Dongshan Dolce

It looks like this is a fairly polarizing tea – a lot of 80s and a lot of 60s. I’m going to be on the 80s side of the fence because I really like this. It’s very mild and I imagine that might be problematic for a lot of folks (the hubby likes much bolder flavors so I don’t think he’d be a fan) but I like the gentle softness of it.

The dry leaves smell of sweet hay and a little bit of buttered grass. The smell post-steeping is almost non-existent but has a little hint of sweetness and a mineral note. The flavor is very mild but really pretty. The front end is the softest with just a hint of sweet hay and floral nectar. The middle bit of the taste is probably the most ‘normal’ Chinese green tasting like… a Chinese green. The endnote is where the pretty really comes in. There’s a beautiful sugary sweet and floral endnote that flares up and couples with the more mineral note that I’m used to getting from Chinese greens. It makes me think of asparagus flowers. Not that I know what asparagus flowers smell (or taste) like, but in my world they smell pretty much like a floral version of asparagus.

Since the flavor is so very mild, it’s not a good tea for a grab-and-go kind of tea drinking. It’s for more of a sit-and-relax-while-meditatively-sipping kind of tea drinking. But I’ve been gravitating towards that type of tea lately so I give this one a big thumbs up.
3g/6oz

Note: the bottom of this review contains a personal story I felt like sharing, but I’ve inserted a line for folks that just want to read about tea.
Perhaps this is just me, but most of what I’ve had from Adagio has seemed “stale”. I put FOUR heaping teaspoons in my steeper, steeped it for 2 minutes, and I got slightly green tea flavored water. I’d talk about what this tasted like, except that’s where it stops. I can tell there was some tea in the water – that’s pretty much it!

Ironically I just ordered something from Adagio, but it was a tasting cup. I really wanted a small cup to taste some teas with; the steeper I typically use makes 16oz, which just doesn’t work with lots of steeps.

And right after I ordered it, I had a funny mental intersection of tea, memory, and emotion.

When I was 19, I liked to get up in the morning and drink at least two or three cups of coffee. I lived with my friend Marc, who was brilliant on a ceramics wheel (and in lots of other ways too), and he surprised me one day with a HUGE mug that he’d made for me. The thing had to be at least 24oz. I loved it, and used it to drink BIG cups of coffee and tea.
About a year later, he drowned while in Africa for work. It was strange and shocking; he had traveled to lots of different countries, and was in great shape since he was an avid swimmer and rock climber. It took me a long time to accept that he had passed away, and then to grieve. A couple years later my then significant other dropped the mug one day, and it shattered into a million pieces. I felt shattered too.

Right after I ordered that tiny little cup, I thought it was so odd that nearly a decade ago I had loved that big, big mug. And now here I was wanting this tiny little cup to drink my tea.

After reading Cofftea’s review I was afraid of this tea…but here goes…I am typing as I drink this.

Before steeping the dry leaves smelled like a dandelion stem with very small hints of sweetness.

I steeped a little less amount than I normally would based on the prior review. It has basically no color as stated by Cofftea. Once in the cup – basically no scent…after steeping. The first taste was a little mossy-grassy. I am going to go neutral with t his but try resteeping and adding a little more loose leaf next cup and repost/rereview. I’m really not sure about this one.

I’m back after a really really long time! yaay! Prepare for an assault on you’re dashboard pages! Then again, it was only 2 or 3 weeks, which kind of proves that I’m a ridiculous junkie for not only tea, but steepster as well.

So I found myself on adagio’s website…you know, ordering presents and whatnot. I wasn’t going to get anything for myself, but I thought that I’d might as well, since I just happened to be there. I limited myself to 1 sample, but then I saw a couple more I wanted, which left me at 4. I actually had to chase myself off when I realized that I was eying full sized tins.

Anyway, based on the description Adagio gives, this should have been UH-MAY-ZING. Telling me that it’s sweet, luscious, and indulgent seemed to cater to exactly the flavors I was craving. I didn’t stand a chance. Even if I had read the reviews here, I doubt it would have made a difference. It was like I had fallen deeply in love with someone I’d just met on the internet. I was ready to pack up and move to Iowa. Turns out that jerk used a photo from 10 years ago, before the first two marriages.

Actually, it isn’t bad, I just really wanted to use that analogy. I just feel like it’s nothing special. The first two steeps, I found, were simple and nutty, with a sweet aftertaste. The third was my favorite. The nuttiness was less prominent, allowing it to blend more with the sweetness. There’s a hint of buttery, also. There may have been a bit of toast somewhere, but nothing as exciting as advertised. I’m just finishing up the 5th steep, which is still very drinkable. I really should up the score a bit for re-steeping power. It’s quite sweet (for how weak it is in general, anyway) and the nuttiness has become an aftertaste. It’s not complex by any means, but it’s about as exciting as it’s always been.

Steeping: Water was heated to the point where I could juuuuust make out steam rising
1-2 minutes (it smelled really vegetal at about 1 minute, so I stopped it early out of fear)
2-3 minutes (package directions)
3-4 minutes
4-4 minutes 45 seconds
5-6 minutes

It’s entirely possible that I’m just not so much a green tea person. I tend more towards whites, blacks, and oolongs, so I just might not be refined enough for this. I kinda doubt it, though. Dongshan Dolce is pleasant enough, I’ll definitely finish my sample, but will not buy it again. I suppose it would be good for people who want green tea without grassy flavors. The entire time I’ve been drinking it, I keep thinking that it’s a less plant-y version of Andao’s Spring Snail Shell.

I’m really getting to like this green from Adagio. I just finished my third steep and was pleasantly surprised at how much I’m liking it. The aftertaste is awesome- tastes like a good warm biscuit in your mouth fresh from the oven…The general (well there is nothing general about tea), but the taste of the tea was different for each steep starting out a little sweet with not much else happening but in second steep notes come whistling through and its sweetly delicious. The 3rd steep is just as good as the second but I noticed the biscuity aftertaste the most after this one. I think this is gonna be my favorite new green from them! Dang it! I just put in an order for them 2 days ago and I didnt get any more of this…YET!

This might be the first green tea I have really enjoyed, hot and plain. The description is right on – if a tea could taste like a soft, buttered dinner roll? This one does. Not the least bit vegetal, as I understand the word, no spinach or asparagus. Just a light, smooth, sweet and savory flavor. Compared to other light teas (white, green, oolong) this is very tasty.

Ended up getting ~ 4 steeps out of it, all 2-3 minutes

I really like this tea. It is sweet and buttery. A bit of vegetative flavor but not strong.

Very, very good.

SO it smells more rich and complex than it tastes. It’s very very very light. Almost like a second steeping. I don’t love it. I don’t hate it. But I’m glad it was a sample. It gets a meh from me.

This is an okay cup of tea but is not has described by Adagio. It is a very light cup of tea with hints of sweetness and grassiness.

I’m liking this more than last time, I made it with cooler water than previously. I think Adagio’s suggestion of 180 is to high for this tea.

Steeps a very light golden color. Has a nice taste, I like this better than the Gyokuro.

Additionally I am not getting the taste of corn flakes that I got last time (see my previous note). If you are looking for a subtle green without the taste of grass this one may be it. Make sure to try varying the temperature with your sample the taste is better but still subtle and not bold. This reminds me more of a white tea than a green tea to be honest and since I like a lot of different whites…