Adagio's Spiced Apple Chai Review
Type: Chai (black base)Origin: Ceylon
Price: Sample (regular price ' $7 for 4oz.)
Vendor: Adagio
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 teaspoon of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, heated to 200°F-210°F, steeped for 4-5 minutes
Overall Score: 3.4 out of 5
Spiced Apple Chai is black tea with apple chunks and Adagio's own Masala spices blend. Pungent spicy and fruity aromas hit me when I open the can. The sweet apple followed by the cinnamon and clove aromas can be identified. Big chunks of apple can be seen along with the tiny black tea leaves, cloves, and cardamom.
The liquor is a light orange color. The main thing I smell is the cinnamon followed by the fruity aroma of the apple. The cloves are close behind, but I have to fight through the cinnamon to find them.
I taste the spicy cinnamon first, but the sweet apple is right there with it. The apple flavor lingers on the tip of my tongue while the cinnamon settles in the back of my throat. The brew is not bitter, but the cinnamon attacks the back of my mouth and leaves it dry.
Milk and/or sugar may be able to mellow out the flavors and bring out the sweet apple flavor. I think this would be a great tea on its own if about half of the cinnamon was taken out of the recipe for the blend.
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Adagio's Chocolate Chai Review
Type: Chai (black base)Origin: Ceylon
Price: Sample (regular price ' $6.30 for 4oz.)
Vendor: Adagio
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 teaspoon of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, heated to 200°F-210°F, steeped for 4-5 minutes
Overall Score: 3.3 out of 5
Chocolate Chai is a blend of chocolate flavored Ceylon tea with cardamom, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon. This blend smells sweet and spicy at the same time. The cinnamon rushes at me, but I can also smell the cloves and the sweet chocolate. The blend kind of reminds me of Halloween colors with the yellow, orange, and blacks swirling together.
The liquor is a beautiful amber color. I smell the cinnamon and cloves aromas easily. I also pick up on the faint sweet chocolate smell. However, I am not sure if I would have believed it to be chocolate if I didn't already know that there was chocolate in this blend.
When I taste the tea, the cinnamon and cloves are front and center. They are very harsh on my tongue and the cinnamon is beginning to burn my throat. There is a slight bit of sweetness which I am guessing is the chocolate, but it doesn't really taste like chocolate. The slightly bitter black tea settles in the after taste. Between the astringent black tea and the heat from the cinnamon it gives it a rather unpleasant mouth feel.
In adagio's description they suggest adding milk to 'make it extra rich.' I did not add milk, because it was only a suggestion, but I am assuming it would definitely mellow out some of the harsh flavors in this blend.
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Adagio's Masala Chai Review
Type: Chai (black base)Origin: Ceylon
Price: Sample (regular price ' $7 for 4oz.)
Vendor: Adagio
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 teaspoon of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, heated to 200°F-210°F, steeped for 4-5 minutes
Overall Score: 3.2 out of 5
Masala Chai is a blend of Ceylon black tea, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and spices. The first thing I smell is cinnamon'¦ well, that is pretty much the only thing I can smell. Even when I try to look for the other aromas, all I get is cinnamon burning the back of my throat and nose. The blend is mostly dark with bits of yellow cardamom throughout. The actual black tea leaves are tiny compared to all the other ingredients.
The liquor is a pretty orange color. The aroma of the tea smells like cinnamon more than anything, but I think the ginger has finally had a chance to show off its stuff. I can also faintly smell the smokiness of the black tea.
The taste, overall, is not that pleasant. I can taste the cinnamon then the ginger, but then I get distracted by the cinnamon burning my throat. In the aftertaste, I can taste the slight bitterness of the black tea on the back of my tongue. Unless you are a big time cinnamon lover, I suggest adding milk to smooth out some of the harsh flavors.
Seriously, vendors, you really need to be aware of how much cinnamon you put in blends because it can easily overpower everything else. I really don't like adding milk or sugar to tea, but in this case I might have to in order to drink the tea because the cinnamon is too much heat for my taste.
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Family Photo
I recently moved ALL of my tea ware out into the barely used family room of my mom's place. I had kept all of my tea-stuff scattered around my bedroom because I spend most of my time in there. But, that was difficult because I know people who have bigger bathrooms in their house than my bedroom (it's really freaking small) so it was very hard to find places to put my teapots, cups, tea, etc.Also, I had to use the other half of my already cluttered computer desk to brew tea, so that made the whole tea-making experience more difficult than relaxing. Alas, this new set up in the family room is SOOO much nicer! I have everything I need within easy reach.
What's more, I do my tea reviews in that family room because of the awesome light that comes in the window'¦ and with the setup I had before I had to run back and forth between the family room and my bedroom several times to get the tea ware that I wanted to use for the review. It was a major hassle.
So, with all of my tea ware together, I decided to take a 'family photo.' With this new set up in place, I can't wait to start reviewing tea again! I have come down with a head cold and can't taste anything properly so I've stopped the reviews until I get over this cold. I should be back to 'normal' in about a week or so.
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Teas Etc's Mango Nut Review
Type: RooibosOrigin: South Africa
Price: Sample (regular price ' $7.95 for 3oz.)
Vendor: Teas Etc
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 teaspoon of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, heated to 180°F-190°F, steeped for 4-6 minutes
Overall Score: 4.5 out of 5
Mango Nut is a combination of mango, macadamia, and coconut. The first thing I smell is a double dose of fruity aromas from the mango followed by the rooibos. I also smell some faint nuttiness in the background. The blend is a mix of the reddish brown rooibos and twisted slice of yellow mango.
It may be just me, but I think the aroma of the tea reminds me of an alcoholic drink like the fuzzy navel or something along that line. It has that pungent citrus smell. The liquor is a beautiful caramel or orange color.
The taste is fruity ' between the mango and the rooibos. I taste the mango slightly more than the rooibos. At first, I wasn't sure if both fruity flavors would fight for attention (because rooibos likes to do whatever it can to be front and center).
However, I think the rooibos complements the mango and gives it that citrusy-but-not-too-citrusy flavor. Some nutty flavors can be noted in the aftertaste. It is not bitter or astringent. It is rather refreshing. I think this would be even better on ice.
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Teas Etc's Bai Hao Silver Needle Review
Type: WhiteOrigin: Fujian, China
Price: Sample (regular price ' $22.95 for 3oz.)
Vendor: Teas Etc
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 teaspoon of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, heated to 180°F-190°F, steeped for 3 -6 minutes
Overall Score: 3.7 out of 5
Bai Hao Silver Needle is an organic Chinese white tea. A fresh and sweet aroma comes from the dry leaves. There is a little grassiness in the aroma, but overall the leaves smell very fresh like recently cut grass'¦ that clean smell. These leaves are long, hairy, buds that are light green in color.
The aroma is subtle, but when I finally find it, it smells grassy and dew-like. The liquor is an exceptionally light yellow color.
The taste is subtle and mellow. It has a nice, sweet, grassy flavor. It is not bitter, but it does dry my mouth out after the first 2oz cup. The flavor is really delicate, but the reward is how sweet it is. However, it is more astringent than I care for.
The vendor describes this tea as 'smooth,' but I am not sure where they taste that. The taste of this tea is so light that it's hard to find and by the time it's found it's too astringent to fully enjoy. This is my opinion after steeping it for 2 minutes. Maybe an extra 30 seconds to 1 minute might help that.
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Teas Etc's Bi Lo Chun Reserve Review
Type: GreenOrigin: China
Price: Sample (regular price ' $16.95 for 3oz.)
Vendor: Teas Etc
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 teaspoon of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, heated to 170°F-180°F, steeped for 1-3 minutes
Overall Score: 3.9 out of 5
Bi Lo Chun Reserve is a carefully picked and processed green tea. The aroma of the leaves is fresh and sweet. They do not have that normal heavy vegetal and grassy smell like most greens. It's more like dew or 'after a rain' type of aroma.
The leaves are in small, twisted pieces that are tightly rolled. The overall color of the dry leaves is dark green with some light green bits scattered about.
The usually grassy/vegetal flavor comes out as the leaves steep. The liquor is a very light yellow color. A fresh and sweet aroma is still present in the tea.
The taste is delicate, light, and mellow. It is also quite sweet and crisp. This tea reminds me more of a white tea than a green because it is so mellow and light. It is not bitter, but it is a little astringent ' my mouth was starting to feel rather dry after my second 2oz cup.
I may try increasing the steeping time for this tea and see how it turns out. The flavor was just so delicate (maybe too delicate?) that I really had to search for the flavor.
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Tea Appreciation Society
Need a say more? Honestly! You love the stuff, they love the stuff'¦ now everyone who loves the stuff can be part of the same societyStraight off the home page of their website, 'The Tea Appreciation Society was originally set up in 2007 by a small group of designers, since then it has grown into a wonderful worldwide collective of tea lovers, many of whom are artists, musicians, photographers and other creative types.'
This is an England based society, but you don't have to live in England to be a member. All you have to do is click the link 'Become an 'Official' Member' on their home page or go here and order their membership package. Select your country's currency on the left hand side and for a reasonable price you can become a member of the Tea Appreciation Society!
All members receive: A welcome letter, personalize certificate with individual membership number, exclusive members only badge, sticker, and a free Miles brand tea bag.
I joined the society back in February and I am member 601 (I was shooting for 600, but oh well). As of this moment, the number of members is up to 728. So, as you can see, this society is most certainly growing rapidly!
The TAS also has tons of tea apparel, teaware, stickers, etc. Ah, it's better if you just see for yourself!
Go here for the homepage.
Go here for the Manifesto of the Tea Appreciation Society.
And here for the membership pack.
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Canton Tea's Anxi Rou Gui Review
Type: OolongOrigin: Da Ping Village, Anxi County, Fujian Province
Price: Sample (regular price ' £14.99 for 100g)
Vendor: Canton Tea Company
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 teaspoon of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, heated to 190°F-200°F, steeped for 2-3 minutes
Overall Score: 4.2 out of 5
The leaves smell grassy with some background floral notes. It smells more like a typical green tea than a typical oolong tea. It also has a slight nutty aroma. The color of the leaves is an overall dark green with some light green specks throughout.
The liquor is a deep yellow color. The tea is starting to smell like a typical oolong now. It smells clean and vegetal with a nutty background.
The taste is a little more bitter than expected. It has a nice crisp flavor. It is fresh and vegetal, but the nuttiness is more in the aroma than the taste ' I barely taste it. The after taste is buttery and lingers for a moment. The tea is quiet astringent, also.
The flavor is around medium body for an oolong, I would say. However, I think it is slightly stronger in flavor than some oolongs I have had. For green tea lovers who are looking for a more pungent flavor than what plain greens have to offer, this would be a good tea to try. It's definitely a greener oolong and has more punch than a regular green.
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Canton Tea's Jasmine Yin Zhen Review
Type: WhiteOrigin: Fuding County, Fujian Province
Price: Sample (regular price ' £13.99 for 100g)
Vendor: Canton Tea Company
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 teaspoon of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, heated to 160°F-170°F, steeped for 1-3 minutes
Overall Score: 4.5 out of 5
Jasmine Yin Zhen is white tea infused with jasmine. I barely opened the package and I could already smell the sweet floral jasmine. The leaves are long, rolled, and fuzzy ' tiny hairs cover each strand making them soft and silky to the touch. They are a light green color with some dark tips here and there.
The jasmine scent really comes out during the steeping of the leaves. The liquor is a very light green color. There is actually tea in those cups in the picture, but the liquor was so light that it was really hard to take a good picture of it.
The taste is very sweet and floral. The jasmine is really all I can taste, but it's not overpowering. Overall, the tea is smooth and mellow. Bitterness isn't an issue, but there is a faint hint of astringency. The brew is quiet refreshing.
I was nervous about trying this tea because I was not a jasmine fan ' notice the past tense. This tea, in my opinion, is perfectly infused with the jasmine scent/flavor. There is not too much in which usually engages my reaction of sip, grimace, swallow, cough, curse, and then make a small effort to find a tea lover with a jasmine fetish that may enjoy that particular over flavored crap. However when I hit the bottom of my cup, this time, I was ready for more.
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