Adagio Teas

I was digging through my Adagio sampler drawer looking for a tea to take over to my friend’s house to brew in this nice overcast weather, and I came accross a tin of Ceylon Sonata. I opened it up, smelled it, and thought that it would be a nice, sweet, black tea to brew.

Boy were we in for a pleasant surprise when we brewed this up. Once steeped, the water is a beautiful amber color. I smelled like a sweet Earl Grey with a sweet side. It had a very smooth, pleasantly sweet taste. Until now my favorite black tea had been Earl Grey Creme, but Ceylon Sonata may have taken its place.

Quite good.

Seemed to hint at some flavors that are completely beyond my ability to identify.

I like how it is not quite a strong as a black tea, but seemed to be stronger than a green tea.

This is the first Oolong I’ve had (at least in loose leaf form). Will definitely keep drinking this, but I’m also now curious about other varieties to try.

Today I’m drinking honeybush vanilla with a little bit of some fruit tisane- I don’t know the brand. The fruit tisane has hibiscus, currant, grapes, and other fruits. The honeybush vanilla gives it a hint of creaminess, and tones down the tart fruit flavor. I speak from experience when I say it is quite good iced as well.

Light flavored tea, possibly not enough tea in the pot. Good taste though. A nice blend of tea and herbal.

Great all day light tea. I like this because it is a great idle tea for my blogging time in front of the computer. Taste is light but not weak. Use leaves 4-5 times when i brew this.

Great Tea for mornings and coffee substitute, I use a tea spoon of German rock sugar to make it more pleasant for early mornings. I use the same leaves 3-4 times so its great for study sessions.

I’m very “eh” about this one. It is sweet on its own, but also quite sour, so I added some Splenda. That made it better, but it still wasn’t great. Maybe sugar would have worked better. It definitely smells and tastes like strawberries and is a wonderful red color. I would drink it maybe as a desert tea. Not bad, fruit teas may just not be the type for me :)

I’m ready for more! Yannan Jig (I got it with the black tea sampler from Adagio) happened to be an almost random choice this morning but I’m quite happy with it.

It’s an easeful black with no sharp, strident, or bitter notes. I didn’t really get the peppery or smoky taste that others have referenced. I did feel, however, that this is a candidate for a great every-day wake-you-upper. My first cup of Yunnan Jig felt like meeting somebody who might be a candidate for a good friendship. I want to try more and audition it for my stable of reliable teas.

It’s not dashing or daring, but I think it could be lovable in the way that a somewhat plain girl like Jane Eyre manages to get under your skin and stay there.

Basically picked this one at random to have with breakfast this morning. It turned out a bit weak, though… maybe I should leave it to steep a little longer next time.

This cup mostly smelled like peppermint with the Darjeeling as a very subtle undertone. The taste was almost all peppermint, but softer than peppermint tea by itself, beautifully balanced by the Darjeeling. I got distracted and let this cool for about 10 minutes before drinking it and then finished it in about 2 seconds without realizing it, so it must have been pretty good :)

This is a great Japanese green with popped rice. It’s not as grassy as most Japanese greens, and has a nice, mellow toasty taste. Great for multiple steeps.

Steeps 4-7. YUMMY!

3rd steep: 9min. Just as nice!

2nd steep w/ roasted red pepper hummus and true north almond crisps… YUMMY!

2.25g/6oz purified water… hoping to get at least 6 steeps out of this like I did for their Silver Needle.