110 Tasting Notes
If you want a tea that will kick your butt into motion in the morning, here’s your tea. Very dark, intense flavor, and I suspect a fairly high caffeine content. I tried their bagged version of this. The leaf is very fine – not quite dust, but pretty close. I think because it is so fine, it is very easy to oversteep and get a really nasty cooked flavor. There is a lot of tea in the bags, so I used one bag for a one pint pot. I found that a shorter steep, about 3 to 3 1/2 minutes tops, yielded a strong, malty but still very palatable tea that definitely had enough body to stand up well to milk and sugar. I suspect if you left the teabag in the pot you could polish chrome with this tea.
Preparation
I have yet to meet a mint tea I did not like, and this one is no exception. Very simple and straightforward blend of green tea and spearmint. I bought the tea bagged from Pura Vida, but I notice that they sell it in loose leaf through the Choice Organic website. I may try ordering that next time.
This is a Southern summer evening in a cup – sitting on the back porch, breeze off the Gulf, and the smell of the night blooming jasmine wafting through the air. All the atmosphere and flavor, but without the mosquitoes.
Every time I find the bottom of a mug of this, I feel disappointed. Must buy larger mugs. Or maybe, just add milk and honey and drink it straight from the pot?
Have you found a better chai? I haven’t…yet. This one is still my absolute favorite!
Lena, I have a few REALLY good (and a couple really interesting!) chais on my Adagio custom blend list.
ooh, i will check them out.
So far this is my favoritest chai. I like the Masala Chai, but this is even better.
The dry leaves smell rather like pickle juice – a little off-putting at first. The tea brews up to a delicate golden hue, with a sweetly refreshing taste. This is definitely going on my favorites list!
Really?!? I’m going through all of my new tins from Adagio before I open any of the savory tins. I did smell all of them and it was a little scary.
:)
Really – the flavor is nothing like the smell. I don’t taste anything specifically that reminds me of cucumber, and certainly not of pickles. But, if I were to compare this to a plain white tea, there is an undefinable something there, that adds a bright, fresh flavor. White teas tend not to have enough acidity to my palate – I usually prefer black teas. This one seems to have just that little bit more – it doesn’t taste or feel acid, just brighter.
I agree w/ Cynthia! It’s one of my favorites, especially iced in the summer- and it helps that white tea helps lower body temp! To make a great mojTEAto, steep 1.12 grams of dried peppermint, spearmint, or orange mint in 5oz of 180 degree water for 3 min. Reheat to 180 degrees and use to steep 2.25 grams of white cucumber for 7 min. Add 1oz rum and 1/2 TB each lemon and lime juices. Chill and serve. Use 2x as much tea leaves if you pour it over ice.
I wonder why they say to steep it for 7 min??? This is by far the largest steeping time I’ve seen for a white tea.
I get my savory teas tomorrow – so excited! And the pickle juice comparison sounds… intriguing!
They have the 7 minute steep time recommendation on all of the white teas I’ve bought from them. Similarly, all Adagio black teas have a recommended 5 minute steep time.
Backlogging this – I decided to try steeping this at a gentler temperature, more like a white tea,as the base is white tea, green tea and herbals. It really did not provide a satisfactory steep. The same tea that tasted delicate and flowery when brewed at boiling temperature tasted weak and watery when brewed at lower temperature.
Preparation
I’ve prepared this the last two mornings – short on sleep and not ready to face the day. This tea has a strong dark color, and a smooth, malty, smoky taste that makes it easier to face the day. I usually want my morning cup to be brighter and more cheery, but this is a good tea to relax with.
And I still think watching the tea balls unfold is great entertainment. Or, at least, as much entertainment as I am up for this morning.
This is the tea you want when a hurricane is bearing down on your dwelling – sweet, light and soothing.
I don’t detect a lot of pear flavor, but I suspect that is what is adding the sweetness.
The package recommendation for steeping was 2-3 minutes. My first try on this was 4 minutes. The color was a little stronger than other white teas I’ve tried, which may be due to the longer steep.
Preparation
Yikes, I hope you’re safe.
Yes – Weather Channel is making a big drama about this, and we have Jim Cantore out on the beach a few miles from us, but as storms go, we get a lot of summer thunderstorms that are worse than this.
Gotta have those obligatory wind-blown reporter shots to put on tv. ;)
I am afraid that I am not a big fan of rooibos. This was one of the first I’ve tried, and I have not particularly liked any of them. It may be an excellent rooibos, it’s just not something that appeals to me.
