161 Tasting Notes
I steeped for 5 minutes. The color is very pale yellow. I do smell a faint “tea smell” but there is almost no taste. As the cup started to cool off, I began to taste a little tea. Slightly earthy with a faint musty smell and taste. Maybe I needed more leaves despite being careful about the portion due to TeaEqualsBliss’s review. Not good…not bad. This one is just blah.
Loves it!!!
I really took the time on Saturday evening to brew this correctly. The whole process took about 30 or so minutes. I had about 1 cup of cream that I added to the mix that made it superb! Diets aside, adding the rich cream was sooo good. The whole house smelled spicy and fall-y. After my husband’s initial, “you’re going to make me drink that, aren’t you?” he decided that he loved it. (I didn’t tell him it had coconut in it.)
On Sunday morning I awoke to the Thai Chai smell in the house again. I thought it might still be from the night before, but my husband crept into the bedroom with a breakfast tray of eggs in a pita pocket, a piece of homemade baklava, and the last rose from our garden. Oh yeah, and a huge steaming cup of Thai Chai for the both of us! He had snuck out of bed to start making the tea! He admitted that it was better with the cream added (he just used skim milk), but it tasted great to me because of all the thought he put into it.
As we lounged in bed eating breakfast and drinking our tea, he said to me, “Hey babe, I won’t give you a hard time if you order a much bigger bag of this stuff.” Yea!!! No more eye-rolling when he sees my tea orders!
This tea smells genuine. It tastes genuine. Even the aftertaste is pure. Very light in color and ever so delicate. My cubicle smells like I have a little greenhouse of Jasmine growing and blooming. I think I must have accomplished the perfect steep because everything seems just so. I feel all girly drinking this cup…and I’m not a big girly girl. (except that I’m not really into bugs touching me…or being anywhere around me.)
This tea will have to be an “in a certain mood” tea. I couldn’t drink it everday.
Oh yeah, for all you visual folks out there, I added the pic of the tea leaves to the site. Thank you…thank you!
Awesome – thanks! I’ll be getting your goodies together tomorrow. Tea swapping is so fun – like Christmas but no pesky wrapping paper! :)
Well, the peer pressure worked. I bought a bag.
I’m not a fan of chamomile, but this blend is pretty good. I love me some rooibos and I think this is the 1st “anything” that I like it blended with. I still haven’t found a flavored rooibos that I like. :(
I drank two cups hot and it kind of felt medicinal in a way. This isn’t a bad thing, but I might reserve this tea for sore throat, feeling funky days. I’ll try it iced next, since that seems to be getting rave reviews.
Perk: after drinking, my breath is feeling quite minty clean.
My new stash is in!!! (picked up off the front porch by my eye-rolling husband.) I was really excited to try this one, so I’m drinking it first. The leaves smell and look really nice, both dry and wet. The picture looks just like the dry leaves…but after steeping, several of the leaves unfurled to show whole 1-1.5 inch leaves. Pretty neat!
I’m not really picking up any of the peachy notes, but it doesn’t matter. #40 is very smooth and soft tasting with a tiny smoky aftertaste. It also brews up pretty dark. I don’t know how this tea and ali shan are in the same oolong category. I highly favor this type/style of oolong over the hand rolled, super dry tasting other oolongs. However, I wish I preferred the others considering this tea is $44 for a 6oz tin. Diggity damn! #40 might have to be my “special occasion” or “really bad day” tea.
I’ll just keep steeping this cup until I’m drinking clear, hot water…it’s THAT tasty.
I’m running low on everything!!! Luckily, I’ll have a brand new box of goodness from Adagio as soon as I get home. Yea! New teas and new posts to follow.
Does anyone know of an ANTI-rain dance? I’m about tired of driving to and from work in the rain. And my dog can’t go out and play. Wanna see a 150 pound Great Dane that is scared of the rain?…come to my crib. At least this cuppa kept me nice and warm and snuggly as I pretend to work. I’m on my second cup. Bravo Sagittarius tea!
If you find that anti-rain dance, let me know. It’s rained so much here this summer, even my cactus plants have mushrooms growing in them. And don’t even ask about being trapped in the house with two stir-crazy beagles.
I like the Cancer tea from the Zodiac series – it sounds like this one is worth trying, too.
I’m not feeling this one and it’s my second time trying it. Any tea that has a description of “smelling of crab” should have thrown up the good ole warning flag. And I get it…there is a faint crab…err, krab smell.
There is a natural sweetness to this tea, but the sharp veggie dryness kills it. I’m glad this tea was part of a free sample pack…I would never re-order it. As a matter of fact, this tin will probably go into the drawer of misfit teas and wait until it can be swapped.
Any takers for the krab tea?
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.
As a resident of TN, I have unlimited access to average tea/slightly above average tea at every restaurant I eat at. Even our Sonic and Subways have ok Southern Sweet tea if you don’t mind risking a diabetic sugar coma. I don’t think these Black Dragon Pearls are anything to write home about.
My office just received our complimentary flu shots this morning, so I brewed up a cup and had it on standby. Keep in mind that I’m a HUGE needle whimp, so I was looking forward to a hot cup of soothing goodness. It just didn’t come through for me like my Wuyi oolong probably would have.
Taste = C
Entertainment factor = A
Will comfort and get your back = D
You’re right Jillian, although you should never waste tea by steeping a tea you can’t stand to drink just to look at it.