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TeaEarleGreyHot drank Golden Flower by Adagio Teas

225 tasting notes

First of all, this tea is badly named. It is NOT a post-fermented heicha dark tea such as Liubao (as distinct from Pu’erh) bearing tiny “golden flowers” of the fermentation microbe (Aspergillus cristatus, formerly Eurotium cristatum) that many might expect, especially if exploring probiotic teas. Adagio should re-name it. That said, I did read reviews here and knew to expect an oolong before ordering.
Sadly, I must concur with reviewer amandastory516’s evaluation. My sample pack (received a few days ago) tasted of old, stale green tea that had lost 95% of its character. There was some promising aroma during the steep (per Adagio’s directions) and a nice green color, but the taste from the first infusion was okay, if weak and devoid of the many flavors promised. The second infusion had a slight bitterness and cardboard flavor that would have been terrible except for being so washed out. I did not attempt further infusions, would not recommend, and will not buy again this product. I’ll rate it a 40, not even as satisfying as the generic Té negro teabags I bought at a supermarket in Mexico.

Flavors: Cardboard

Preparation

205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 0 sec 2 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML

3 months ago

I Like This

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2 comments

Roswell Strange 3 months ago

I haven’t looked up any information about this tea to check if this is could reasonably be the case, but my assumption is the name is meant to be a reference to “Golden Lily” which is the English translation of Jin Shuan. I agree the similarity to the term used with dark tea/heicha is confusing though.

TeaEarleGreyHot 3 months ago

I think you’re right, Ros! They would have been wiser to call it “Golden Lilly” and been less effusive in their praise.

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Roswell Strange 3 months ago

TeaEarleGreyHot 3 months ago

I think you’re right, Ros! They would have been wiser to call it “Golden Lilly” and been less effusive in their praise.

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Life is too short to drink bad tea!
Pan-American: Left-coast reared (on Bigelow’s Constant Comment and Twinings’ Earl Grey) and right-coast educated, I’ve used this moniker & Email since the glory days of AOL in the 90’s, reflecting two of my lifelong loves— tea and ‘Trek.

Now a midwestern molecular biologist (right down to the stereotypical Hawaiian shirts), I’m finally broadening the scope of my sippage and getting into all sorts of Assamicas, from mainstream Assam CTCs to Taiwan blacks & TRES varietals, to varied Pu’erhs. With some other stuff tossed in for fun. I enjoy reading other folks’ tasting notes (thank you). I’ve lurked here from time to time and am now adding a few notes of my own to better appreciate the experience. Note that my sense of taste varies from the typical. For example, I find stevia to be unsweet and bitter. My dislike of red rooibos may be rooted in the same genetic palatum divergence, which impacts perceptions of many flavors, from asparagus to stevia to cilantro.

I don’t work for any tea vendor, and I’m not a professional tea sommelier. And I don’t taste every nuance, hint of flavor or note of aroma, nor am I trained to describe those that I do detect. But I taste enough to have opinions, and do my best to be descriptive. Sensory preferences can shift from day to day and person to person, so numerical ratings are kinda bogus, especially between and among various people. But there are individual trends, and I try to reflect that. As reference points for my ratings, I give Lipton Black Tea bags “orange pekoe and pekoe, cut black” a score of 65 because it is widely available and profoundly consistent. I view it as just okay. I would give plain, hot, quality spring water a rating of 25, and I buy Crystal Geyser brand for brewing because my local well water is stinky and discolored, and my filtration & softening system leaves it salty and unpleasant. Tea should make the commercial Spring Water better, not worse, so a rating below 25 speaks for itself.

I am conversationally friendly but absolutely not here looking for dates or money, nor to sell anything. If I’ve started to follow you, I don’t mean to be creepy, it only means you recently posted something I liked reading, or it was about an interesting tea or event. And I’ve recently discovered that the Steepster system only notifies me of new posts written by people I follow. If you follow me, I won’t assume anything. If I do not follow you, it isn’t a snub—you’re still a good human being!
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