Thanks to Lena for sharing this with me!
First off, the dry leaves (balls) smell like someone sprinkled cocoa on them… not my cat but rather the baking powder. Really surprising. I had a little trouble getting the right amount for my cup because I weigh my tea. I had to shuffle around a combination of 5 different balls (ahem) to get my 2.3g for 6oz that I wanted. The large and irregular ball size could be a problem for me. Or else I need to relax. (Probably that last one).
Once I got them in the pot, I was good to go. I was also way too entertained by watching the balls open. How do they get the leaves to stick like that? Anyone? Way too easily entertained.
The smell of the tea post-brewing is much earthier than the smell of the dry leaves. And I don’t get the strong cocoa flavor/smell anymore except as a bit of the aftertaste. It does have a little bitterness to it that reminds me of cocoa, though. Not a bad bitterness, just an unsweetened chocolate bitterness. But without the chocolate.
All in all, I like it. It’s smooth and has a good, complex flavor. Not really knock my socks off with flavor or anything but I think this is probably something I’d get to have every so often as part of a black tea rotation. Not a have to have on hand at all times kind of thing but something to bring in occasionally, use up, then move on to a couple more before ordering it again.
And if I haven’t babbled enough – my next door neighbor is trying to start the motor on his sail boat. Yes, it has been raining all day, but it isn’t that bad yet.
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You’ve been shuffling balls around, then, have you? This tea has been great, at the very least because the “ball” per tasting note count has skyrocketed on this site.
I’ve been using between five and seven balls per 8 ounce cup. Perhaps I’m just a ballsy kind of woman. The more I drink this tea, the more I like it.
No idea how they make them but I love watching jasmine pearls unfurl in my mug. There’s something terribly ‘zen’ about it.
I missed the promo-thingy on these guys unfortuntely but they sound interesting enough that I might buy them the next time I order from Adagio.
@takgoti: And there are sooo many jokes that this tea encourages me to make. That’s a total plus!
@Carolyn: I think 7 balls would scare me. That’s gotta be a fairly stout tea, yes?
@Jillian: These seemed fuzzier to me as they open compared to the jasmine pearls but that could have just been because of the size. Still, so fun.
This tea makes me wish Adagio sold something between the sample size and the 4oz tin (well, 5oz for this tea).
@Auggy: It brews up black as death with 7 balls and it produces a very stout, very caffeinated cup but not all that bitter. (Or at least it is bitter in a good, chocolatey way, not an unpleasant way.) It has a real body to it.
I’ve only drunk it at work where the water temperature gets to 190 degrees max, so that may be part of why 7 balls works.
I’m sort of tempted to try what I will now think of as Carolyn’s Black Balls of Death brew.
@Auggy: You make it sound almost like an STD! XD
/Sorry, my sense of humor isn’t very sophisticated when I’m this tired.
Haha – and please! I snicker every time I type “balls”! You ARE the sophisticated one here!
I’m really glad that I’m not alone when it comes to this kind of stuff. When I was in choir, we had to sing this song in Latin that had the word poenis [where the o and e are squished together – I don’t know how to do that on here without it involving more work than its worth]. It wasn’t even pronounced like what I think you know I’m getting to [poe-niece, if I remember correctly], but EVERY TIME, I would LOSE IT. And I’d make whoever was next to me start to lose it. Not too helpful when you’re trying to be all serious and dynamic and choir-y.
As for “Carolyn’s Black Balls of Death,” well done. I think that has a really nice ring to it. Someone should edit the tea name.
I would ask what a poenis is… but in my world I already know the answer.
Hehe.
Auggy, glad to see I’m not the only one here that weighs her tea!:) Mine has a .01 accuracy so I go for 2.25g/6oz. Although these balls are so dense I just round up and don’t sift thru them.
My scale is only accurate to .1g but I normally go for my normal 2.3g but sometimes I let it go of by .1… These little balls are tricky though! I think I just called it good at 2.5g after a few swaps and resisted the urge to dig through to get me the balls that would put me right at 2.3.
High-strung? Who, me? Nooooo.
I have this scale, I’m addicted to it! http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-AMW-100-Precision-Calibration/dp/B001ODPFXE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1258166818&sr=8-3
Nice! I have one of the My Weigh pocket scales… I’ll admit, I felt like Amazon thought I was a drug dealer when I bought it.
Why’s that?
I tend to think that more people buy inexpensive, small weight scales to weigh their drugs into friendly, deal-able amounts than those that use them to measure tea.
Of course, there could be dealers out there that are big time into tea and they get a 2-for-1 deal. Bonus!
lol, maybe they sell ‘special’ tea. ;)
Well I guess, if you want to automatically assume that they use those scales for drugs then don’t be surprised if amazon does as well. I; however, think tha’s very judgemental.
Okay then.
Wow. I’m surprised the mugs don’t dissolve with the amount of this tea you all are using. I made a pot tonight – 5 balls for a one pint pot.
And reading all of the comments on this tea, I am beginning to understand why Adagio refers to this tea as “pearls.” Dragon balls would be just way too entertaining.
I weighed them and to get 2.3 – 2.5 g I needed per cup was 3 balls. I was somewhat surprised but the tea is good so I run with it! :)
Auggy, how did I miss this epic post until now?! STDs, poenis, and drug dealing (and related “judgmental”-ness), oh my!
Thank you for commenting on this because it made me reread it all and laugh. So fun!
You’ve been shuffling balls around, then, have you? This tea has been great, at the very least because the “ball” per tasting note count has skyrocketed on this site.
I’ve been using between five and seven balls per 8 ounce cup. Perhaps I’m just a ballsy kind of woman. The more I drink this tea, the more I like it.
No idea how they make them but I love watching jasmine pearls unfurl in my mug. There’s something terribly ‘zen’ about it.
I missed the promo-thingy on these guys unfortuntely but they sound interesting enough that I might buy them the next time I order from Adagio.
@takgoti: And there are sooo many jokes that this tea encourages me to make. That’s a total plus!
@Carolyn: I think 7 balls would scare me. That’s gotta be a fairly stout tea, yes?
@Jillian: These seemed fuzzier to me as they open compared to the jasmine pearls but that could have just been because of the size. Still, so fun.
This tea makes me wish Adagio sold something between the sample size and the 4oz tin (well, 5oz for this tea).
@Auggy: It brews up black as death with 7 balls and it produces a very stout, very caffeinated cup but not all that bitter. (Or at least it is bitter in a good, chocolatey way, not an unpleasant way.) It has a real body to it.
I’ve only drunk it at work where the water temperature gets to 190 degrees max, so that may be part of why 7 balls works.
I’m sort of tempted to try what I will now think of as Carolyn’s Black Balls of Death brew.
@Auggy: You make it sound almost like an STD! XD
/Sorry, my sense of humor isn’t very sophisticated when I’m this tired.
Haha – and please! I snicker every time I type “balls”! You ARE the sophisticated one here!
I’m really glad that I’m not alone when it comes to this kind of stuff. When I was in choir, we had to sing this song in Latin that had the word poenis [where the o and e are squished together – I don’t know how to do that on here without it involving more work than its worth]. It wasn’t even pronounced like what I think you know I’m getting to [poe-niece, if I remember correctly], but EVERY TIME, I would LOSE IT. And I’d make whoever was next to me start to lose it. Not too helpful when you’re trying to be all serious and dynamic and choir-y.
As for “Carolyn’s Black Balls of Death,” well done. I think that has a really nice ring to it. Someone should edit the tea name.
I would ask what a poenis is… but in my world I already know the answer.
Hehe.
Auggy, glad to see I’m not the only one here that weighs her tea!:) Mine has a .01 accuracy so I go for 2.25g/6oz. Although these balls are so dense I just round up and don’t sift thru them.
My scale is only accurate to .1g but I normally go for my normal 2.3g but sometimes I let it go of by .1… These little balls are tricky though! I think I just called it good at 2.5g after a few swaps and resisted the urge to dig through to get me the balls that would put me right at 2.3.
High-strung? Who, me? Nooooo.
I have this scale, I’m addicted to it! http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-AMW-100-Precision-Calibration/dp/B001ODPFXE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=office-products&qid=1258166818&sr=8-3
Nice! I have one of the My Weigh pocket scales… I’ll admit, I felt like Amazon thought I was a drug dealer when I bought it.
Why’s that?
I tend to think that more people buy inexpensive, small weight scales to weigh their drugs into friendly, deal-able amounts than those that use them to measure tea.
Of course, there could be dealers out there that are big time into tea and they get a 2-for-1 deal. Bonus!
lol, maybe they sell ‘special’ tea. ;)
Well I guess, if you want to automatically assume that they use those scales for drugs then don’t be surprised if amazon does as well. I; however, think tha’s very judgemental.
Okay then.
Wow. I’m surprised the mugs don’t dissolve with the amount of this tea you all are using. I made a pot tonight – 5 balls for a one pint pot.
And reading all of the comments on this tea, I am beginning to understand why Adagio refers to this tea as “pearls.” Dragon balls would be just way too entertaining.
I weighed them and to get 2.3 – 2.5 g I needed per cup was 3 balls. I was somewhat surprised but the tea is good so I run with it! :)
Auggy, how did I miss this epic post until now?! STDs, poenis, and drug dealing (and related “judgmental”-ness), oh my!
Thank you for commenting on this because it made me reread it all and laugh. So fun!