Adagio Custom Blends, Cara McGee

winding down afer a long day of traveling, I decided to have a cuppa draco. This was clearly the right decision.

In the bag, the scent is quite strong.It has a very unique scent, but once brewed it is quite subtle. All of the flavours somehow balance out, creating a creamy-pepperminty flavour. I put a bit of sugar in it to bring out the almond in the tea, and it was delicious. It is very much reminiscent to its namesake- the perfect draco tea.

This tea lives up to its namesake. The first sip of this tea feels like wrapping up in a warm jumper. It is my favorite comfort tea. Somehow Cara managed to create a woolen jumper in a cup. It is perfect on its own, but for a fuller flavour, add a dash of cream and sugar.
also: as a side-note, I managed to get my sister addicted to tea by having her try this one. The first bag of john was gone within about a week

Many thanks to Kiaharii for sending me this sample! WOW!I love this tea! I’m normally not a big blackberry fan, at ALL, so I was very skeptical. Hubbie is a big Doctor Who fan though, and I’m a big fan of the new series myself (haven’t had a chance to watch the old ones yet, stay tuned!) so given all of that, I just HAD to try it if given the opportunity. The blackberry paired with the vanilla is BRILLIANT. Finally a way I can enjoy blackberries! :) This was a great cup of flavoured tea, and I can’t wait to get started on the old doctor who episodes, teacup in hand! :)

Smells a little medicinal in the bag, but that goes away when you brew it. It’s smoky, with a sharp taste to it from the ginger. There is the slightest undertone of carmel, which is very nice. However, it is VERY caffeinated (which fits Tony perfectly), so be careful drinking it unless you are really used to caffeine. I know I get a little jittery if I drink more than one cup.

I wasn’t sure about this tea at first, but it is very good. The green isn’t harsh at all, and the chamomile blends with it very well. It tastes like it has honey in it. A very soothing tea.

One of my favorite Cara blends. It took a while to figure out how to bring the flavors out, but if you add an extra teaspoon of the leaves, put in a drizzle of honey, a little bit of amber sugar crystals (just a tiny tiny bit or else it will be too sweet with the honey), and some cream it tastes just like apple pie. A very good dessert tea.

I was trying to wean myself off coffee and everyone at Adagio was raving that this was a great coffee alternative. I’ve tried Yerba Mate before and didn’t really notice any energizing effect but thought I’d give it another shot. It tastes pretty good but it’s definitely not a coffee replacement, for me at least. My SO, on the other hand, got a caffeine-like buzz after drinking it.

Smokey and dark with just a hint of sweetness. A very delicious morning tea.

The pu erh dante adds such a unique, woodsy flavor to the blend. It is wonderful with some cream.

This is one of my favorite teas.

Drinking this tea is like hugging an old teddy bear. It is incredibly warm and comforting. Because of the almond and gingerbread, it is almost like eating a cookie, but not horribly sweet.

Not the tea for me. It is a little too floral (which I should have known but I really wanted to try it). The guanabana tea doesn’t really do it for me, which makes me sad because this is my favorite fruit in the whole world. As a tea, it tastes less like guanabana and more like banana.

Light pink and delicious. It is a little hard to steep (steeps forever but be careful not to burn the leaves), but once you get it right it is wonderful. Very light, fruity, and comforting.

This was just okay. I’m thinking that I don’t brew it correctly (though I’ve tried just about everything), because everyone else seems to love it. It is just really weak. I can just barely taste sweet cream and chocolate flavors, but just barely no matter how I brew it or how much I put in. It tastes a little better as a latte, but not by much.

Added a little milk and honey this time around instead of sugar. Made a definite change. The combination of the two caused the fruitiness that I dislike to lessen a bit, so as to be more manageable. Made it real nice to drink. Definitely increasing my rating a little, and will probably have this more often in the future.

Again, bear with me, still just a beginner in the world of loose leaf teas, though I think I am getting better. The massive number of opinions out here on the site help me increase my knowledge quite a bit, and I have to thank everyone for that. So here we go:

Scent:
Before Steeping: Fruity. Very fruity. I can definitely smell the blackberry; the smell tends to overwhelm everything else. Faint scent of vanilla in the background, along with the earl grey bravo.
While Steeping: About one minute in: slightly aromatic. Earl grey scents are in the majority. Light berry scent, smells more like blueberries than blackberry.
After Steeping: More aromatic than before, but not much. Earl grey scents have taken a back seat- more of a blueberry scent now. Very fruity, reminds me almost of cooked blueberries.

Flavor:
-1st Steep: Did this at boiling, so I’m letting it sit to cool down for a moment. Mixed two spoonful’s of sugar in with it, to enhance the natural sweetness (I love sugar). My first sip instantly engulfs me in intense berry flavors. And they most definitely are blueberries, not the blackberry like it says in the ingredients. Too sweet to be blackberries. I can taste a hint of vanilla in the back, nice and soothing. The earl grey is still there to, just less intense than I thought it would be.
-2nd Steep: Boiling again, but steeping them a second time around with the same bunch as the first time. Only one spoonful of sugar this time though. I kind of like the taste better this time. It’s lost a bit of flavor, sure, but the earl grey is still noticeable, as is the berry and the vanilla, just less so. Still fruity and sweet, which is good, but not as much as before. Fairly good for a second time around.

Overall: I like it, I really do, but it’s too fruity to drink consistently. I would drink it every now and then, but the fruitiness of the blueberry tends to get to intense at times, while there isn’t enough vanilla, and the earl grey flavors are little less than I usually like.

Okay so this is one of those teas where you can’t really get more than one steep out of it? It’s been steeping for about 7 minutes now and it’s only a very very very light amber colour. Welp. On the other hand, that means I might make it though the tin a bit quicker.

Btw, drinking this in my new Weeping Angel mug which my BFF Sam gave me for Christmas tonight!

couple drops of stevia and this was a very good brew this morning!

Probably my least favourite Cara M blend, but still enjoyable. This came in a ‘ship’ with River Song, so I wonder what would happen if I combined the two next time I try it…