Adagio Custom Blends

Chai to Stay Dry… and Happy National Library Week! What?! What do you mean you don’t celebrate National Library Week? I know, this is one of those little known honorary weeks that only a librarian (like myself) would make a big deal about, but I actually do try to find either a library-themed or literary-themed tea each year for the occassion. This was actually the tea I grabbed for last year’s National Library Week, which was a fandom blend from Adagio created by Dylan. It’s a blend of Adagio’s Caramel, Rooibos Vanilla Chai, and Irish Breakfast teas.

The creator claims “the caramel cuts right through the spice of the vanilla chai, and you can just barely taste the Irish Breakfast that acts as a nice, solid base.” That certainly wasn’t the experience I had! As I’ve found with a lot of Adagio’s custom blends (and even just some of their regular teas), I seem to get a lot of variation from batch to batch as far as mix/flavor, and in this sample, it seemed to be all Rooibos Vanilla Chai. The chai spices in it were very overwhelming (particularly the clove) and dominated the flavor of the cup so much that the other flavors in the blend were completely overshadowed. It was hard for me to get much of a “malty” feel from the base, and there was no caramel flavor (or vanilla for that matter, come to think of it). The cocoa nibs may have added a little sweetness, but otherwise didn’t have much affect on the blend either. Overall it was just a heavy clove/cinnamon chai flavor. The spices definitely came off a bit overpowering and demanding. This was another one I had to take with my trusted vanilla almond milk!

Full Review: https://teatimetuesdayreviews.wordpress.com/2017/04/11/tea15/

Disclaimer: this Adagio Signature Blend is a customer’s, Cheryl Yi, attempt to recreate the Mad Tea Party Blend of Disney fame.
It’s close…very close, but not the same. I fixed a cup of the original and the Adagio Blend side by side for this comparison. Dry, the original smells STRongly of apricots, the custom one has a definite peach smell. Note that the original is ground fine and in a tea bag, the custom one is loose leaf. I think this is important. I ran a stopwatch on the brews…90 seconds on the original, 105 on the custom. I let the custom go longer because it was not brewing as dark as the original…note that the custom recommends 3 minutes. I cut it off because the original was done and ready at 90 seconds.
While hot, there was no confusing the original from the custom. The nose of the original was very strong apricots and flowers, sweet and fruity. The copy was peaches and a little muted at that. As they cooled, the original seemed to go a little off, a little chemical? The custom blend kept its peachy smell and peaches and creme flavor pretty consistent.
So – jury’s still out. More loose loose leaf to make up for the fine grind? Longer steeping times? Yes to both, probably. In any case, this one gets kept and tried again, until I get to the end: then stop.

080/365

Obviously, given its inspiration, I had to make this up as a latte. There are no other options! I used 2 tsp of leaf, gave it 4 minutes in 300ml boiling water, and then added 1/2 tsp of vanilla essence and 1/2 tsp of honey. I topped it up with 100ml milk. Based on other “butterbeer” teas, I think I was expecting a root beer kind of vibe, but this one’s a little different. The main flavours I can pick out are vanilla and caramel, which are obviously helped along a little by my additions. The milk enhances the creaminess also. It’s a fairly straightforward tea, but delicious. There’s a nice balance between base and flavourings, and both aspects (vanilla and caramel) are distinct rather than just a sweet mush. It was kind of buttery, although some of that might be suggestion. Either way, it lives up to its inspiration and I’m happy with it. I’d make it as a latte again. And again, and again…

This is pretty good as a latte. I taste mostly black tea, cinnamon and vanilla.

Yes, it was a bit too much to detect individual flavors, but it turned out to be a generally drinkable, OK chai.

A little spicy for my taste, but the blend of flavors helps to balance the intensity of clove and cinnamon. Definitely more nuanced than a straight chai, which is nice. I like to add milk and sugar.

Iced Tea Sipdown (421)!

Finished this one off today at work – unlike the other Adagio blend I got at C4 I decided to not drag my heels with this one so I just finished it all off in one go as a large iced tea. It was actually very good, although I think to call this a “green tea” blend is really pushing it because it’s almost all fruit/tisane with ZERO green tea taste.

I couldn’t taste the ginger in it either, for that matter. No, it was mostly a very, very pleasant cherry heavy flavour with apple and orange undertones. It reminded me a lot of a cherry snow cone, with just a hint of tartness. I think it was the perfect blend for Cheryl Blossom too – very “cherry bombshell” with the sweet and tart kind of mirroring her swaying personality type, and the orange peel and bright red liquor of the tea actually mirroring her visual characteristics quite well too.

I think I’d actually order this one again – probably in the summer for iced tea, though.

Sipdown (409)!

Pushing my way through the final cup of this one tonight, with some added milk. I really wanted to finish this one off for two reasons – firstly, I need the sipdowns right now what with eight Black Friday orders on the way, and four others that were already en route. Secondly, my sister really wanted the tin that this came in. She’s a big Harley Quin fan and she’s over this weekend, so it’s the perfect opportunity to pass the tin off to her.

I will say, this tea seems to have consistently gotten better every time I’ve had it. I mean, to a certain extent that might just be a “stockholm syndrome” of sorts but if it makes sipping this one down more pleasant I’ll still take it.

Main notes this time around are chocolate and strawberry – and actually almost a surprisingly strong amount of strawberry? With the milk, it’s reminding me of those chocolates with the strawberry cream center you get in mixed chocolate boxes like Pot of Gold – somewhat low quality, though. Thankfully, I didn’t get any bell pepper notes in this cup but the finish did have a bit of a black pepper/peppercorn kind of taste which does feel really out of place to me. Also, no acetone!

So yeah – just a better experience all around. I would still never buy this tea again, though…

Cold Brew!

This was actually significantly better as a cold brew – for starters, it did not taste like green bell peppers and right off the bat that’s a huge improvement. In fact, most of what it tasted like was Hershey Kisses? Though it also had lots of strawberry too, so it made for a primarily chocolate covered strawberry sort of profile. Only major downside was the finish, which was a little acetone-like. However it was a VERY light acetone flavour, especially compared to how gross my hot cup was.

I mean, I’m definitely not saying acetone tastes good or that as a whole this was a good brew – just a better one.

One of the teas I grabbed from C4 when I was on vacation!

I’ll be completely honest; I think this tea was SUPER overpriced for what I paid for it, and I looked at the ingredients prior and I’m almost positive that steeped up I’m going to find the taste of this tea average at best. I still felt like I needed to buy it though; there was something about the idea of buying fandom inspired teas at Comic Con that just deeply drew me in as a concept. I was also thinking a little bit of my sister when I chose this one in particular; I don’t dislike Harley Quinn myself but I wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan either. My knowledge of the character is probably pretty average. However, my sister is obsessed with Harley Quinn so I thought that this was something I could probably also share with her that she’d have a strong appreciation of.

Aesthetically speaking, the tea is pretty gorgeous! The sprinkles in the blend actually add a really stunning pop of colour – the greens/blues in particular really appeal to me since they’re something you generally don’t see in tea blends with this sort of pigmentation. It doesn’t stop there though; the peppercorns add an equally pretty red colour and I find that with how many there are in combination with the black tea base that it’s actually channeling that red/black colour pairing that’s so distinct with Harley’s traditional appearance. I’ve always loved that look more than the red/blue that’s associated with her so much now because of the Suicide Squad movie.

The aroma, but dry and steeping, is very chocolate heavy. Hints of strawberry and just candy in general. I guess that sort of sweet candy/dessert tea flavour makes a lot of sense to me with her character. For whatever reason I don’t think that’s what I would have chosen if I were making a HQ blend myself but now that I’ve been presented with it as a concept I’m on board. There’s also this sort of romantic connotation, I think, with the whole “chocolate covered strawberry” thing too, and while I don’t personally love Harley & The Joker together because of the abusive nature of the relationship I think it’d be remiss to not have some sort of nod to that relationship since it is a BIG part of her character. And the little bit of spice from the peppercorn also feels appropriate.

Taking my first sips now…

Yeah, it’s very chocolate heavy in terms of flavour. Like, the whole sip is just dominated by the presence of this milk chocolate taste. It doesn’t particularly strike me as a nice milk chocolate flavour though: quite artificial, and it even has that waxy quality that low quality milk chocolate has. The rest is a bit of a mess. Hints of strawberry in the top of the sip, but it’s a quick hint of flavour, and then it vanishes. I actually want more of it; a lot more of it – I think it could probably salvage some of the clusterfuck that comes next.

So, after that fleeting strawberry taste, I’m hit with the peppercorn and I have to say that I really don’t like it. It’s not that it’s too spicy or that it tickles my throat in a bad way or anything: it just tastes really dull and stale and I’m sorry but the taste of stale peppercorns is pretty fucking low on my list of preferred flavours. Then there’s this flavour that’s a little hard to explain: I don’t know where it’s coming from but it’s REALLY strong in the finish and quite lingering. It reminds me of… bell pepper? But also not as fresh/natural as a bell pepper. It’s almost like an artificial bell pepper flavour, than then was paired with cheap milk chocolate. It’s kind of awful.

I don’t know, in theory this had a lot of promise and conceptually I don’t think the ideas/ingredients were bad both in terms of character representation or with how they should have worked with one another. The execution is just awful though, and it makes for a mighty unpleasant cup of tea.

Song Pairing: https://youtu.be/BtvJaNeELic

So, I have a theory that you could pair ANY Lorde song with Harley Quinn as a character and it would work perfectly. However, I like this one in particular. Not totally sure why; just really vibes well with me. If the tea was actually good tasting, then I think this would have been an EXCELLENT pairing.

This tea is deliciously rich. It’s full bodied and warm. I always grab this tea on a cold, bitter day to bring a little bit of life back into it!

Sipdown (538)!

Today is Star Wars Day/May The 4th Be With You so it felt like the perfect opportunity to finish off this tea; drinking a Star Wars tea today made my heart so happy.

I did it up as an iced tea with milk, and flavour wise it was nothing to write home over. I mean, it also wasn’t bad – but all the excitement came from the thematic serendipity of it all. Smooth and silky; mostly notes of milk chocolate with faint undertones of hazelnut, peppery and sweet rooibos, and a hint of vanilla. In a way it was like watered down chocolate milk. Only thing that would have made it better would have been drinking it out of my Star Wars teapot; but that wouldn’t have worked iced and it was far too hot at home this evening to even think about making a hot cup of tea…

Not as bold of a flavour as I remember from last time; still a nice combo of vanilla, chocolate, and toasted hazelnut though and a blend I can get on board with flavour wise. It’s kind of that simple…

It’s opening weekend of the Last Jedi – at least for a few more hours.

I was going to go see SW:TLJ on opening night; I’m a pretty big fan of the series in general (I mean, you’d hope so since I have a Star Wars tattoo) but Friday was also the day I found out my phone got stolen and, like, well life stuff happened. Now I’m kinda hesitant to shell out the money to see it right now ‘cause I know in the next few days when I finally get around to replacing my phone that’s gonna be a BIG expense. Ugh! Fucking money…

So, while I wait to be able to watch the movie in theaters I’m drinking a cup of this tea instead as, like, a nod to the series I guess? Or like, just to be thematically appropriate? I don’t know, really – I just thought it felt right.

I liked this one the first time I tried it, and I’m liking it now too. I just skimmed my first tasting note, and it looks like what I’m experiencing this time is meshing pretty damn closely so I’m not gonna both really expanding on what I’m getting now past the fact it’s basically just a very smooth Nutella-like flavour with some almond stuff happening too. I think anything further would just be repetitious.

This is a queued tasting note.

This was really good! I wasn’t totally sure what to expect from it because Adagio fan blands can be a little dicey and often muddled flavour wise – and this is a blend I’m not familiar with. However, this was really good! It was very smooth, and rich/full bodied.

It’s very chocolatey, with lots of nutty undertones. The almond is really obvious, sweet and marzipan heavy! However, I also felt like I was picking up notes of hazelnut and combined with that very sweet, creamy milk chocolate notes it sort of tastes like Nutella? I think it’s a great dessert option though, and there are worse flavours for a tea than Nutella. It does have an heir of familiarity to it that all Adagio blends kind of have; but that’s just because I’ve tried these same base teas in the blend so many times now – just in different combinations.

Now, does it remind me of Luke Skywalker, or any of the Skywalkers, really? No. Not at all. It’s still great, though!

Very floral blend with strong chamomile flavor. Peppermint takes to the background, leaving only its cooling properties. Ends with subtle vanilla. In my personal experience, this is quite bitter when warm, but sweet when it’s cool. My advice is to serve it cool (but not cold) with a bit of honey. Kind of tastes like garbage on the second brew. It’s good for people who like herbal tea (especially chamomile and/or mint), but wasn’t what I was looking for.

The sweet caramel and vanilla flavor is delicious and the sprinkles and sparkles add a fun touch. Unfortunately, the base tea ruins the experience for me. It is strong, bitter, and astringent and completely takes over the flavoring by the end of the sip. I do wish Adagio would use a better quality black base for their flavored teas, because they have so many fun flavors available!

I served this tonight at my book club where we were discussing Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. It was actually one of the few Adagio black teas that I really enjoyed. Sweet, chocolate, malt with a slight fruity undertone. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. While I’m not normally one to go with the crowd, in this instance, I happen to agree.

Sipdown (344)!

Finished this one off earlier today at work; it was a surprisingly crazy busy day for the day before Thanksgiving. I mean, usually around holidays – especially holidays that focus around spending time with family, it’s very slow at work.

This was delightful though – more similar to the first time I had it, where I really enjoyed it. Sweet, mellow fruit notes: a mix between ripe apples and subtle watermelon notes. It’s got the sweetness of vanilla, without it intruding heavily on the taste. More of a note in the finish/aftertaste, really. Also quite a floral/rosey flavour in the undertones. Hints of the honeybush base, as well.

I don’t think I’d order this one again – I’m not sold on it as a consistent brew, and while I enjoyed the flavour I don’t think it was exceptional either. However, it was a really fun tea and I loved the fandom aspect/tie in. I don’t regret buying it.

Iced.

I didn’t like this one as much this time around, but I didn’t dislike it. I just thought it was a lot less fruity/watermelon flavoured this time around and a whole lot more weighted towards the honeybush in the blend – quite woody with the honey graham sort of flavour and then followed up with vanilla, rose, and LIGHT watered down melon notes. In a perfect world, I’d like to see the same flavours (maybe a bit more melon) but just in the reverse flavour order. Oh well…

So, I recently placed an Adagio order.

The main thing I was looking for was Jasmine Silver Needle, but since it had been a LONG time since my last order I figured I’d poke around and look at the new fandom teas since I’ve definitely joined some different fandoms since my last order. One big thing I noticed as different is that the site now offers fandom blends in sample sizes outside of the themed and featured “Fandom Samplers”. That’s new to me! Also, a big improvement I think – if I remember correctly last time I ordered I got the Hobbit sampler and then the other three teas I wanted to try I had to order in the 3 oz. size…

I’ve also tried enough Adagio blends at this point that I’m not just looking for fandoms I like or specific characters; a blend has to sound like it’ll actually taste good and the flavours will compliment each other for it to catch my eye too – and that’s how I wound up getting this Steven Universe tea over many of the others! Lets be real, Watermelon Steven isn’t exactly a character – it’s a cute/weird thing that essentially happens in one episode. I like that it’s loosely fandom though, and the flavour idea seemed pretty solid so I decided to give it a shot!

Actually? I think this is probably one of the better Adagio Fan Blends I’ve tried! I mean, reigning favourite is still Cara McGee’s The Woman BUT this is actually really pleasant, and I feel like it finds a good balance between both tea in the blends with accent ingredients that actually do something too.

The top note is Watermelon; a softer, mellow one with a touch of sweetness and a slight nip of tangyness, exaggerated by the tartness of a few other ingredients like the hibiscus, rosehip, and cranberry. I was worried the watermelon actually wouldn’t taste clearly like melon, but I’m pleasantly surprised that it does! The body is more a mix of fruit flavours: apple, cranberry and watermelon specifically. You can totally that the hibiscus, but in a pretty light and restrained way. I definitely wouldn’t call hibiscus one of the main flavours in this cuppa.

I found in that body sip/main flavour that’s kind of where the vanilla honeybush introduced itself: the sweeter, mellow apple/watermelon combo kind of gives way to this really quite delicate vanilla flavour in the transition of the main flavour to the finishing notes. I don’t think it packs a punch, but then again neither does Steven either. I like that it’s more delicate and then in the finish of the sip a little more fully realized alongside the woody/honeyed quality of the Honeybush base. It’s a nice way to end the sip, and keeps the blend from feeling overly fruity.

I think actually my favourite thing in the blend was the consistent undertone of rose, though! The floral flavour was a great tie in for the mixture of fruits and then the vanilla and honeybush. It’s not that they didn’t fit together on their own, but this made that blend seem a little more smooth and seamless. Ignoring the fact this tea is inspired by Watermelon Steven for a second; I also think that undertone of Rose kind of poetically parallels the character of Steven Universe as well. He is Steven; his own distinct being BUT his mother Rose Quartz will always be a part of him, and is essential to his character as well. This is just Steven Universe… but also watermelon.

ANYWAY! Overall? I’m impressed! Not just with the tea, but the tie in to the character as well – and with these Adagio Fan Blends I think you need both for them to be successful.

This is a surprisingly tasty tea! I wasn’t sure about it at first and smelling it before brewing and once it was steeped didn’t thrill me. The taste, though, is out of this world! I would not have mixed these flavors personally so I’m glad someone did! It’s become a favorite of mine, one that I reorder with every Adagio purchase.

“What a light, sweet, darling delight of a tea! This white/peach/strawberry/apricot delight is the tea equivalent of that coral color all the cool kids are wearing these days. Almost pastel, but with that punch of color.

Every time I sip it, I’m a little surprised. I feel like I’m getting POW!ed in the face by a cartoon character."

If you’d like a digression about the 1960s Batman series (may Adam West rest in peace), click here: http://sororiteasisters.com/2017/01/17/dragons-palm-tree-from-adagio-teas-a-signature-blend/