90

Part of the Indian tea sampler. (The Adagio black sampler taught me that I prefer Indian over Chinese, now I’ll learn which Indian tea I prefer. Good deal.)

I’ll have to remember to use one of my white cups next time, because the color coming out of the teapot spout looked much darker and more red than I’m used to, and I’d really like to see it. The flavor was very rich, very smooth and pretty malty. I’m a fan.

Preparation
Boiling 6 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Part IV: Halmari CTC BOP (TA 27) vs. Nahorhabi Estate BOP CTC Cl. (TA 18)

The long-delayed fourth round! This time it’s two single-estate teas going head-to-head. With their more impressive pedigrees than previous competitors, I imagine they’re donning elbow-length white gloves instead of boxing gloves.

Dry leaf: Both teas are CTC (crush-tear-curl) process, so they take the form of tiny rolled-up balls rather than leaves. The Halmari has more of the “Grape Nuts” appearance that many of us associate with CTC teas; the Nahorhabi tea balls are smaller and less perfectly round. The Halmari has a subtle aroma of lightly toasted bread. I did not discern any distinctive scent in the Nahorhabi.

When the two teas were brewed, the Halmari produced a liquor that was lighter and browner; the Nahorhabi liquor was deeper in color and had a more reddish tone. (Note: In this round, the teas were brewed with 8 oz. boiling water rather than the Showdown standard of 6 oz. I’d like to pretend there was a rationale for this, but the truth is that I just forgot to stop pouring. :)). Accordingly, I added a little less almond milk to the Halmari.

When tasted, the Halmari had a pronounced biscuity flavor that was quite pleasing. The Nahorhabi had a somewhat richer, maltier character. Interestingly, when I drank the longer-steeped dregs from the brewing vessels (Pyrex cups) after downing the “official” test cups, the Halmari tasted more bitter.

In this (highly subjective) decision, I give the edge to the Nahorhabi, for its deeper color (I’m a sucker for that reddish hue), more complex character and greater tolerance of oversteeping. I think it would be an excellent choice for anyone looking for a morning Assam that is full-bodied but not at all harsh. The Halmari would be my pick when I’m seeking that distinctive biscuity flavor; I can see it working well for afternoon tea. It might also be the better choice for someone who drinks Assam without milk (a concept I have trouble grasping :lol). Just be sure not to let it steep longer than the recommended three minutes.

Cofftea

You should pit the winner against 52teas Essence of Assam:)

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

80
drank Chocolate and Cream by TeaFrog
236 tasting notes

The tea is exactly as it claims to be: chocolate. This is probably the most chocolate of any tea I’ve had. It’s very good. It has a slightly odd perfumed fragrance as well, which I assume is supposed to be the “cream” flavor. It’s a good tea but somewhat monochromatic. If what you want is just this side of hot chocolate, this is a good place to go.

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 15 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

71

As a Bay Area resident, I am happy to present and review this local company, finally making tea fairly traded to connoisseurs after hundreds of years of British economic colonialism. Zawadi Karibu Spiced Chai is a mild tea that gets the job done. The flavor is earthy and spicy without being overwhelming. I have been drinking it with sugar and soy milk, and it has been a joy to keep refilling the cup. Additionally, as the box mentions, I don’t seem to get the jitters that black tea and caffeine can sometimes give me. This unique tea is complemented by its easy pre-packaging, which is both convenient for the user and accessible for anyone to try. It is perfect for the season, and I’ve been keeping my snowman mug full.

Don’t miss the website for this company where sippers can read about the impact of colonialism on access in the tea trade of England, India, and the rest of Europe and the Middle and Near East, fair-trade in Kenya, and the Kenya AIDS Intervention/Prevention project.

Preparation
4 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

100
drank Lover's Leap Estate by Dilmah
14 tasting notes

Reminiscent of a very high quality Darjeeling, but with stronger tannins. The flavor blooms and expands in your mouth. Woodsy, oak-like scent to the dry leaf and liquor. Light like a Darjeeling or a crisp Chardonnay, but fully flavored with layers of depth in taste and aroman

Preparation
Boiling 3 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

49
drank Marco Polo by Mariage Frères
31 tasting notes

I am a huge ‘skeptic’ on flavoured teas, not a purist, but I just tend to stir away from them, especially after some flavored teas didn’t play nice with my taste buds. Some like Black Currant (Enjoying Tea.com), White Peach (Adagio Teas), Mango Black (Zhi Tea; makes a good iced tea though), California Fields (Mighty Leaf Tea,) and some things like that dreaded Earl Grey Bravo (Adagio Teas), and even some overly flowery Jasmines.

So I hear about the “legend of the flavoured teas”: Mariage Brother’s famous Marco Polo Blend. So popular to a fact that when I went to Williams & Sonoma to pick up a tin, they told me they were sold out the very day they restocked. It’s reputation proceeds itself. I consider myself lucky to pick a tin up at Gumps the same day. However, I think I may be overstating this tea.

Now lets dedicate a short some of this on the moment I open this tin; as I was expecting most flavoured teas to have their odour reek from the tin the moment it’s cracked open. Some flavoured teas are so dank, that their scent permeates outside the tin! (White Peach). The the scent of Marco Polo, was tame. It came to my nose with it’s exciting strawberry-maplelike scent, candylike almost, but very sophisticated. I spent a good three minutes just enjoying the aroma this tea tea. The leaves weren’t surprisingly different than other flavoured blacks, a little more fuller of a OP, with contrast of browns, and some lighter blacks. But I still say this is more than decent quality for a flavoured tea.

I brewed this like most blacks: five minutes at boiling, in my 24 ounce white teapot. The cup yielded a medium amber cup, with a mellowed aroma of the tin. The take was surprising to me. Medium-full body, it was mildly fruity and sweet, the flavouring almost bypassed my tongue in a way… to travel to my nose. Either the flavouring of this tea wasn’t as strong as I thought it was, or the heat of the boil just killed all the flavour. Either way, it finished up medium, and somewhat sharp.

This tea strangely finds a place between enjoyable and tolerable for me as I am not a fan of flavoured teas. I tried my second cup with light agave nectar, which leveled the sharp finish; and the third cup with 2% fat milk, which ‘almost’ makes me say this would make a “damn fine cup of tea”. I will make this again but with WHOLE milk or maybe even half and half.

Good luck trying to find a tin of it. It’s a bit more expensive on the web, and some high end pricey stores like Gumps in SF and Williams & Sonoma have limited stock. I consider my score to be high for a flavoured tea. This tea made me accept flavoured teas a little more, which is what I was looking for. It changed my opinion of flavoured tea, and it reminded me of Strawberry Black (Adagio Teas). If you know people who love flavoured teas serve them this, or buy it to entertain your nose. I couldn’t have this everyday. If you are a sceptic on flavoured teas, try this, and it may change your mind. 


Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

94

Let it be said that the ability to describe the tastes of sheng puerhs has always evaded me, like those dreams that seemed so pleasant but you can’t really remember just what they were about. All the roasty-toasty oolong vocabulary just doesn’t work. So my task now is destined to fail, but must nevertheless be undertaken. Because this white-bud sheng from Norbu, which I tasted for the first time today, produces a pretty amazing experience.
Routine brewing in a tiny pot. First sip seems to make a small explosion in my mouth, like the tastes are shooting sideways across my palate and tongue. I taste steamed yellow squash, very precisely. But almost none of the characteristic sheng camphor. There’s something else that I can’t quite say: maybe caramel, yes, or maybe really good whole wheat toast eaten outside near a honeysuckle bush? But the amazing thing is how sweet and how full the nectar is. Does tea have sugars in it like wine or milk?
Second infusion. I think I actually shivered. Second infusion is even better. Camphor just whispers but not medicinal like other shengs. This one would be undetectable except that it’s camphor wrapped in sugar. And the liquid is now even richer. A tiny bit of earthiness, not loamy like old puerth, just fresh earth and a tiny pinch of grass clippings.
I think it does an injustice to say this is a good starter puerh; I think you have to have struggled with sheng first to see how different this is. I look forward to more time with this.
But… I have only a small sample. And Norbu is out of it (lifts the back of his hand to his forehead and sighs). The stuff of dreams.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 0 min, 30 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

92
drank Orchid Oolong by Mighty Leaf Tea
355 tasting notes

I like this more and more every time I drink it. The sweet, grassy, unmistakable taste of orchid married with smooth, creamy coconut gets me every time. Upping my rating!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

75
drank Ceylon Sonata by Adagio Teas
735 tasting notes

So THIS is what they’re using for all the flavored black teas at Adagio. I knew it was Ceylon, but I didn’t know which blend. Anyway, this is a good, standard black tea. The leaves smell sweet and smoky, but the smokiness doesn’t really appear in the tea itself. But that’s alright, I’m not really a fan of smokiness anyway. It brews up a really pleasant shade of amber, and was a great way to start my day.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

38

Okay, I don’t know what I did differently this time (perhaps brewed it longer?) because I liked it today. Still don’t know what a currant is supposed to taste like but I got sort of a light black cherry/berry vibe coming from it today. Of course, lower expectations also might have played a hefty roll in my liking it today. Yay lower expectations!

takgoti

I haven’t had currant [that I can remember] for a long time, but when I did it was in jam form. Black cherry/berry sounds pretty accurate to me.

Auggy

If that’s the case then, I’d say two thumbs up for this tea tasting like what it is supposed to! Hehe.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

91

I went into a new store they opened in the area, and decided to get some samples. I love being able to try new teas and not pay shipping!

The brewed leaf smelled like some kind of delicious fruit aroma. It really surprised me because I was expecting a more roasted-like smell (I hadn’t read the description of the tea that they have on their website; the store just had the name and the price).
BUT, it tasted like strawberries! This could be called “Strawberry Oolong” (in my opinion) though, there are of course no flavorings. Because of this, it seemed like a really high quality tea, but that wouldn’t matter if it didn’t taste good. Well, it was very good. :-)

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 0 min, 30 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

100
drank Citron Green by Adagio Teas
5 tasting notes

Finally. This is the first non-bag, non-Bigelow tea I’ve ever tried. It was wonderful! It’s the first tea I had my family try, using the Adagio UtiliTEA Kettle I bought them for Christmas, and I just might have converted these coffee-and-soda-drinkers to a healthier lifestyle. Thank you, Adagio, for potentially extending the lives of my loved ones.

Because of my incredibly satisfying first foray into non-bag tea, I am giving this tea the highest rating possible. Maybe one day I will look back at this tea and scoff at my naivete, with the disdain of a runway model toward her high school yearbook photos, but until that day, ignorance is bliss.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Cofftea

Glad your 1st loose experience went so well! I can’t wait to hear about more of them.:)

Ian Alas

Loose tea! Ah, that’s what it’s called! Thanks!

Phil Hovatter

Welcome to the ranks of the newly addicted. But it’s a GOOD addiction! The world of tea is huge. Have fun exploring.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

98

WHOA holy flavor. I was that shocked, yes. I don’t know where all that sugary sweetness comes from! It is delicious! It reminds me of the Hot Tamales candies that I love. I don’t know what the “three types” of cinnamon are here, but they are magic. There has to be some sort of sugar in this though, it is so sugary and it is consistant throughout the entire cup. The color of the steep is a nice brownish dark orange. As for a black tea, it isn’t too strong, really letting the cinnamon shine.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

75

This is a very heavy jasmine tea. The scent is heavy and the mouth feel is heavy so that they seem to match in weight making the strength seem appropriate.
I’m pretty sure there is a hint of spice from the tea base to which is really neat. Like the way arugula is spicy so I know plants can exhibit that flavor. Never expected that from a tea base but it makes the whole blend exciting!

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

74

hmm this really really tastes like Tea! I know that should be kinda obvious but with the list of flavors I was expecting the tea part to be mostly covered up.
and the rose flavor is barely there!
wow… this is light and subtle but the flavor really pops for a white. the coconut and the vanilla go very well together (obviously) but don’t cover up the tea… awesome.
Although I don’t know why the listing here on steepster has blueberry on it. My sample pack does not say blueberry and I don’t taste any either

Preparation
175 °F / 79 °C 2 min, 15 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

89

Earl Grey in green tea? Never had it before, I was intrigued!
Chinese green tea, very strong bergamot. I love the scent, and the taste is very zingy-citrus, something gingery, and a hint of floral. Earl Grey is one of my favorites, but I usually have it black. Loving this Earl Grey Green combo because I feel I can taste the bergamot for itself, the green tea doesn’t overpower. It’s more like bergamot with tea, not tea with bergamot.
This one is yum!

EvaPeva

thanks for sharing this. . . this post intrigued me, def. want to try this.

Angrboda

I’ve only ever had green earl grey in a rather bad quality. I’m glad to hear it can be done better. It makes me want to try it again.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

93

You know when you leave your favorite tea for other, more attractive, (pumpkin spice) flavored teas? You even put in cream. And honey. And you’re happy with them, because it’s fall, and it suits your mood. But then one day you get a new teapot in the mail and it tells you, “Hey. That tea and I were made for each other.” So you get out your old favorite, and it makes you swear off “corrupted” tea and junk food, too. At least for today. Maybe you’ll even do some yoga.

This tea brews easily and tastes fabulous after several steepings – squeeze every last drop of tea from it. And that first quick 30 second “rinse” steep – the one that some people dump? I drink it, too. I’ve really pushed what’s acceptable to do to oolongs, and it’s hard to mess this one up. The description mentions cinnamon notes, but I mostly get sweet sweet floral on my palate. Perhaps the “cinnamon” is the grounding flavor that keeps it from being perfume instead of tea. Some of the early infusions might have that delightful buttery feeling, too. The leaves themselves are packed densely, but don’t put off much of an aroma, but even that first pale cup just wafts deliciousness.

I got this package on a trip to Mt. View, and the teashop itself is just amazing. Canisters of teas both (tastefully) flavored and “pure” that the owners are practically giddy (but not pushy) about sharing a whiff of. Tables of yixing pots. Even some crazy flea market style antiques in the back. It’s a trip in itself just to visit for kicks.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 1 min, 15 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

100

Candy Cane Lane is an absolute favorite! I love that it’s green tea based, and it’s minty with a hint of vanilla. I think it’s the vanilla that makes it so soothing. The icy coolness of the mint and the warmness of the vanilla combine to make this a spectacular tea, all year round! I love it so much, that I stock up at the holidays so that I can enjoy this every month.

Also, as a bonus-check out JASON’s hand & body lotion infused with Candy Cane Lane. A very special treat.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 4 min, 0 sec
Jillian

Sweet, another fan of this tea! :D

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

99

As the holidays have mostly left us and we are welcoming significantly warmer temperatures, and longer and sunnier days here in NJ, I thought I would take a stroll back with this tea.

This is still wonderful! Brewed hot, four minutes, no additives. There is the same lovely flavor I remember – richness, almost-spice, tea flavor, smokey sweet. Absolutely delicious.

As a side note, I came on here to rate a pile of teas I got and tried this weekend. Unfortunately, it looks like none of them (or the first three I checked for) are not on here yet. I will rectify this this afternoon. Until then, enjoy!

Preparation
4 min, 0 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

97

This is probably one of the darkest rolled oolongs that I’ve been blessed to drink that was not overroasted to the point of having a burnt taste to it. This Premium Tieguanyin tea brings a wonderful sensational experience upon each sip in the range of flavors that roll upon my tongue. During the initial start of the sip I experience the initial roasted taste before it fades away into a sweet mellow smoothness that lingers in my mouth. The later infusions maintain the same shift, although it slowly becomes less subtle as the roasted taste slowly fades out and the sweeter mellowness becomes more predominate in the tea. In the end I lost count of how many infusions I was able to enjoy out of the leaves but I can safely say that it was over 5 which was really impressive for such a dark tea.

Preparation
Boiling 0 min, 15 sec

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

80

This is the first and only so far oolong tea I’ve ever tried.

My local Earth Fare had several Rishi loose teas 50% off and this is one of the several I brought to try. I did not know if I would enjoy it at all. I haven’t been too fond of unflavored black teas so far and thought an oolong would taste similarly. To my surprise, I loved it. It rapidly became one of my favorite teas of the current batch in my apartment. I start drinking and before I know it I’ve consumed the whole pot already.

I’m about to drink a pot of the second brewing of this set of leaves.

takgoti

I logged about the epiphany I had surrounding oolongs a while ago – they caught me off-guard too. They’re really quite amazing when you catch a good one. They’re also one of the few types of tea I’ve found that consistently evolve through steepings.

I haven’t tried this particular one yet, but enjoy your second steep!

I ♥ NewYorkCiTEA

I have found that all three steepings are quite drinkable. I’ve yet to try brewing a fourth. I do look forward to trying other oolongs in the future so I can see how they compare to this one and if I continue to enjoy them so much. Do you have any favorites that you recommend?

Cofftea

try flavored oolongs!

Login or sign up to leave a comment.

Filter