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Shanie O Maniac drank Wild Strawberry by Adagio Teas

194 tasting notes

So being that this is an herbal tea, I didn’t shy away from adding sweetener. I will say that with the addition of two splendas the taste is kinda like strawberry apple jello water. It’s super sweet. The strawberry is very overpowering, with the apple sort of as a background flavor. Knowing me I may well reorder this one because I love super sweet fruity teas. But for someone who doesn’t want super syrupy sweet, I definitely would not recommend this and if you do try it, don’t add sweetener.

Flavors: Apple, Fruity, Strawberry

Preparation

Boiling 6 min, 45 sec

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Shanie O Maniac drank Dancong Aria by Adagio Teas

194 tasting notes

Another foray into the world of unflavored teas. Dancong Aria. No sweetener in this one. I’m definitely getting some strong earthy notes, but also I am getting floral notes as well. The liquor is very pale, kinda reminds me of peach water. I’ve heard people describe a peach aftertaste to this tea, but I really don’t taste it much if at all. If anything the lingering taste is slightly bitter. I may also have slightly oversteeped this because the color and taste when I sampled at 3 minutes was very faint. But steeping it for a full 5 minutes like I said, leaves a slight bitterness to it. I’ve never had Oolong before, so maybe it’s supposed to be that delicate. I’m used to delicate white teas, but this surprised me. The smell in the pouch is MUCH stronger than the flavor brewed I will say that. It is enjoyable, but as I don’t think I brewed it properly I will hold off on a yay or nay recommendation until I can perform further research.

Flavors: Bitter, Earth, Floral

Preparation

190 °F / 87 °C 5 min, 0 sec

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Shanie O Maniac drank Caramel Apple Dream by Celestial Seasonings

194 tasting notes

This is one of the few teas which I loved so much that I went out of my way to get more. Is it rather artificial tasting? Yes. But does that stop me from loving it? NO! It tastes like Caramel Apple candy. Note, I didn’t say it tasted like a caramel apple. It doesn’t. It tastes like artificially flavored caramel apple candy. But it is totally a guilty pleasure tea for me. I am diabetic and cannot have much sugar. So basically, actual apple cider is out. This, when sweetened with a bit of splenda (not stevia. It just does NOT work with Stevia) is close enough to what apple cider basically tastes like to me for it to work as an acceptable substitute. Again, this is a guilty pleasure for me. Is this a good quality apple tea? Heck no. But is it surprisingly tasty enough that I always want it around even out of season? TOTALLY!

Flavors: Apple Candy, Caramel

Preparation

Boiling 6 min, 0 sec

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Shanie O Maniac drank Bengal Spice by Celestial Seasonings

194 tasting notes

So this is basically Chai Tea, without the actual Tea. While my proclivity lately has been more towards loose leaf, I greatly appreciate Bengal Spice for it’s caffeine free nature, and tend to drink it later in the day when I don’t want the caffeine of my usual Masala Chai. It’s really rather good, quite spicy, and I find it drinkable with or without any kind of milk. Without is definitely spicier though. I would recommend this tea to anyone who loves a decent chai, but has tendencies to drink it later in the day when it may interfere with sleep. All in all, not bad for bagged.

Flavors: Cinnamon, Cloves, Spices, Vanilla

Preparation

Boiling 6 min, 0 sec

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Bio

HELLO! My name is Shanie and I love tea!

While I have always loved various types of tea, for a very long time it came exclusively from a grocery store. It’s only been a year or so now that I’ve gotten into loose leaf. As such, there will likely be tasting notes I do for bagged tea as well as good quality (and not so good quality) loose leaf teas. I’m still learning as I go so have patience please!

Right now, I am on a massive Earl Grey kick. So if a ton of my notes are just various varieties of EG, that’s why!

Some of my favorite flavors include: Cocoa, Malt, Bread, Honey, Earthy, Sweet Citrus, Caramel, Apple, Spices, and Cinnamon.

Some flavors I don’t like: Licorice, Coconut, Bitey Citrus (like Citric Acid), Licorice, Sour, Smoke, Overpowering Fake Vanilla, Stevia, and did I mention Licorice?

NOTE: I am Type 2 Diabetic. As such, I can really not have sugar added to tea without suffering problems. This prohibits me from using either plain sugar or honey. Instead, I use Splenda as I found my system can handle it well and I like the flavor. I try to avoid stevia as I’ve found it often ruins the flavor of tea. However, not all teas require sweetener, and some are better without. Because of this, if I add sweetener to a tea, I will mention it in the tasting note and say what kind and how much. Usually, I sweeten flavored and herbal teas but leave true teas unsweetened. There are exceptions, but this is a general rule of thumb to go by.

Almost all of the tea I brew is western style. I occasionally do grandpa, but pretty much never Gong-fu. I do own a Gaiwan, but it never gets used. Considering I don’t have a “sip setting” when it comes to beverages, it’s really hard for me to get into any sized amount less than 8oz at a time. I know that probably makes me a tea-heathen, but so be it. I like my mugs.

I have decided to try and make a scale for my ratings. So here goes.

As of January 2020.

100-91: These are my go-to favorites. I will likely go out of my way to always keep these on hand, including going on third party websites to obtain out of season.
90-81: This is a tea I really did enjoy, and I will likely purchase again. However, I wouldn’t go to the ends of the earth for it, and it isn’t my all-time favorite.
80-71 This is a tea that, while I may have somewhat enjoyed, something is holding me back from making it a mainstay. Maybe the flavor profile isn’t the best. Maybe there is an offputting aftertaste. It varies. But while I did like it and will continue to drink it, I don’t absolutely need it in my life, and while I will likely finish what I have, I may or may not get more.
70-61: This is a tea which I drank, but I didn’t like it. However, I didn’t hate it either. It wasn’t bad enough to dump, and if it is the only thing available to drink, I would likely drink it instead of plain water. But in the end, this is just not my literal cup of tea and I will likely not get this again.
60-51: This is something that I didn’t like much at all, but for one reason or another, refused to dump. If I squint hard enough and use my imagination, I can almost BS myself into thinking they are decent, and I suppose I can choke it down and not waste it. These are teas that I will not be buying again, and may not even finish what I have.
50-41: Yeah, whatever this is, I there’s a good chance I dumped it. At this level, it’s pretty bad stuff with either weak flavor, nasty flavor, or all the wrong flavors, It has few redeeming qualities, and I likely won’t reach for this one again. On the bright side, it isn’t sewage water, so there’s that.
40-31. On it’s best day this tea has no redeeming qualities. This not only got dumped but the package it came in either got thrown away, traded, or shoved to the back of the cupboard to never be touched again. Not the worst thing I’ve ever tasted, but darn sure close.
30-Under: The worst thing I’ve ever tasted. This not only has no redeeming qualities, but it is gag-inducing. “Teas” in this range are so bad I not only will never drink them again, I really don’t feel like offloading them onto anyone else because they are just that bad. Actual sewage water.