Adagio Teas Custom Blends

THE RUNDOWN
1) I’ve had some of Kristina’s teas in the past but never reviewed them here. It’s exciting to have an infuser finally and have the opportunity to drink them properly. The color of this tea is GORGEOUS. Just beautiful the way the green and rooibos teas make this honey color. Smells amazing too.
2) First Taste: It’s such a mild flavor, despite all the ingredients. Great mouthfeel. The green is highly present and the rooibos is the aftertaste. The bergamot is more or less the scent but not the taste.
3) Second Taste: I am tasting a bit more of rooibos this time, but DEFINITELY the peppermint, which I didn’t get too much of the first time around. Also the peels, which are present in the mouthfeel and the aftertaste. This is a really great blend.
4) Final Thought: While I don’t love that there are still smal leaves left at the bottom, I can’t exactly blame that on the tea. I really love the blend: it’s mild, flavorful, and not at all over-pungent. I would definitely recommend (and maybe even stock).

This blend smells just like a chocolate cake—it’s hard to describe, but there’s even that moist, freshly-baked quality to it. In terms of flavor, it’s very authentically chocolatey as well, with a touch of liqueur-like, cherry sweetness. Most chocolate-flavored teas I’ve encountered outside of Butiki are downright unpleasant, so this was a nice surprise. (“It wasn’t nasty” might not sound like high praise, but for teas of this category it is!)

The tea base, however, is not that great. There is not much to be said about it, and it has an acidic quality that makes the blend less enjoyable. So, in terms of authentic flavoring it’s a win, but could do with a better backdrop.

I am of the considered opinion that virtually nothing in reality cannot be improved by the addition of coconut. So of course I had to make one of my hrh emperor oliver Adagio Custom blends with some coconut presence. I decided to combine the Thai chai with some almond oolong and coconut-scented black tea. Then I threw in some marigold flowers—just because!

The brew is surprisingly good. I was worried from the scent that the cinnamon would be too strong, but it ended up becoming less dominant in the liquor. I’m going to try a second infusion of the leaves, as there seems to be a lot more tea power left to enjoy…

This blend is the third in a series of commemorative teas for HRH Emperor Oliver, who took leave of the terrestrial realm on September 16, 2013. May He rest in peace.

A blend of almond and vanilla oolong with a touch of chestnut-flavored black tea and some cocoa nibs, hrh emperor oliver #3 is a hearty, dark-liquoring brew. It reminds me a bit of Tazo Pogo and one of Teavana’s Java Mate blends. Perhaps the chestnut flavoring is reminding me of chicory and mate? Or are the cocoa nibs contributing as well? Not sure. The oolong is definitely more oxidized than not—probably good old-fashioned formosa oolong.

I enjoyed this cup on a super-cold day in Boston, staying inside warm and snuggly. I only wish that The Emperor were still here in all of his furry wonderfulness!

Smells deliciously amaretto. By itself, it was just okay. But adding some samurai chai mate tea (teavanna) really brought out the amaretto flavoring. I add 1 tsp. of rock sugar.

Mmmm… honeybush goodness. Like others have noted, I mostly get a roast, nutty flavor from this tea. An excellent cup for before bed :)

‘Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire,
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.’
Robert Frost

A taste of worlds burning, and the cold void of space. Two opposing forces balanced in perfect harmony. The burn of spice on the tongue, and then the cool and lingering chill of mint afterwards.

Delicious, refreshing, and golden.

This was a fantastic blend, and I am sorry to have finished the last of what I had! It will certainly be added to the wishlist/shopping list.

Hazelnut, honeybush, and rooibos…wow.

Another sampling of the 2014 Herbal TTB.

I had not yet looked at the ingredients list, when I opened the package, but it smelled amazing, and I could not wait to make a cup of it. Based on how my last two cups of the morning have gone, I fully anticipated oversteeping this one, too.

Only an extra minute got added onto the steep time. Hazelnut is prominent, but the taste itself is not overly sweet. Rather, it is more roasted nut flavor, which makes for a pleasant cup.

A sample from a friend, his own blend.

First thoughts: Black and white tea don’t usually go together very well because of their basic brewing requirements. Black tea is best brewed at 212 degrees for 2-3 minutes while White tea must be brewed at lower temperatures for less time. Typically white tea is brewed for 1-2 minutes at 180 degrees F.

So that said, I went ahead and brewed it according to the recommended time on the custom blend’s page at the recommended temperature.

The smell is sweet, slightly floral with a hint of bergamot.

The taste is interesting. I don’t get much of the bergamot from the Earl Grey. I do get the cream and a little floral note in there. I’m not sure I can really name the rest. It’s a sweet, round flavor and the bergamot kinda sneaks its way in on the tail. Not bad at all.

I tried it hot and then drank some more after it was cooled off. Both ways it’s pretty nice. It’s not a bad flavor at all.

I guess if anything it has too many flavors for me to be sure what to make of it.
The rose hip is mild but still I don’t like rose hips personally and would probably like it better without them.

I’m not sure it’s a tea I’d particularly go looking for, but it’s certainly a tea I wouldn’t turn down if offered a cup.

Thank you very much for the sample, Robert. ^^

Backlog 10/67

After a long night of tasting teas that mostly weren’t my cuppa, this felt like a reward for all my bravery and perseverance. :) A sample from my friend Becky who isn’t on Steepster as of yet. Her custom blend from Adagio. All I can say is: Yes! This is a good tea. I would drink this again and again. I found it delightful with just a little sugar. It tasted just how I wanted it to from a smell of the leaves. It was strong enough in every department: Sweet, spices, minty.

It was so good last night I had to have it for my cuppa this morning. Today I decided to try it with some cream. All I have is vanilla and hazelnut at the moment, so it got vanilla. As it turns out, vanilla is right at home with this set of flavors. Like a mix of a candy cane and a chai, so it goes very well with creamy vanilla. I imagine it’d be delectable as a solid latte with foam and all. :)

So props to my dear Becky. It’s the best of the blends you sent in my opinion. Much love for this one. :)

Herbal Traveling Tea Box

How did I miss this tea when I was doing my Adagio sequence yesterday? Oh, well, this tea served as a great change of pace from all the fruity teas that I have been sampling recently:P Oh, pancakes..This tea reminds me of maple syrup:D Which is really quite good. So I’m quite a small person, but for some reason I can out eat my 200 lb brother when it comes to pancakes. 30 full-sized pancakes in one sitting is not too difficult for me. Ihop never sees it coming when I walk in the door— especially after the Tough Mudder Run. Muahaha>:} But anyways, I’m a fan of maple syrup. This tea also has a lovely hazelnut with a touch of….. caramel?.. It is a bit strong of honeybush but I like that flavor, so I don’t mind. :P

Sipdown (339)!

Anytime you have to say goodbye to a fandom tea is sad, but this is one of the oldest teas in my cupboard so having finished it off feels pretty satisfying/like a solid accomplishment. This certainly wasn’t just a straight forward hot cup either; for this one I finished it off as an iced latte, sweetened with pumpkin agave. Let me just get it out of the way now, it was magical – and not just because this is a Harry Potter themed tea.

As always, this was rich and sweet with a great mix of nutty flavours: almond, hazelnut, and peanut! It’s undercut with caramel sweetness, so it just kind of bonds all those different nutty elements together to create this rich overall flavour. The milk from the latte makes it creamier and silkier, and the flavour comes together in a way that reminds me of the sweet, creamy and nutty nougat in an Oh Henry! bar; though obviously without any trace of chocolate (as it should be). Icing it just makes it more refreshing.

The pumpkin was the crown jewel though: it was just like this lovely autumnal flavour that really added a sweet, dessert like element without taking anything away from the flavours that were already there. Plus, with all that creamyness and nutty flavour, it was SORT OF pumpkin pie like, with fresh whipped cream and everything! Just no spices. And who needs the spices, really? Pumpkin is better when it’s creamy and on its own.

I think this was the best possible thing I could have done with the tea leaf to finish it off!

Made a hot cuppa last night while I was doing Mandarin flash cards. It was supposed to be like a treat for doing well; you know, positive reinforcement? However, the tea tasted so flat/bland that it didn’t really work like I’d wanted.

Blah.

This is a queued tasting note.

Had this one cold brewed earlier in the week; it wasn’t so bad because it was primarily just sweet almond notes – but I can’t help but feel like the flavour is deteriorating pretty quickly from this blend. I mean, it IS quite old though.

Speaking of Harry Potterish things…

I’m going to Fan Expo in Saskatoon in a little less than a week, and one of the media guests that’ll be doing autographs/photos is Tom Felton! I’m incredibly excited about that, only problem now is that I’m really not sure what I want to get him to sign since I don’t really own any Harry Potter memorabilia other than the books which are in VERY rough shape. So, what should I get him to sign?

Also, I’m gonna get to meet James Marsters again which is super exciting! He plays Spike in BTVS and Angel, and I’ve already met him once at C4. This time, I’m getting him to write out the font I want done on my unfinished BTVS tattoo though. Carrie Fisher is there too, which is cool but I don’t know if I can commit to waiting for what is bound to be the busiest line up in the whole convention just for her autograph. Bob Morley (Bellamy Blake from The 100) is there too though, and I definitely want to grab his autograph too! The 100 is my favourite ‘currently airing’ (although the third season is done now) TV show right now, so that’s definitely a must. What should I get him to sign, though? Agh; important decisions!!!

Hot end of the night mug;

Mostly got the caramel sweetness from this mug and not a whole lot of the nutty flavours. The base also come off very strongly, so there’s was a woody taste to each sip. It wasn’t a bad mug by any stretch but I wasn’t super into it either so I just tossed the last third of the mug.

Also, decreasing my rating from a 76 to a 71.

Enjoyed drinking this tea as my morning cold brew today; I think I’ve cold brewed it before and if I have it must not have been overly good because it didn’t leave a lasting impression. This was pretty tasty though; it came out this very dark, chocolate-y brown colour. Very roasty flavour with strong hazelnut and caramel notes, weaker coffee notes.

Drank most of it straight, but finished up the last portion with some cheese and crackers. Fancy cheese and crackers though; Flax Seed crackers with melted on kale infused Gouda and a Merlot balsamic reduction drizzled on top. The crackers were phenomenal; the crackers and tea pairing? Not sure much.

Honestly, I can’t wait for the part of my Tea Sommelier course that deals with food pairings; I think I’ve got much to learn in that area…

This is a queued tasting note.

Caramel start with a really intense nutty finish. Definitely almond, but some more peanut like notes were present too. The mouthfeel was kinda thin, which was a little weird with the super rich taste.

I’ve totally fucked up my sleep schedule. This last week I’ve been going to bed at like 8PM, and then up again at like 1AM. I need to fall back into my routine of going to bed at 2AM and up at 10AM to get ready for work in the early afternoon, ‘cause as is I’ve wound up wide awake at 2AM the last three nights totally and completely unable to get back to sleep. Ugh!

At least it helps that I can’t go to bed until after 9PM today ‘cause that’s when the bandage from today’s tattoo has to come off and I’ve gotta get it all cleaned up…

EDIT: Oh, and this one was a cold brew!

I made Golden Honeydew in one of my timolinos recently, and now everything had a slight honeydew flavour to it. I’ve tried scrubbing out the timolino, but it’s just not going away. Today it’s gonna go through the dishwasher, and hopefully that purges what smell is still holding on. So, this didn’t taste quite like what I was going for; but the nut/melon combination wasn’t bad either. The almond flavour and caramel flavours were quite strong as well.

Today’s work of the day is kibosh. Kibosh means “To end something suddenly, stop”. How appropriate with today’s plan to kibosh the lingering smell and taste of Golden Honeydew! I probably couldn’t have picked a better word if I’d tried.

Made in a timolino.

I accidentally overleafed this because I wasn’t paying attention while measuring it out, and the result was a disappointing brew that was way too sweet in a really artificial/low quality caramel kind of way, with a super sugary nut/marzipan after taste. I only finished about half of it – even after a super long shift it was just too much for me.

Boo.

Last cup Halloween night. Steeped up a mug for me, and one for my Dad since he said he wanted to try a new tea but wanted something without any caffeine in it. I was making this already, so it was perfect. I offered some to my brother too but he wasn’t interested. Someday I’ll get him really into tea (he did love the name, so that’s something).

Dad said the mug was very “rich” which could be either good or bad coming from him; he’s not too big on sweets and lately has really insisted that, when he visits, everything be sugar free. Some new diet or something? I definitely didn’t add any sugar to either of our mugs though.

I too thought it was definitely sweet though; made me glad I changed my mind about overleafing my cup after all. There was even almost a “boozy” schnapps quality to the taste that I kind of associate with the sweetness of butterscotch or caramel – and then with the strong almond in the mix it gave a vague “Amaretto” vibe to the cup. Mmm!