Company: Adagio

Type: Green, loose

Cost: $19.00 for 4oz

Tea Notes:

• Appearance of the dry leaves are flat and thin.  They are a muted sage green with some darker jade green colors but none of them are bold in the depth of color.
• I prepared this using 1 teaspoon of leaves in water that was 180F.  Steep time was 3 minutes.
• Aroma of the steeped tea was vegetal and reminded me of steamed broccoli.
• The color in my cup was a beautiful pale green.
• Flavor was vegetal and a little grassy green with an ever so slight roasted taste.  There was a little bit of astringency on the back of the tongue.

Thoughts:
This is my first taste of the popular Dragonwell tea.  I’m sitting here thinking how far I still have to go on my tea journey considering I am trying many types of teas for the first time and have lots to learn to about all of them.  I enjoyed this Dragonwell and felt it had a strong, smooth mouthfeel but was not heavy.  I could still taste the tea on my tongue after I was finished drinking.  To me it also seemed to have a light savory quality that made it very relaxing to drink.

The product(s) included in this post were purchased by myself or sent as a free sample along with a purchase.

Company: Adagio

Type: Black

Cost: $14 for 3oz

As I continue to explore the world of tea I am trying to really step out of my comfort zone and try teas I previously would have ignored.  I was always under the assumption that black teas were not for me due to their strong and robust flavors.  However, as I am developing my tea palette I am beginning to notice something…I like black teas.  When I find a black tea that isn’t overpowering and bitter, I actually really enjoy them.

Adagio’s Yunnan Gold is one tea that I normally would have passed over but decided to give it a shot and expand my tea horizons.  Yunnan Gold is a black tea from the Yunnan region in China and according to the Adagio website, if only one tea could be taken to a desert island, this would be it.

The tea leaves are a beautiful yellow gold along with some muted green mixed in.  The aroma of the dry leaves was actually hard to pick up on and I felt that it smelled just like any other black tea, though not as strong.  I steeped 1 teaspoon of tea leaves in 8oz of  boiling water for 4 minutes.  The instructions say 5 minutes, but I like to start all my blacks with 4 minutes.  The color of the liquor was a relaxing golden brown and emitted a comforting fragrance.  The taste had a medium body that was slightly malty with hints of pepper.  There was a sense of earthiness to it as well.  It wasn’t bitter in the least and had ever so little astringency to it, which I have determined is not necessarily a bad thing.

I have to say that I really enjoyed this black tea!  It tastes great to me and where I normally would have turned my nose up before I even tried this, I discovered that I was sad when my pot of tea was finished.  I don’t know if I would make this my desert island tea but it would be a contender for me.  I was really surprised that I enjoyed this as much as I did and I am glad I am getting over my dislike of strong teas as it allows my adventure to take new directions.

The product(s) included in this post were sent to me to be considered for review by the company mentioned or by a PR agency that represents them.

Name: Gyokuro

Company: Adagio

Type: Green, loose

Cost: $39 for 5oz

This tea fascinates me.  Gyokuro is in many people’s opinion the finest Japanese green tea.  It also seems to be the costliest.  What makes this type of tea so unique is it is grown underneath the shade instead of in the sun. The name translates into ‘jade dew’ which gives a hint at the beauty and delicate nature of this tea.

I’m almost certain this has got to be the most finicky and difficult tea to brew correctly.  It requires lower temperatures and that really makes quite a difference in whether or not this type of tea will turn out enjoyable.  The temperature of the water needs to be between 122 and 140 which means preheating your teaware is essential if you don’t want to end up with tea that is lukewarm.  It is also necessary to use the correct amount of tea leaves which should be about 1 gram per 1 oz of water.  Steep time needs to be 2 minutes.  All of the above information came from O-Cha’s green tea brewing tips.  Please visit them if you would like more information.

Now on to the review of Adagio’s Gyokuro.  Like all of Adagio teas there is a brewing recommendation on the tin which suggests this should be brewed for 3 minutes in 180 degree water.  I personally wouldn’t use that recommendation for this particular tea.  You won’t end up getting the full experience or a great cup.  I followed the instructions I found on O-Cha to help me get the most out of this.

The dry leaves are tiny and a lovely shade of dark green.  They omit a wonderful fragrance that is vegetal and sweet.  The taste of the tea is incredible to my untrained pallet.  I wish I could find the right words to describe this but they all seem to elude me.  I’ve actually been meaning to write a review on this for a little while but could not come up with a good description that would do this tea justice.  But I am doing the review anyway expecting you to explore it and experience it for yourself.  I suppose you could say this tea almost makes me speechless.  It is green tasting with a lovely sweet undertone that I can literally taste several hours after I finish a cup.  Not necessarily aftertaste, but a hint of it comes back long after I have finished drinking it making me want more.  I also greatly appreciate that this tea can be re-infused several times before the leaves have been spent making the heavy price tag a little easier to swallow.

This is one of my favorite teas and I most definelty want to try more.  I can only imagine how good all the other Gyokuro’s out there might be and I must get my hands on some!  This delicate and special tea is truly a tea to enjoy and one you must try.  I have a feeling I may end up making this a staple despite the price but I can’t help myself.  There is something mysterious and alluring about Gyokuro.

The product(s) included in this post were purchased by myself or sent as a free sample along with a purchase.

Name: Honeybush Apricot

Company: Adagio

Type: Honeybush, loose

Cost: $6 for 4oz

I had been wanting to try this for quite a while and finally got my hands on a sample.  And I was not disappointed.  I am always on the lookout for teas to drink in the evenings when I don’t want to have caffeine and I have found one that is going to be a staple in my supply.  Adagio starts off the description of this tea saying “imagine being whisked away to a bright, fresh apricot orchard…”

Go ahead…I’ll wait while you imagine it.

This tea does indeed have the sweet taste of apricots.  Adding in the honeybush really helps to bring this to life and give it a layer of depth instead of just being overly sweet.  Adding a tiny bit of sugar brings out even more of the apricot flavor but is of course not required.  It is refreshing and such a lovely drink to enjoy during the summer and in the evenings.  The fragrance when you open the tin may scare you off if sweet teas aren’t your thing.  But after this has been steeped, the taste is much more mellow than the fragrance would suggest, but still wonderful.  I greatly enjoyed this and just may go make myself more right this moment!

The product(s) included in this post were sent to me to be considered for review by the company mentioned or by a PR agency that represents them.

Name: Strawberry

Company: Adagio

Type: Black, loose

Cost: $6 for 4oz

What a lovely Friday morning!  It is just gorgeous outside and soon I shall venture out to enjoy the day!  But first, I bring you Adagio’s Strawberry black tea.  A fellow tea drinker sent me a sample of this and I am oh-so-glad she did.  I love strawberries!  When I was a child we had a small strawberry patch in our backyard and I could hardly wait to pick and eat them!  But back to the tea…

This flavored black tea is extremely yummy in my opinion.  The dried leaves are a dark, dark brown with green strawberry leaves mixed in.  I also saw a piece or two the actual berry.  Perhaps there are more in the full size, which I plan on getting in the near future.  I made this using boiling water with 2 and 1/2 teaspoons of leaf.  I made a 20oz pot of this to start the beautiful day, hence the large amount of leaf.  I normally only steep this for 4 minutes but today went a little longer because my timer was preoccupied with another task.  Nevertheless, it still came out great.

The base of the tea is a Ceylon with the sweet tartness of strawberries wafting over it.  The smell is overly strawberry but it evens out once it is steeped.   Neither one of the flavors covers each other up in the cup but instead mingle together in a lovely dance on the tongue.  For a black tea it is quite the cheery and bright surprise!  I even used a strawberry red cup to further the good mood this tea brings me.  This is most definitely on my list to order and I have a feeling I will enjoy it for a long time to come.

The product(s) included in this post were purchased by myself or sent as a free sample along with a purchase.

Name: Berry Blast

Company: Adagio

Type: Herbal, loose

Cost: $7 for 4oz

I have a soft spot for herbal tisanes.  I really do.  Berry Blast from Adagio is an incredibly yummy tisane.  Filled with lots of different types of berries, it has a sweet yet tart taste with a hint of spice.  I made a huge pot of this and curled up on my couch with my puppy to watch a movie.  Rare indeed to be able to enjoy time doing nothing.

I love this blend deeply.  The taste is just what I would imagine a bunch of steeped berries tasting like.  And to make it even more interesting, there is a hint of spice in it.  I can’t tell you exactly what the spice taste is, but it is something similar to cinnamon.  Adagio’s description says “a delicious blend of natural fruit and spices” but gives no hint as to what the spices are.  No matter, it still tastes amazing to me.

I have this on my list to order in a large size.  I can imagine this makes a wonderful cup of iced tisane.  I would highly recommend this to anyone who loves a tasty blend of yummy berry goodness.  Great for an after dinner treat and general enjoyment.

The product(s) included in this post were purchased by myself or sent as a free sample along with a purchase.

Name: Guanabana

Company: Adagio Tea

Type: Flavored Black, loose leaf

Cost: $6 for 4oz tin

I started off this morning running around frantically (as always) because I had to be at work earlier than normal to prepare for a big breakfast.  I was in charge of muffins and no, I did not make them myself.

Picking out a tea this morning led me Guanabana from Adagio Teas.  I have a ton of sample tins I’m trying to work through so I can order more and continue to have no cabinet space.  This particular sample tin is at least half way gone and I hadn’t made it in a while.  I remember really liking it when I first tried it out so I thought it would be a good choice for my morning travel thermos.

It has a really curious smell in that it isn’t a straight fruit smell.  A lot of the flavored teas have obvious fragrance to them that you can immediately pick out.  However, Guanabana is a mix of different fruity/citrusy fragrance.  Adagio describes it as “exotic” and I couldn’t agree more.

The taste is also exotic and some days I like it a lot and other days I could do without it.  I suppose today fell in the later catergory because I wished I had made another tea.  Or perhaps I wish I had a tea that went better with breakfast since I actually had a large breakfast today which is very rare for me.

This is not a bad tea at all.  I just don’t think it pairs well with other flavors.  A great tea to enjoy all alone in order to experience the exotic flavors and fragrance.  It is on my ‘maybe’ list of teas to purchase in a larger quantity.

The product(s) included in this post were purchased by myself or sent as a free sample along with a purchase.