Adagio Custom Blends, Cara McGee

Description from Adagio: leather… a distinguished, if tired blend. Yep, I’d say that’s pretty accurate. There’s something nutty and… old… it’s just not my thing, although I could see my Dad having wanted to drink this as he smoked one of his pipes. Yep, that’s what this tastes like — hazelnut tobacco, the good kind. (Is there a good kind?)

Anyway. Not for me. Anyone else like this sorta flavor? I’ll send it along.

Sipdown!! (152)

It is always nice to get to try new teas in swaps but it is especially nice when people send teas that are difficult to come by otherwise. Those who live in Canada know that Adagio blends are not the most accessible given the high shipping costs so I am very grateful to jump62359 for sending this my way.

Tastewise, the mint is strong in this blend. Very strong. And yet there is also a roasty smoke element from the gunpowder. However, underneath all the bolder flavors, there is a touch of floral jasmine to soften up the cup a bit. In that sense, it is much like Loki – a lot of flash and strength but underneath it all, a sensitive soul :P

Thank you jump62359 for sending some of this my way. This is a great mint tea. Smooth, roasty, minty, and refreshing with just a hint of floral jasmin to round everything out. Really quite good though at the end of the day it is a mint tea and I just don’t reach for mint often enough to justify buying 3 oz. I will certainly enjoy my sample though.

As I started steeping the tea I thought to myself, “drinking a mustache does not sound at all appetizing.” However, this is quite enjoyable. It’s like a light chai. Think I’m going to steep it just a bit longer to see if I can get some spice added to it. (Best chai I ever had was in New Zealand from a street vendor who made it in front of me.)

At 30 seconds – Nie. I’m stopping it here. Good flavor and I’m a little worried I’m going to make it bitter. This is all without milk by the way. I like to try tea ‘pure’ before I add anything to it. The 30 seconds added on gave it a woodsy flavor and a slight minty..ish after burn. Doesn’t taste like mint but gives a ‘burn’ of mint.

Time for milk. Almond milk that is. But I’ve warmed t up too hot…

Ok It’s cooled down quite a bit but not enough that’s cold. I added what I considered to be a hefty amount. Honestly, I liked it better plain. Maybe it would be better with some froth.

Yet another pleasant surprise. Each time I have a cup, I find myself shocked at how much I am enjoying it. There are so many components I typically don’t like and yet together, they make one delicious cup.

Earl grey and chamomile, two things I don’t usually like in tea. And on a green base? I was hesitant about this one but I am so grateful to jump62359 for sending it to me because it is actually quite good. There is a hint of the blerg but it is not offensive in this smooth and buttery cup.

Unsure what to make of this one. I’m finding the cloves a bit too much in the blend, and it’s ruining my enjoyment of other teas, as my mouth is numb almost instantly. It’s a bit of a vanilla-y chai, “but different” like Sil said in her review. I doubt I’ll go out of my way to buy this, however it’s still an okay tea. Super happy I got to try it though – and that’s thanks to jump62359. Mucho gracias!

Another attempt at this creamy, slightly spicy/chai tea. It really is quite lovely, just not so lovely that I want to go out and buy 3oz of it. I am however very, very grateful to jump62359 for sharing a few cups with me so that I could try it!

As I watched the season finale of Castle today, I wanted an appropriately-themed tea. Well… I’ve yet to see a Castle blend (yep, I’m looking into it as I type) so I drank this instead. I’d call this an earthy, creamy chai almost, with a marzipan hint of creaminess, with some very mild cinnamon and… puerh? Really? Wow, that’s smooth. I’m missing any sort of orange, however it’s still very tasty tea!

Thanks jump62359, you’re my Adagio pusher, and I love you for it.

I have no idea who this guy Steve is, but this is a sample sent to me, which was sent to Sil from Cavo. My first couple of sips were boring, then I added a little sweetener & the tea lit up with flavor. Grapefruit, for sure, a warm ginger mouth, a whisper of vanilla, & lots of tangy fruity stuff. Not something I would normally drink, but like most of the teas conceived by Cara McGee, it’s pretty good, & I bet it would be especially tasty over ice.
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this one came to me from jump62359 This is for sure a chestnut tea. I am not getting any of the lemon verbena from this – just your typical average adagio black base with a nut type flavour. it reminds me of most of their teas. However, that being said, it’s not a bad cup of tea. I wish i knew more about the fandom though as on this one, i’m relatively clueless lol thanks jump!

So I’ve been sick but since colds generally don’t mess with my sense of taste, I’ve essentially been too lazy to make tea. Lol. Now the cold is mostly gone, I’m just coughing up stuff still and I’m sick of being sick. So I decided to make some tea and the cold be damned. Lol.
I got this one from Cavo from when she placed a large Adagio order through me awhile back. I figured the spice was familiar enough that I’d be able to tell in the off chance that the cold was messing with my taste.
This was….so-so to be honest. Really I’ve never been too impressed with of the blends with chai/with spices/etc in them. This one was what I’d expect from something with oriental spice in it. Unfortunately I didn’t get any of the tiger eye in this. The cinnamon and spices kinda overpowered everything. But again, especially from what I’ve experienced with other similar blends from Adagio, I wasn’t too surprised by this.
I still found it good, especially after adding a bit of cream and sugar, but I’m glad I was able to sample this and didn’t buy a bag of it first. Then again, I’ve learned not to buy entire bags of any sort of chai-esque blend from Adagio since they’re generally not my cup of tea.

jump62359 sent this one my way and to be honest, i wasn’t sure what to expect. I brewed this one up tonight because gosh darnit, i’m having at least ONE cup of tea after i get home from work if it kills me…otherwise there’s no way i’m going to make my May goal! This one tastes sort of generically bland. If i concentrate hard i can sense that there is both oolong and puerh in here, but as far as flavour goes…it’s mostly “tea” flavoured. that being said, maybe that’s what grumy wizards are made of. On the whole, an average cup of tea. Glad i’ve tried it but no need to order :)

SSTTB

I am not a lover of chais and this box has a lot of chai but this one called to me. The sad thing is, it did so because it was Sherlock inspired. Seriously, these fandom blends are genius because I immediately want to support my fandoms and then have to stop myself from buying teas I KNOW I won’t drink. However, when I get the opportunity, I am still happy to try them out.

Tastewise, I get coconut and caramel with a hint of chai spices. The spices are nicely balanced though so I really don’t mind them at all. Not bad, though not something I personally need stocked. It is worth a try though :)

This is a mostly mate tea, I think. There’ sa bit of sweetness to it, and a little bit of cinnamon, but it’s really mostly mate. And mate is ok, especially when I feel like I need more kick than tea will give me, but I’m not certain t hat mate actually does effect me more/less than tea. #experiments

It’s good. I guess this is what I think of when I think of my Night Vale blends, and now that I’ve had most of them in the last 24 hours, I can see that there really isn’t that much mate after all! Strange. But the Sheriff’s Secret Police are pretty integral.

Where were they in that last ep? With their helicopters? :| #shakesfist

The first few sips of this weren’t anything special, but then it subsided and now I’m getting a creamy EG. It’s a little astringent – I should have steeped at 205F instead of 212F. Whoops. Guess I was too busy not staring at the hooded figures to brew this correctly.

It’s good. I wouldn’t restock it though.

Sorry Carlos. You may be perfect, but your tea is not.
I’m not sure what it is? It’s strong, and chocolatey but also slightly astringent? And just… idk. Lacking.

It’s a tea that only Cecil could love.

This tea is sorta a jumbled mess. Much like The Weather? Approach with Caution. (by the way, the weather has become one of the best parts of the show – used for dramatic effect with songs that are either perfectly suited or perfectly ironic to the situation at hand!)

I think I’m mostly tasting the lemongrass and the other components of the thai chai. I get coconut, ginger, lemon, and just a little tiny bit of rose that I might not have even noticed if I didn’t know to expect it. As it cools, the bright thai chai notes subside a bit and the spicier chai notes come through -cardomom & cinnamon/

I’m not generally a big fan of chai’s because I drink my tea without milk & sugar, but this one is muted and nice plain. I can see why it wouldn’t be everyone’s cuppa, but I like it!

And it’s a NV tea without any mate! They’re not all mate! #nowIKnow

Sipdown! (50/375)

Okay so this was technically a sipdown aaaages ago, and I never wrote up a proper note on it because I just love it so much I drank down my entire 0.8oz tin and then my 2oz pouch without stopping long enough to think about it. I am so glad this tea is still available, and as soon as I’m done with my no-buy I will 100% be buying another big bag.

This was a pretty sad (and unexpected) sipdown, for a couple of reasons. Firstly because this tea is It. It is definitively the best tea I have ever drank, and will ever drink. Secondly, and more importantly, because I had been saving the last cup for a while, and that time came when my partner was in need of a comfort drink. This is not going to be a particularly long tasting note, as I’m getting sad again just writing it and will properly review the tea another time (I have since bought a big bag full). A couple of weeks ago, when I first attempted to write this tasting note, we received the sad news that my partner’s cat Eddie was injured after being attacked. It was very sudden as we had seen him only a few days beforehand, and he was doing well. This was followed the next day by the news that he had had to be put down. My partner was devastated and I was pretty upset too, and so I used the last of this tea to drown his sorrows. It was an awful day and I am sorry to have to write this.

On a happier note, this tea is seriously delicious. Like, seriously. Cara is magic.

Sorry if I bummed anyone out, I’m kind of hoping nobody will read this as it’s an old tasting note.

R.I.P. Eddie

This one isn’t a bad one, but it’s not one of the best of the Night Vale teas. It’s strongish puerh , with a bit o smoky gunpowder and sludge that is probably supposed to be an assam.

I DO miss Management in Night Vale. Sure, they were evil, but NOT AS EVIL as, Strexcorp? :| I have so many feels about the latest episode. And so muh dread for the next.

Another tea from jump62359 that i had earlier in the afternoon. this one wasn’t bad, though i STILL don’t like that whole black/green blend thing. it always confuses me…how do i brew it? what’s going on! AAAAAAH! Either way, this wasn’t bad but nothing i need to drink again.. It’s fun to consider the fandom blends though in terms of the story lines and how this tea might be someone’s idea of what that concept was like…. :)

I’m really loving this tea! (I love Amy Pond, too!) Nice bright chai with some lovely fruity flavors. I’ve gotten leery of cinnamon lately so I was a little worried about this one today. But … no problem.

This was a tea left from last Christmas and I was worried but luckily the flavors held true and I’m a happy girl.

Amy Pond… how I miss you. Sigh! But back to the tea, I am enjoying this fruity chai which reflects Amy’s personality quite well. I added a little French Vanilla Stevia which really brings the flavors together! The cranberry and raspberry add just a little to the chai spices. Quite enjoyable.