Tea Tasting: An Adagio Experience

Firstly, I **LOVE** tea. Hot, cold, iced, room temperature - - all of it.

With my mom being a southerner, I literally had sweet tea in a baby bottle, practically from day one. Without question, tea is a part of me and my DNA.

As an adult, I've learned to love unsweetened tea, but it's really a matter of preference. Sometimes, just a touch of honey during those allergy or cold season months is all it takes to make me feel better.

Again, because I love tea so much, it can be green, black, herbal, chai - you name it! I will try it!

And that's exactly the opportunity that came my way via Adagio Teas. I was asked to give them a try.

To tea, I can't say no.

I tried. I tried many. And I will try many more, I promise!

For the record, the teas I sampled from Adagio included:

• Ooooh Darjeeling 
• Darjeeling Sungma Summer
• Gourmet Iced Tea Starter Set - Classic (3 separate pouches of Ceylon, Peppermint, Rooibos)
• Pu-Erh Spice
• Masala Chai

For what it's worth, the best part of the Adagio website is that they offer samples of all of their teas at a very reasonable price point, not to mention, there is a coupon you can get when you hop on the website, too. Right now, it's $5 - which would cover the cost of at least 1 sample, and partial of another!

However, what I like MOST about their offerings, is the idea of a "starter set". The iced tea had my attention from the get-go, being that it's summer and all right now! Classic Ceylon is your typical black tea - yet the two times that I made it, ZERO bitterness. Which is a HUGE plus whenever making a black tea of any kind. If it is brewed too long, usually, there's that "you let the tea steep too long" taste.

None of the teas that I made - hot or iced, ever had an "over-steeped" taste.

At one point, I made a Ooooh Darjelling hot tea and lost track of time... It should have steeped no more than 5 minutes. That cup steeped for at LEAST 15 minutes... and you know what? It was perfect. It didn't have the bitterness that I expected after being so careless.

Granted, Darjeeling, usually is very forgiving... it was simply delicious, in spite of my forgetting about my tea in the kitchen while I did other things.

But that name! Ooooh Darjeeling? Love it. And love the tea.

Tea should be served in Fine Bone English China

My other favorite was the Pu-Erh Spice, which I am sure I misprounounce. I don't really care how to say it correctly, because it's all about the taste. If you like a spiced tea, like a chai, this takes it another level UP. I think it's perfect in the morning with toast or a bagel with jam. It's like having a cup of autumn in your hand. It's more intense than the Masala Chai, too. When you open the pouch and smell the spices, it transports you to cozy sweaters and gorgeous fall foilage. The picture to the left (if you're reading from your computer), it's the darker tea on the right. Note that there is a splash of milk in the tea, too, and it still had a very rich, dark color -not to mention a hearty flavor. The tea on the left is Masala Chai. By comparison, the Pu-Erh was a lot more robust in flavor. The chai was classic in the sense that it had all the right notes and aromas that one expects in a proper chai. In retrospect, I wouldn't sample the two together, since they are both spice-based. It seemed to be an unfair comparison.

I'll just have to re-sample all over again - you know, to be fair. One must be FAIR in judging/sampling tea. 😋

If you can't tell already, I actually enjoyed my experience sampling all of the teas. While I'm not a fan of decaffinated teas in general, I can still give ALL the teas that I tried from Adagio a BIG seal of approval.

The ONLY drawback was not being able to go into a physical store. I do enjoy browsing and sampling teas in person. I'm hoping that they will branch out (as there are stores in Chicago area) and find themselves in NYC sometime soon. (Hint! Hint!) BUT! Good news is that, according to their website, there is no NYS tax on your Adagio purchases!

There is also a LoyalTEA program and an abundance of resources on their site. Most definetly, check the health benefits of tea and before long, your shopping cart might look a bit like mine did!

Reviews of the teas and the descriptions are also helpful, but really trying it out for yourself is the best way to go.

Of course, I welcome any comments or questions here or send me a tweet! 
I look forward to hearing from you!