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Another tea I misplaced, and found again. My first cup of this, I had to look up recommended steeping instructions as I am not yet skilled enough yet in tea identification to eyeball this stuff. So 2:30 at 180F it was. The aroma is very lovely. Fruity and sweet. The flavor, however, eh- not so much. I taste a faint sweetness to it, but not enough for my diabetic mouth. I’m definitely getting some vegetal notes from the green tea and a SLIGHT fruitiness. The flavor overall is very mild. I just don’t think it is for me. I almost want to add sweetener to this to see if it will bring out the peachy fruity notes. Really not my cup of tea. I will likely finish the free sample but probably not till there is nothing else to drink again. I mean, it’s better than Grocery Store, but not by much I feel.

SIPDOWN #4

So this is the last of my Jasmine Yin Hao. I steeped this cup slightly longer than usual, at 2min30sec. Getting a very strong floral flavor with the vegetal green tea flavor sitting more in the background. At 2.5 minutes it is ever so slightly bitter, but not so much that it ruins the cup. I am not sure if I will get this again, or if I will try another Jasmine. I have decided I do like Jasmine tea, but I don’t think this is the exact one for me. More experimentation will have to be done.

Just a real quick update. I am trying this one again, but lengthened the steep time to the full 10 minutes it recommends on the package. (The package says 7-10 minutes.) Great improvement. I’m getting a ton more of that yummy spice flavor. It isn’t bitter at all which is always a concern when oversteeping. Then again I did put two splendas in it like last time (along with almond milk) so as to be consistant. Bottom line is steeped for 10 minutes this is a much better tea than at 8 minutes.

Welp, apparently I misplaced this tea and just found it. It wasn’t even opened. So I figured I’d brew a cup. For starters, I wanted to say that in my past experiences, vanilla rooibos needs to be brewed for 3 minutes not 5 unless you want to drink vanilla body spray (or something that tastes like I imagine it would). So 3 minute brew. Tasted without sweetener, and it was lacking. I could definitely taste the vanilla, but it tasted more like vanilla extract (super bitter) than actual sweet vanilla. So one splenda later and it’s pretty good. It has a strong vanilla bean flavor to it. Actually, it tastes a bit like this of I would say aged vanilla. Like the stuff they put in really good cream soda. Some Malt flavor as well. Yep, I would say that this fixed this way kinda tastes like the tea equivalent of craft brew cream soda. Yummy and bold, rich and flavorful. Its a pity you have to add sweetener to it to truly bring out the richness of the vanilla but some things can’t be helped.

So, time for an old favorite that I simply haven’t reviewed yet. I am a big fan of Masala Chais in general, so I was excited to see how Adagios held up. First off, I steeped this for eight minutes. Then I added Almond Milk and Sweetener. I tried just adding almond milk but it tasted bland. So after two spendas I sipped again. It’s… fine. It’s not nearly as spicy as some of the instant chais I have had and that is sad. It is however very complex flavored. I taste cinnamon, I taste ginger, I taste cloves, I taste nutmeg (I think), it is definitely spicy. However, the spice isn’t as strong as I would like. I like a good strong spicy chai. Maybe if I steeped more leaf for longer it would make a stronger cuppa. As it stands with 1.5 teaspoons for 12 oz it just isn’t strong enough for my liking. It’s tasty, but not the best. I can see why some people might like it though so I won’t recommend/not recommend. All in all, it’s ok, but not the best. Will try again fiddling with prep later.

Sipdown #3

Well, this is the end of the Gingerbread, the last loose leaf black tea I have right now. I suppose it’s fitting that I finish it as the Holiday season comes to a close.

First off, I would like to say I tried something different this time. Rather than just use sweetener, I used a small amount of almond milk along with two splendas. I must say… WHY was I not doing this before. I almost want to give this a whole new rating based on the tea’s flavor when both milk and sweetener are added. It’s like eating a cookie. I’m guessing a gingerbread cookie, but since I don’t think I’ve ever actually had a gingerbread cookie, I’m not sure. But with the milk this tea suddenly takes on a richness that it did not have in any previous steeping. It’s so wonderful. Slight malt flavor, along with a definite ginger sweetness. The bitterness is no longer prominent. You know, I think I will bump the rating a smidgen. This is just too good not to. I really wish I had been doing this all along. Oh well, maybe next time I can get some more and use this prep method each cup. Until then… (Muffled Another One Bites The Dust playing in background)

Ok, trying this one again. Prep was with boiled stove water for 5 minutes. Flavors I’m getting are definitely orange zest, some peach, a sweet/tart flavor and some amount of floral. The aftersip is somewhat like a lemon candy/citric acid feeling and it kinda tickles my throat. It reminds me tonight of those little fruit candies you get out of the quarter machines. Very tasty.

Well, I am giving this a second go. I am at the parents house again, but this time I grabbed a few tea samples to bring with me. I will point out that in this case I am Microwaving water (BLECH) and using an actual coffee mug for tea. First thing I noticed is when the temperature of the water or quality of the water you use for this tea is off, the flavor will be off. It is really hard to get precisely boiling water without a kettle. as a result, the first cup was too cool and had little flavor. The second cup, while hotter, I think may have been too hot?? Because the flavor is too fishy and overpowering. I also fiddled with the brew time. 35 seconds for brew 1 (Post rinse) and 45 seconds for second brew. I feel these may be far too long. 45 seconds is totally too long I have decided, again, I’m getting fishiness when that previously hadn’t transferred over into the cup. I’m not going to dump this cup, but I poured a glass of wine to drink between sips to help things out a bit. I may try a third infusion at 40 seconds at the most, maybe even less. I just know that brewing this here, without my usual accouterments, has resulted in a far inferior cuppa than my first experience. This is supposed to be a very forgiving tea. Just don’t think I agree with that at all.

Sipdown Number 2!
Welp. We will try this again. I drank this yesterday and intended on reviewing it but the page didn’t work. So here we go today. Although this is my first review it is actually the sipdown. This is the end of a sample package I got from Adagio. Smell in pouch is very overpowering. It’s smells like you are nose first in a berry basket. The color when brewed is a deep purple/pink, reflective of the Hibiscus. The first sip, without sweetener, is unfortunately quite tart, to the point of sour. Too much rosehips and hibiscus I believe. So one splenda goes in. Still a bit too tart. Half of a second splenda goes in. Ahhhh, There’s that berry sweetness. Now it is actually quite nice. The sweetener brings out the flavors of the brew other than hibiscus and rose hips. You can actually taste berry this way. I still taste the hibiscus and rosehips but I can also taste cranberries and a touch of currant. It’s like a bright berry party in my mouth this way. The flavor is very strong, but then I did steep for 7 minutes. I’m going to change things up a bit and recommend this one, even though many people may require sweetener for it to taste right. Mainly because it is just SO GOOD when I add the 1.5 splendas. I wonder what this would be like with honey? All in all, I will likely be getting this one again. The need for sweetener added is unfortunate, as I feel a good tea should stand alone. But, the full body, rich flavor of this when added sweetener is so delicious that I will stand by it regardless.

Ok. So. I’m in a black tea kinda mood today. Black Mood, Black Tea. Anyway, this Gingerbread flavored tea is one of the few black loose leafs I have. I think I already reviewed this once but I’m going to try again. This time, I did try it without sweetener. Blech. Bitter and un yummy. So one splenda later I tried it. It’s actually… decent. The sweetener brings out the gingerbread flavor (I think that is what it is supposed to be anyway). If you let it linger it gets a bit earthy, and slightly bitter even with the sweetener. But it is definitely not as bad as I remember the first cup was. I think I steeped it slightly shorter time as well. It’s drinkable. I will likely finish the sample I got (It was part of the December Better Tea Club Box) but I doubt I will go and order any. I will raise my rating but I am refraining from recommending/not recommending because the need for sweetener to make it drinkable could be a dealbreaker for some, but not others.