Adagio Custom Blends, Cara McGee

When I got 100 cup points, I decided I’d get this. It was between this and the Sagittarius zodiac tea and now I feel like I should have gone with that. But they’re basically very similar…blackberry or raspberry? I have to choose blackberry.

I don’t really taste blackberry in here though until long after I take a sip. It seems like it’s just a floral bergamot flavor, but it finally fades into blackberry.

I’m surprised though at how smoooooooth it is. I gave it just a 3 minute steep, and it’s perfect for me. Not too strongly bergamot, and very easy to just sip.

A latte sounds like a great idea, especially since this one comes with FOUR ounces of tea instead of just three.

Sipdown #2
My son Drew & I LOVE Dr Who (& who on steepster doesn’t, may I ask?)
So of course, we had to have this blend last season, sob…
The boys & I are in sipdown mode, so Leif made a nice big pot of this to drink during breakfast with our pancakes, & it was spot on! Slightly bold from the Irish brekky, a little blueberry, & little earl green. Fruity, tangy, & daring! I loved Amy & Rory… ;_; I miss them…

It was crazy for me to buy this blend! I DO love Irish Breakfast, but I haven’t been a big fan of bergamot, & honestly, I usually detest anything blueberry flavored, with the exception of actual blueberries. Why did I buy this? LOL, to drink while I watch the Farewell episode on Dr. Who, because I love Amy & Rory, & I will hate to see them go!

This is also the most hideous smelling tea I have ever smelled!!

We haven’t watched the Farewell episode, as it isn’t available on Netflix yet, but Drew & I drank some of this, just for the heck of it (he liked the smell). It’s actually not bad! Sweetened with stevia, it is a bittersweet blend, as described. I didn’t taste the blueberry anywhere, and the bergamot was not overdone. This will be our tea for watching Dr. Who, & I’ll probably have to try some of the other Dr. Who blends, just for fun.

A friend who knows my love for tea & for all things BBC brought me a bit of this to try (her college-aged daughters brought it home). Since it was labelless, I’m guessing this is the correct blend—-Adagio sports eleven signature blends with “Sherlock” in the title.

I am not a lapsang souchong fan, generally; however, the assam (any tea with assam gets a partial positive rating) and spices soften the smoke enough that it’s enjoyable on an afternoon when the building AC is cranked to “igloo.”

Wouldn’t pick it out on my own, but was fun to try.

Thor is very strong, with hints of sweetness but lacks much subtlety. However, Thor is very warm and comforting, like a giant hug.

Oh, wait, were we talking about tea or the comic book character?

Still holds true.

When I opened the bag, I took a deep inhale. It smelled delicious. Tea with cinnamon and other spices, light enough to be enjoyable, not strong enough to make me want to vomit. I eagerly brewed this. Two teaspoons was too much for a cup. This stuff (like Thor) is STRONG. I’ll cut back to one teaspoon next time.

Delicious stuff. The best thing I liked about this was that despite all the spices and flavors, it still tasted like tea. The other flavors are all undertones and weave delicately around the tea flavor – which remains predominant.

This is a spicy citrus chai that goes well with milk & sugar or straight up. I imagine this would make an excellent and refreshing iced tea (and as soon as I get back from out of town, I’m making some). Even though I’m a big chai fan,I usually don’t like it without at least a splash of milk, but all the citrus in this makes it brisk and delicious all by itself. I think this is probably my new favorite chai, and it’s perfect for the summer. Be careful not to oversteep it though!

This is the perfect tea for a rainy day when you just want to curl up and read a book. I steeped it for a little over 2 minutes and I took it with a bit of milk, and it tasted simply delicious. The cup I brewed had noticeably more more almond in it, so I couldn’t really taste the gingerbread, but I’m sure I will the next time I brew it. Everything about this tea is smooth and comforting and it will definitely be my go-to whenever I’m feeling under the weather.

So I had free thing of tea from Adiago and i decided that I always want to try one of these blends. SO i pick the Tardis. It starts off as a choice on a whim and it is the nerd in me. SO anyways…

The tea is simply great. It has such a robust flavor that I had to sit the cup down. Pause. Think about all the things that I have had in my life. Then resip. The cup of tea has not only a beautiful taste but it also has wonderful smell to it.

To say that I enjoyed this tea is an understatement. To say that I loved this tea.. would be the correct words for this statement. I have never been more upset that I am running low on a tea till now. Anyways back to the taste.

So the tea is a bold tea. Which if you aren’t sipping carefully you will miss some of the subtle flavors. It has some berry flavor in there, but mostly a nice Earl Grey. However, the berry gives that Earl a different flavor mix it with a little bit of vanilla. You are in heaven plus some. The only problem becomes when either A. the teapot runs out or even worse when you run out of this lovely blend. :| anyways Enjoy.

I’ve never logged this one? Maybe it got eaten! Well, it’s already time for a sipdown!
This tea has been an interesting journey for me. It is very, very easy to oversteep. I generally let my boiling water cool for a short time before steeping. Even then, I only steep this for 3min. maximum. The brew is an extremely deep, spiced cuppa. The “pumpkin” is, well, interesting. I don’t know if it screams pumpkin pie to me or anything, but it is an interesting try. The caramel tea in this is probably the least prominent of the flavors. This tea is very, hm, verbose. It is a dark, full bodied tea that is a good pick me up in the morning.

Yes, yes, and YES!!!

(thanks for sending this shmiracles)

This tea is very difficult to describe. At first sip, it doesn’t seem like it should work. Peppermint and almond don’t go together! And they certainly don’t go with earl grey green! What??

It’s odd because it actually does. The almond adds a hint of sweetness to the more exuberant peppermint/bergamot battle. I’m going to have to order a sample of adagio’s earl grey green just to figure out what’s going on with this tea, haha. The bergamot is barely there, but the green tea base is mild and almost a bit nutty.

Everytime I had a cup of this, it just called attention to itself – sort of like a meditative experience. In the end, this was relaxing and a great drink for afternoons.

I didn’t really like this cold, but it’s really relaxing and refreshing at room temperature.

This tastes a little ‘burnt’ maybe I infused it a bit too long. It’s not bad, tho. I can’t really identify the Earl Grey in this – maybe a bit of the bergamot from it but not much. I can taste the berry more-so. I can’t really taste the vanilla, much, either. It has a bit of a soapy taste to it as it lingers. It’s so-so.

I really wanted to like this blend despite,people saying it was too floral. The smell itself was pretty foul, in the sense that it was overly sweet. I decided to give it the benefit of doubt, but from first taste to last it was too sweet. Sadly Luna was not my cup of tea.

I have a dog who’s name is Riley but we sometimes call him Schmog – which, when said outloud, is much like Smaug. So everytime I see or hear this about the Hobbit Series I giggle. I had to try this! It’s VERY unique. It has a strong Caravan or Lapsang souchoung type flavor upfront followed by a mint or candy cane whaff to it. At times I can taste something reminiscent to Cotton Candy and other times something near a cough drop. Perhaps even a watermelon type hint. This is one bizarre flavored tea but I think that is why I kind of like it. It also fits my dogs personality so it continues with the theme as to why I had to try it.

I made this yesterday in a new strainer ball, not really thinking, just glad to have a new ball and try it out. Well, I should never have picked this tea! All the rooibos happily swam out through the mesh and the seam where the two halves of the ball are supposed to meet. That was a fun cup to drink *insert eye-roll here

Today I used my regular finum, making the tea double strength as I was hoping to add some milk to this. Come to find out (after I’ve finished brewing my tea of course) we are out of milk. While it is strong, it’s still very good. I like the heavier body to the brew. It’s got a plush feel to it.

The verdict? YUM

I’m getting close to the bottom of the bag with this one, which means I haven’t been drinking it quite as often. I should though, because it’s always a good cup o’ tea.

So delicious with a bit of sugar. I wanted something sweet but I also didn’t want to actually grab a snack (although we do still have some wedding cake left!) Perhaps I should have grabbed more of a “wind-down” type tea, but desserty sweetness just called to me and I couldn’t resist.

Another travel tea for work today! Most of this I drank on my way to work, and I noticed more rooibos this time. Most likely because I am more familiar with the individual taste of rooibos. I feel like this might be good brewed a little stronger to make as a latte. Maybe it’s time to dust off the ol’ lab coat and play mad kitchen scientist (seeing how I’ve never made a latte in my life haha)

I swear this will be my last note on this tea, although I will certainly still be enjoying it. It is a decadent guilty pleasure, yummmmm.

EDIT: I had to edit to add that my fiance (who thinks “tea” only means southern sweet iced tea) loves this tea! He was incredibly skeptical when I asked if he wanted to try a sip of the cup I had just made, but I almost didn’t get my cup back! I will definitely be ordering more of this!

Strong scent right out of the tin, sweet and a hint of spice, just how I like it! While it’s steeping, the scent is reminiscent of some delicious dessert baking in the oven, vanilla with a hint of chocolate. To start I kept this tea plain, and it was delicious as is. Almost reminded me of a “healthy” desert, as it was slightly earthy. Adding in sugar makes it indulgent, and the vanilla really shines through. This tea is probably my favorite so far out of the Sherlock sampler I have. Then again I am only halfway through in trying them all out so who knows what gems await me!