Captain Jack Harkness

I probably shouldn’t have steeped this the same time as Mycroft as they have similar ingredients. I was worried I’d mix them up but the almonds in this gave it away.

I can taste the almond/marzipan goodness over a basic black base. Some people don’t like Adagio’s black bases, but I find that if I steep it for 2.5 minutes at slightly less than boiling, they taste quite nice.

I can take or leave this tea. Sadly, the same can be said for the namesake character too. He had some good moments in Doctor Who, but not enough to get me to try Torchwood.

Thanks for the sample Shadowfall

Hello Captain! You know? I’m ok with this one. I think i’ve figured out that the adagio ceylon is NOT my preferred black base, but it’s not terrible in this one. Yes there’s a rooibos presence, but it’s not dominating. I do get the almond flavour, though it’s pretty subtle. There’s a hint of the chocolate…i guess? i think? but it’s not very strong. Do i like this tea? it’s alright…but it’s NOT captain Jack to me…and it’s not quite what it claims to be.. :)

“What are you captain of? The Innuendo Squad?”

idk what the descriptor is talking about, this tea is rooibos heavy (at least the sample i got is) so i don’t think it would keep me “up all night”. ..unless john barrowman served it to me personally i suppose??
har har
this IS a nice tea. i can taste the almond and the light chocolate hints.
thumbs-up!

in related news
someone made this.
and then i watched it.
oh internet.

Single Ladies – John Barrowman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEr0BPOfVw4

thanks Shadowfall!

I didn’t really care for this one. Had a very strong marzipan-y smell out of the bag and it brewed up the same. Almond was overpowering to me and I couldn’t smell or taste much else.

So I’m finally getting around to writing notes for the remainder of my Adagio Doctor Who teas, which I’ve been drinking my way through for a little while now, but apparently not logging. Hmm. I’ve had two cups of Captain Jack this morning – he’s that good. Adagio’s Ceylon base isn’t my favourite – I find it a little thin and a bit over-citrussy, and it has a tendency to become bitter. It’s not bad here, though – I think the addition of rooibos helps to tone it down a bit. Equally, the ceylon stops the rooibos from being overpoweringly woodsy, so maybe it’s a good pairing after all. It works, anyway. I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 2.5 minutes in boiling water. The kitchen smelled deliciously chocolatey, so I added a splash of milk because that’s the kind of mood I’m in – I want something creamy, decadent, and warming. It’s cold today, and I put my winter boots and coat on for the first time this morning – that must mean it’s comfort tea time!

Anyway, the main flavour I can taste here is chocolate. It’s a dark, slightly bittersweet, cocoa-heavy chocolate, the kind that would taste a little dry if you were to eat it. There’s a touch of almond, too, but it’s not strong. The nuttiness is a nice counterpoint to the chocolate, at any rate, and pairs really well. It takes this one from being an ordinary, fairly unremarkable chocolate tea and makes it into something a bit more special and dessert-like.

I enjoyed this one. It’s smooth and seductive, like the Captain, and it’s one I’d consider repurchasing if I ever get my cupboard back under control. Total yum.

I’m really surprised I haven’t logged this one already! I should really be working through the EU TTB teas before going back to my own, but there’s a lot of unflavoured teas in that box and everyone’s talking about Doctor Who because it starts on Saturday and drinking Doctor Who teas and I wanted it okay? Maybe I shouldn’t be drinking tea this close to bedtime, but it’s half rooibos which in my mind makes it practically caffeine free. The description says you can take it to bed but it might keep you up all night, which is pretty accurate. Despite having caffeine, it’s very relaxing and definitely a good drink to have in bed while I read a bit and catch up on steepster before I go to sleep. It’s smooth and silky and seductive and a good fit for the captain, I think. I left the tea brewing and went to get changed. When I came back, the whole kitchen and utility room were filled with the delicious intoxicating chocolate scent. Because of this, and because it’s bedtime, I added half a spoon of homemade vanilla sugar and a splash of skimmed milk, and it became quite decadent. It was good on its own too, with a dark chocolate taste dominating, and the base teas working well together. The black base masks the moodiness of the rooibos, and the rooibos masks the usual bitterness of the adagio black tea base. With the additions the almond comes through a little better, though the dominant flavour is still the chocolate, which is more of a milk chocolate flavour now. It’s a fairly robust cup of tea considering that it’s half rooibos. I’ve just reached the bottom of my cup and would quite like another. If it weren’t 1:30am I would probably have one. I’m getting excited for the new series now!

The fourth and final Dr. Who-themed tea for tonight (my bladder just can’t take any more). The aroma is fairly chocolatey, which is quite present in the flavour as well. I can also taste the distinct flavour of rooibos, though it’s not the objectionable medicinal flavour, just that characteristic woody/herbal-ness, which is bearable. This tea actually tastes much like a chocolate rooibos I’ve had previously… I’m thinking the one from the Amoda box, but I could be wrong (I could probably confirm that if I was less lazy, because I know I still have that one around). It has a bit more body to it though (probably the black). What’s odd is that the chocolate comes through as almost bitter – I’m probably influenced by noticing the documented flavours before pulling up the review screen, but it’s certainly not the milk chocolate flavour that most teas seem to aim for. It’s not unpleasant, though.

Upon looking up the tea ingredients – I think almond might account for that flavour that’s coming off as bitterness to me, and there’s surprisingly not much chocolate in here given the number of chocolate-related ingredients. Ah well. Not overly enamoured by this blend, but it’s not bad. I’m pretty sure I’d enjoy it more sans rooibos. Thanks Sil!

Ugh, I’m so behind on my notes. Stayed at a cousin’s cottage over the weekend, brought a bunch of tea with me that I wanted to sipdown so I guess I made a little bit of progress, though I logged nothing.

This was from Friday.
I don’t get why the blender felt the need to mix rooibos with black tea for a bunch of these Dr Who teas, but luckily the black tea made me not really taste the rooibos.

This one was not overly impressive. Weak base with hints of chocolate and almond.
I was not a huge Captain Jack fan anyway but I don’t know that this tea would remind me of him. I haven’t yet been really impressed with an Adagio tea.

Sipdown achieved!

Thanks for sharing, Sil!

Sipdown (162/168)!

Many, many thank to Sil for the sample of this! It’s been on my wishlist for months now and I was beginning to think I wouldn’t ever get to try it without blindly buying the full 3 oz. of it. Jack is one of my favourite companions, and actually just one of my favourite characters in general on Doctor Who so I really wanted to try this blend for that reason. Still, 3 oz. is a lot…

I’m very glad I waited though and didn’t get impatient, because it turns out that as much as I love Jack 3 oz. of this would have been 3 oz. too much. I kinda didn’t like it. Well, no – I really didn’t like it. At first it was this light nutty chocolate thing but every sip was concluded with a nasty, harsh bitterness! That’s not like Jack at all – and just gross in general. Jack is supposed to be charming and seductive, and just a touch quirky. Not bitter and blah…

So, one Adagio blend I can cross off the list! So glad I experienced it so thanks a million to Sil for that – but just not for me. Wah wah wah.

Hmmm this tea. It’s actually pretty decent? It is a bit bitter, to my taste, but not too bad?
The flavours actually work for me! It’s not like super astringent, not overpowering with one tea to the other, and it makes a nice Captain Jack :) Though, I do get a really weird aftertaste…