Adagio Custom Blends, Cara McGee

Oh, this is interesting.

It’s a cinnamon and ginger tea with some background stuff.

I prefer the blueberry Tardis tea, but this is pretty good. More of a chai, really.

So I’m not sure if my sense of taste is fading or something, but I found this tea to be kinda blah. Maybe I didn’t use enough leaf (1 1/2tsp/12oz), or I didn’t steep it long enough? Though I’d think if I did it would get bitter.

I get cloves/cinnamon from the chai, though no sense of chocolate at all. And I get something vaguely smoky, but it’s kinda just there on the back of the sip. I don’t really get the hazelnut like I was hoping, which is disappointing.
No huge astringency, it’s just sorta there hanging out.

Overall this is a nicely mild chai to have that doesn’t seem like it wants to knock your senses about, but I don’t get much of any of the other teas that are supposed to be in here. I imagine this would be nice with milk, though I’m not sure it would really add/subtract much of anything in the overall picture.
I’ll probly drink this, but it’ll still be going into the swap/sell bin since it’s not really anything I’ll likely ever crave/reorder. /sigh/ I hope it’s not my sense of taste going. >>

Sipdown!

I do like this earl grey-ish tea, but I prefer the blueberry-caramel earl grey.

Still, it was very tasty. Thank you for sharing, MissB!

Mmm. Thanks, MissB!

I don’t smell the roses, but I recognize the gunpowder. And currants? Anyway, it’s amusing to drink a Sherlock tea, and I’m already 404% done with today so.

This is a weird one iced. It is almost thicker and more richly cherry with a nice dash of smoke.

The vanilla is strong today. Very, very strong. A little smoke. A little cherry. And a whole lotta creamy vanilla. The flavor has changed with age but I don’t know if that’s necessarily bad.

Hello smoke. Hello Apple. This cold brew is just not that great.

Back home with my stash so back to experimenting with teapops as opposed to making up for my lack of tea with tequila shots and beer.

Unfortunately, when I made this one, I used the last of the bottle of San Pellegrino I was drinking in the car and it had gone flat so this is like an iced tea with a hint of fizz. I also had an issue with brewing which resulted in tea leaves everywhere and stuff getting knocked out of the steeper. So, the end result is not anywhere what it could be as this is a little bit bland. I am getting mostly smokey water until the very end of the sip when the tiniest bit of honeyed cherries sneaks in. Interesting thought I will definitely need to try this again another time.

Speaking of trying things again. On Wednesday I mentioned placing a tea order. When I did, I got a confirmation number but opted to not write it down figuring that it would be sent to me, along with a receipt, via email like all the other tea orders I have made however I have heard nothing from the company since then. No emails and I keep checking my bank account to see if the transaction is posted and nothing. Plus, it was supposed to be delivered Friday and nothing showed. I tried calling the company but it was late and being from Quebec, the only English on their answering service was when they said their name. So now I’m wondering if I should wait to see if the package shows or if I should try placing the order again or maybe calling them to see what happened. Thoughts? Anyone every deal with Tea Taxi before?

Having this iced today and it is really bringing out the apple and vanilla notes. There is also a fair amount of honey flavor being contributed from the honeybush base while the lapsang smokiness is really mellowed down. Mostly, there is just a touch of smoke that creams up right at the end. Alas, no cherries to be found today and they are missed.

I have brewed tea the past few days but unfortunately had no desire to drink it. The cups have sat next to me all day without one sip taken. Tea apathy. I had it before and I am trying hard to ensure it doesn’t happen again as I have a stash that needs drinking.

Today I took a sip. It’s not a lot but it is a step in the right direction. It also helps that this tea is great. Today it’s a smokey yet still very silky vanilla. There are spots of cherry essence but the vanilla is what coats the tongue and leaves you satisfied.

Sipdown!! (201)

Thank you Roswell Strange for another few cups of this tasty, tasty tea. Luckily I have my own 3 oz bag waiting for me when I go back to Toronto so this sipdown is short-lived.

Thank you Roswell Strange for sending me more of this tasty, tasty blend. Just a whiff of lapsang souchong and I start to crave it. It has a whiff of smoke to compliment the sweet cherry and creamy vanilla – a blend that perfectly captures Irene Adler. Luckily I picked up 3 oz along with samplers in the most recent Adagio sale but I won’t see that until I go back home at the end of April/beginning of May so I am super grateful to have some cups to hold me over.

Sad sipdown!

Thank you Roswell Strange for sending me this and forcing me to try it. I actually looked at this on Adagio’s sight and immediately deemed it not for me. However, I could not be more wrong. I actually LOVE this tea. I have been thinking about it since my first cup (made all the more difficult to resist as it smells so strongly). Yes, it is smokey, very smokey but the contrast emphasizes the vanilla and cherry flavors. This is really good and perfectly captures the spirit of Irene Adler. Alas, it is sold out on Adagio’s site or I would have already got more. Now it just has me rethinking every blend I determined not for me.

Typically I don’t like smokey teas so when Roswell Strange snuck this into our swap I was simultaneously excited (because I love Sherlock and want all the Sherlock blends even though a bunch don’t sound like something I would like) and hesitant (because the whole package smelled smokey). However, I figured if Roswell Strange was generous enough to share, I should at least give the tea a fighting chance. Plus, what’s Irene Adler without her overt femininity and just a touch of smoke?

When I take the sip, first thing I taste is that smokiness but it is immediately followed by a sweet vanilla cherry. I actually don’t even mind the smokiness because I feel as though it really makes for a unique and complex tea. It truly is Irene Adler in a cup and honestly, it is really quite good. Thank you Roswell Strange for including this. You forced me to try something I wouldn’t normally and I ended up really enjoying it. I am quite glad I have more of this to enjoy :)

Sipdown (214/217)!

Sort of a sad sipdown. This was pretty good, and definitely sweet and caramel/apple like (it reminded me of RiverTea’s Mulberry White but with a black base), but it also felt just a touch generic – and it’s an Adagio blend which also immediately says “inaccessible” to me and is a huge turn off.

Sadly this cup was grossly oversteeped, so there was a very significant amount of bitterness that I struggled to get over. Definitely not the most pleasant of sipdowns, and it kind of felt waster because of the oversteep.

On the Eleventh day of Christmas Steepster gave to me eleven Pipers piping…

Yeah, I know. I’m drinking this way after the 11th day of Christmas but I just didn’t want to steep this up on a day where it didn’t feel right. That sort of seemed like a waste of an interesting blend and Isaila’s creativity. So I’m having it now.

1 1/2 tsp. of leaf, just under boiling water steeped 3 min.

Taste wise, I actually really like this. It reminds me a lot of another tea I’ve had, but I’m having a hard time placing what. I’m sure it’ll come to me though. Anyway, I get a nice, smooth black base and tons of creamy vanilla/coconut. That’s topped off with a very subtle and sweet apple – not tart apple, sweet apple. It almost tastes caramelized?

Ah, that’s it! It’s like a black cross of DT’s Gold Rush and RiverTea’s Mulberry White! Smooth caramel/coconut from Gold Rush and hints of caramel/apple from Mulberry White!

Anyway, I like it.

Also, I’m gonna leave this here for anyone curious/wishing to be mortified by Matt Smith (fair warning):

http://almaasi.tumblr.com/post/73712703216/pond-with-ducks-theseriouspotato

Diddly Bop.

The elements in this blend are absolutely delicious. You have the soft white tea flavors, the sharp flavors of the ginger and it all intermixes into a smooth drink that refreshes as it goes down.

And that totally sounds like an advertisement.

That being said, it’s delicious and, although I generally don’t care much for blends, this one is pretty tasty.

This tasted way too much like Disaronno for my tastes, the vanilla and almond were almost overwhelming.

Such an emotional night of TV for me! Just as Watson finds Sherlock after two years of mourning, Abed loses his best bud Troy! I’m going to miss Donald Glover making me smile! I think he’s just one of the funniest people. What will Abed DO? He better not leave too! I’m just very happy that Community is still on TV at all. I hope Troy visits Greendale once in a while? I don’t even know what to think about Sherlock right now. Too much awesome in an hour and a half.

Anyway, today just happened to be a SHERLOCK tea! thanks so much MissB! I haven’t gotten far enough with the Sherlock books to know who “The Colonel” is…he isn’t on the show… hmm. I was a bit worried on this one, since Adagio’s Thai Chai is one of my least favorites from Adagio for some reason. Luckily, this particular blend is AMAZING. It is really well balanced here. I think the Tiger Eye gives it a lovely sweetness. And there was a flavor here that remained elusive until I realized it was cocoa nibs! A nice deep chocolate flavor, if you realize that is what it is and not just the rustic astringency of the black tea itself. There are coconut pieces floating at the top of the infuser. Coconut, chocolate, caramel… oh my. I could have used more cinnamon though. Who is this Colonel and WHY does he get such a nice blend? I can’t believe how Cara McGee can take a blah Thai Chai and add some things to make it one of my favorite chais! So odd.

oh Watson!
“Does yours rub off too?”
“Are you going to keep that?”
“Seriously it’s not a joke, you’re keeping that?”
stiff upper lip and all that…
this fuzzy tea is irish breakfast with a crumb of chai. not too much chai.
(that was really my main concern you see. balance.)
but it’s yummy! yummy like john.
keep the ‘stache john! you’re an independent man! celebrate!
you go gurl!

what am i even saying, we all know john is, well, maybe not entirely that.
john is in pain. and this tea is comforting. comforting like the little blanket he has there on his upper lip.

thanks so much to the darling jump62359! this was the tea, that lead to the swap, that started it all.

fyi i’m looking for fandom blend swap buddies
http://steepster.com/discuss/5155-us-tea-swaps-for-us-to-us-only?post_id=117664#forum_post_117664

not really a huge fan of this blend. i went in expecting something else, but the mint completely overpowered everything else and it’s all i could taste.