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My husband got me this for our 2yr wedding anniversary (a little early as it’s not for another week) and I love it. I didn’t want anything super fancy as I mostly drink black teas, but I was tired of constantly guessing temperatures when I made my green/oolong teas.

This heats the water ridiculously quickly & it’s kind of spoiled me. I was boiling water for pasta yesterday and thought “Why is this taking so long to boil?!” I realized that I had already gotten used to the quickness of this kettle and laughed at myself.

The only criticisms I have are:

2. It could use some sort of indicator as to it being done. Like a ding or something since it doesn’t whistle. That’s not a big deal to me as it heats the water so fast, I don’t even bother to leave the kitchen. But it’d be handy.

Thank you Sandy Stith for this wonderful sample!

I’ve been sticking to my comfort teas for a while. Maybe out of laziness, I don’t know.

Today however seemed fitting for something different. The cool crisp air that we’ve had the past few days just seemed like a perfect match for this. We’ve had the a/c off and all of our oversized windows wide open, letting in the most beautiful breeze. Oh how I love fall.

This tea was the perfect compliment to the changing weather. It was warm and spicy (not heat spicy of course, but spices spicy lol). The cloves were so fragrant and filled my kitchen with smells of the holidays. I didn’t get a lot of the clementine, but I could taste it underneath the other flavors so it wasn’t completely absent. Over all a very delicious flavor. I can picture myself enjoying a nice big mug full on Christmas morning while the kids open their gifts…. In fact, I’m going to go buy myself some because of that very image !

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And more thanks to Sandy Stith for this one as well! :D

I was a little hesitant at first because I haven’t really had a chocolate tea that I’ve loved (yet!), but I honestly needn’t have been worried at all. Slightly malty, it was like drinking the product of a union between EG and hot chocolate. Surprisingly good, though I’d have liked to taste the bergamot just a little bit more. That being said my husband is in love with this tea and has decreed that I buy a tin the next time I order from Upton! :)

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More thanks to Sandy Stith for this sample! :)

There is a very clear bergamot aroma in the leaves both wet and dry. The blue flowers make the leaves quite pretty to look at as well as sniff :) It’s not an overly strong EG but definitely not weak by any means. I think it would make a good staple EG to have in the cupboard. I like that it’s not all that sweet on its own like some EG’s that I’ve had. It better allows me to choose how sweet I want my tea. I might have a big sweet tooth one day but not want any sweetening another day. I like that I have that choice.

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Another thanks goes out to Sandy Stith for this (I’ll be thanking her in many posts!)

First off, I’d like to say that I LOVE the individually wrapped sachets. Perfect for a busy day- just toss it in your bag and go! :)

The aroma when I opened the little wrapper was very strongly citrusy, but that aroma mellowed out once the tea had steeped. Still quite fragrant though. I tasted more than just bergamot… maybe some orange in there? I added a little bit of orange infused sugar to accentuate the citrusy qualities and it was definitely not a mistake to do so! MMM! Overall a pleasing Earl Grey

I’m going to have to order some of this specifically for those days when we’re out and about!

I’ve been wanting to try this one for a while- it just seemed interesting, so with my last order I grabbed a 10cup sample of it.

The leaves (both dry & wet) smell like an orchard. Brisk and fruity and warm. My first thought was “this smells like September.”

My first sip was horrendous. It was bitter bitter bitter. So much so that I couldn’t find any other flavors in it (because I couldn’t keep it in my mouth!). AAH! Since it’s described as having a peachy flavor, I added a generous dollop of honey to it and… wow… Suddenly it was fruity and juicy. There was a nuttiness to it. Maybe not nut so much as that distinctive peach pit kind of taste. Underneath there was a little hay to it? Not quite sure, but hay was my first impression.

It reminds me a little bit of chamomile, but with a pit fruit flavor as opposed to the more appley flavor of chamomile. A nice herbal that I think would be great as a compliment to other teas.

I’m upping the rating of this one because it’s SO MUCH BETTER cold brewed. I saw that Michelle had cold brewed this one & said it made a world of difference & decided to give this tea one more chance.

Holy cow is it so different.

I put about 12oz of water into a plastic bottle with the tea leaves just swimming around in there. I had only meant to let it sit for about an hour, but forgot about it so it sat in the fridge for 2.5 hours or so I think? I strained it out into a big glass whenever I remembered it.

The flavor was much lighter, but you got more tea and less ‘medicine’ flavor. It was tart (so I added just a little simple syrup to temper that) and fruity. Definitely something I’d drink again. I’m glad too because Adagio’s samples are pretty big & now mine won’t go to waste!

Running on very little sleep & looking at a stack of tasting notes that I seem to have only imagined typing up previously, so I apologize if this tasting note is less eloquent and more of me just spewing words :P
And before I forget- a big thanks to Sandy Stith from whom this tea sample came :)

As soon as the water hit the tea the aroma of caramel hit my nose & I could hardly wait for the 4min to be up.

Very rich tea, well suited to a dash of sweetening & splash of milk.

Creamy mouthfeel with a hint of dryness at the end which helps it not to be TOO rich. A hint of toasty notes as well, though quite subtle. More of a toasted sugar flavor more than what I’d normally think of as ‘toasty’

I can tell however that some artificial flavoring was used, which detracted from the caramel flavor for me. I’d have loved if there were just more caramel pieces and the artificial flavoring left out. I mean, why do you need artificial flavoring if you’re putting caramel in it?

We’re under a tornado/flood warning here this evening. I know it sounds strange, but I’ve always found that storms are very calming for me. As a teenager, I used to open my windows, lay a towel down & sit in the window to read as the rain and winds raged just inches away. I find I am more relaxed during storms and sleep the best when there’s a storm.

That being said, my tea choice during this beautifully blustery day was simple. A big thanks to Sandy Stith for this sample because it was just the tea for such a lovely evening!

The tea itself is absolutely beautiful… white tea with pink petals and lavender buds intermixed. The lavender in this tea is so vibrant, which I loved since it’s one of my favorite flavors. Very floral and delicate. I did feel that the white base got a little lost in this however & I’d have liked for that to be more present (hence the slightly lower rating). Over all this was a good floral tea however, a nice relaxing choice for a lavender lover like myself :)

Thank you to Sandy Stith for this sample (and all of the other samples that you sent as well- I look forward to trying them all!)

This is a very light breakfast blend- soft, sweet, honeyed flavor. There’s a brightness to it as well. I wouldn’t say that it’s enough to call it astringent, but bright. I’m also picking up a fruitiness. Figs perhaps? It’s making me think of fig newtons, so figs it is.

It isn’t a very robust tea, so I think it’d be one I’d drink in the afternoon rather than as a breakfast choice. It is quite lovely and something I would definitely drink a lot of :)