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Dear god this smells incredible. Both dry leaf and liquor have a wonderful sweet creamy mango aroma wafting from them. The taste is very similar, but with a not-entirely-pleasant lemony tang at the finish. There were some tiny gritty pieces that I got in some sips, which put me off until I realized there’s ACTUAL VANILLA BEAN in this blend.

An excellent nighttime tea. David better not discontinue this one anytime soon.

Wow, it’s been a long time since my last tasting note! For a while tea making seemed like more of an effort than it actually is, so I pretty much only drank my usual morning bagged black. Now I’m getting back into it again – the cooler weather is certainly helping to motivate me!

Picked up half an ounce of this on my last visit to the US to help with my indigestion that I occasionally get for no obvious reason. The taste & smell are a bit unusual but nice, but then again I kind of like weird herbal/medicinal concoctions. I’m generally not a fan of stevia in blends, but it meshes really well with all the other components and provides a pleasant sweetness. One thing I don’t like is that it’s making the tip of my tongue feel kind of numb-tingly, but that could be due to the long steep (7 minutes is probably too much for this one).

I haven’t yet finished the mug and I’ve already stopped burping, so I guess it’s working? I might get this again!

Whee, first rating for this one! I used about 1.5 heaped tsp leaf for ~8 oz water that was left to cool 3 minutes after boiling.

Liquor brewed up very clear & almost colorless, with a strong aroma of cooked vegetables, more green & less buttery than that of comparable teas I’ve had. It was very drinkable, with little astringency and a rather juicy mouthfeel. Didn’t really wow me, but maybe further infusions will reveal something more interesting.

Backlog. Used 1 heaping tsp leaf to ~250 ml water.

Followed the steeping instructions on the Whittard website (which is fortunate, because I poured freshly boiled water over the leaves without even thinking). Taste was pretty unremarkable, but the finish was long and lovely. I just got my first gaiwan, so maybe I’ll use this stuff to practice before moving on to the finer oolongs.

Heaping 1/2 tablespoon for ~8 oz water.

Dry leaf smells strongly of plums & fuzzy peaches (yes, the smell was fuzzy), maybe a little bit bubblegum-y. While steeping, white tea & cherry fragrances come forth. This is one of those teas that seems more aromatic than flavored to me, so I added a little glug of agave, which gave it a gentle sort of honeyed fruity taste. Withholding rating until I figure out the best way to steep this one.

Cold-brewed (about 2 tsp for 450ml) way too long. Like more than 24 hours. It got bitter, which I remedied by adding more water and a little simple syrup to take the edge off. It wasn’t as good as it probably would have been after 8-12 hours brewing, but it still made a fine iced tea. I should get myself a proper iced tea pitcher so I can easily remove the leaves if I don’t want to drink it right away.

Cold-brewed this overnight in the fridge using 2 heaping teaspoons for 500 ml water.

I’ve been foregoing tea lately in favor of cold-brewed iced coffee (I know, I’m a filthy turncoat) but I’m still trying to chip away at my stash little by little. This was pretty nice; flowery with the bergamot and jasmine, and tasted quite fancy. Unfortunately I wasn’t feeling particularly fancy when I drank this and would have preferred something more refreshing. Would probably be good served hot at a tea party with doilies and silly hats – which, mark my words, I will get around to one day.

Cold brewed in the fridge for about 18 hours using 2.5 tsp leaf (I think?) for ~500 ml water.

First time trying a) green rooibos, and b) an Adagio product, despite my username. I think I prefer rooibos green, though to be fair I haven’t yet drunk enough of the regular red kind to develop an opinion on it.

Flavor was a cross between candy-like and medicinal citrus (mostly orange), with a slight tingly/prickly sensation in the mouth – not sure whether that’s the flavoring or the rooibos. I didn’t love it, but it seems like a pretty decent blend.

Cold brewed this overnight using 2 tsp leaf for ~450 ml water.

Wow, these gunpowder leaves expanded a lot. The spearmint aroma is assertive yet smooth, both in the dry leaf and liquor, but its flavor is soon followed by an unpleasant and long-lasting sourness, which seems to be made worse by the addition of sugar. I did a second overnight steeping in the fridge which came out more mildly flavored, yet the icky tanginess remained. This is my first time making Moroccan mint tea, so I probably need to learn the right brewing tricks to make it taste right.

Cold-brewed overnight using 3 heaped tsp tea for 500 ml water.

I’ve tried this hot, and like the other reviewers found it disappointingly light in flavor, especially considering how wonderful the dry leaf smells. Fortunately the lovely fruitiness comes out more in the cold brew – and even more with a drizzle of agave – yet remains quite delicate. It probably would have been more appropriate for them to call it a scented tea rather than flavored, but the gentle stone fruit aroma lingers on the palate very nicely. It’s much better as a cold beverage than hot (which makes sense, with the Ceylon base and the Jubilee itself taking place in June), but for some reason the packaging doesn’t indicate this, nor does it give steeping amounts or times. Get your act together, Whittard!

If you still have some of this left and were underwhelmed when you first tasted it, try a cold brew. It might change your mind, and help get you through your stash!