Adagio's Grapefruit Tea Review

Type: Black
Origin: Ceylon
Price: Sample (regular price - $6 for 4oz.)
Vendor: Adagio
Brewing Method: Per Instructed – 2.0g of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, boiled at 200°F-212°F, steeped for 5 minutes.
Overall Score: 3.5 out of 5

Adagio’s Grapefruit Tea is made up of Ceylon black tea base with dried grapefruit bits and flavoring. Only after I put my nose to the can do I smell the sweet and acidic citrus. So, the grapefruit flavor does not seem to be too pungent or overpowering.

The liquor is a deep orange color.

Even after the leaves were brewed, it was rather hard to detect the aroma of the citrus unless I held the cup very close to my nose. The other flavored teas that I’ve tried produced aromas that seemed to fill the room.

The grapefruit taste was very lacking as well. I could taste the light bodied Ceylon more than anything. Actually, the only reason I could faintly pick up the taste of grapefruit was because I was looking for it. If I would not have known that the tea was flavored, I probably would not have picked up on the citrus flavoring.

The brew was overall bitter, dry, and lacked character. There was a faint acidic aftertaste, which was expected from citrus, but it fades quickly. I was not pleased with this tea. In fact, I was disappointed because I love grapefruit, but the flavor did not hold up in this tea.

Strawberry Tea Review

Type: Black
Origin: Ceylon
Price: Sample (regular price - $6 for 4oz.)
Vendor: Adagio
Brewing Method: Per Instructed – 2.0g of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, boiled at 200°F-212°F, steeped for 5 minutes.
Overall Score: 4.8 out of 5

Adagio’s Strawberry Tea is a Ceylon black tea base that is infused with bits of dried strawberries. The loose tea is mostly curled black Ceylon leaves, with dots of red and white strawberry slices throughout.

The color of the brew is a light orange with a red tint to it.

The aroma is very sweet, with the strawberry flavor being easily detected. After taking a sip, my fears were put to rest when I realized there was no tartness to this tea. It simply tasted like fresh picked, sweet, juicy, strawberries. It almost reminded me of a nice hot slice of strawberry pie.

There was no astringency or bitterness in this brew. It was light bodied and mellow. I found it very pleasant to drink. Just like with the other fruit teas that I’ve tried so far, I think this tea would be even better iced.

The only negative thing that I could possibly say about this tea is that I had a hard time tasting the Ceylon because the strawberry flavored lingered forever in my mouth. The strawberry flavor was not overpowering, but it seemed to have an aftertaste that lasted longer than previous fruit teas that I’ve tried.

Tangerine Tea Review

Type: Black
Origin: Ceylon
Price: Sample (regular price - $6 for 4oz.)
Vendor: Adagio
Brewing Method: Per Instructed – 2.0g of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, boiled at 200°F-212°F, steeped for 5 minutes.
Overall Score: 4.3 out of 5

Adagio’s Tangerine Tea is a blend of Ceylon black tea base with tangerine flavor all through. I could smell the citrus aroma as soon as I opened the can. I did not find any bits of tangerine in the entire sample can that I had, though. Therefore, only tightly curled Ceylon leaves filled my teapot, but the pungent aroma of tangerine was definitely present.

The color of the brew was a beautiful light orange – the color that Ceylon teas should be.

The brew smelled extremely sweet but also tart. It tasted sweet with a significant amount of tartness to it, which was expected of the citrus flavor. However, I was left with a slightly bitter aftertaste as well. From the Ceylon point of view, the tea was light bodied. The tangerine flavor easily masked the taste of the Ceylon.

The negatives of this tea were the astringency and slightly bitter aftertaste. Also, I think the citrus flavoring seemed a bit overpowering compared to the Ceylon. Every time I took a sip, my mouth wanted to pucker a little from the tang of the tangerine flavor.

Those who really love the flavor of tangerine would enjoy this tea because it definitely delivers a citrus taste. Drinking this brew hot was too tart for my taste buds. However, I think this could be turned into a great iced tea.

Passion Fruit Tea Review

Type: Black
Origin: Ceylon
Price: Sample (regular price - $6 for 4oz.)
Vendor: Adagio
Brewing Method: Per Instructed – 2.0g of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, boiled at 200°F-212°F, steeped for 5 minutes.
Overall Score: 4.5 out of 5

Adagio’s Passion Fruit Tea is a blend of Ceylon black tea base and bits of passion fruit throughout. The sweet smell of fruit hit me immediately when I opened the can. When I laid the dry leaves out on my plate, the specks of bright orange passion fruit stand out from the curled black Ceylon leaves.

I love the yellow/orange color that this brew has. In the right light, the liquor almost looks bronze.

The brew smelled sweet but tart. My predictions were confirmed after I took a sip. The brew tasted sweet at first, but I was left with a tart aftertaste. I have never had the pleasure of tasting passion fruit itself but I can acquire a good idea what it tastes like from this tea.

The passion fruit flavor is present but not overpowering. The Ceylon is subtle but can still be detected. The brew was over all mellow and light bodied. I did not add sugar to this brew (I never add sugar to my tea) but I think if one were to add sugar it might mask the tartness.

The only negative thing is there is a little astringency with this tea. My mouth feels somewhat cool, but then it becomes dry quickly. However, maybe turning this brew into an iced tea would remedy the dryness.

Apricot Tea Review

Type: Black
Origin: Ceylon
Price: Sample (regular price - $6 for 4oz.)
Vendor: Adagio
Brewing Method: Per Instructed – 2.0g of leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, boiled at 200°F-212°F, steeped for 5 minutes.
Overall Score: 4.7 out of 5

Adagio’s Apricot Tea is a blend of Ceylon black tea base with a few slices of dried apricot in each cup. I could smell the sweet apricots as soon as I opened the can. The yellowish-orange slices can easily be seen against the black tea base.

Once a freshly brewed cup was under my nose, the smell was even sweeter than the aroma of the dry leaves. As you can see, the color of the liquor is a beautiful deep orange.

When I finally had a sip I noticed that the apricot did not seem over powering. Over all the tea is mild with the apricot aftertaste. There is no dryness or astringency in this tea. It is very refreshing, actually, and left my mouth feeling cool.

In my personal opinion, I think it would make an excellent iced tea. I have only had this tea hot so far. However, with regards to the cooling sensation that I felt with this tea, drinking it iced may create the feeling of actually biting into a cool juicy apricot on a summer day. I’ll have to try it.

Update!

Ni Hao!

Yes, it's true, I'm still alive and kicking. I know I haven't posted in a while... 17 credit hours of classes kept me pretty busy. However, school is out for the summer! Woot! I am taking one summer course but I have loads of free time now. I can't wait to get started on all of the tea reviews I have set up for the summer.

Before I get to the reviews, though, you may have noticed some changes to MySI (pronouced "my-sigh": short for My Steeped IdentiTEA). I have completely changed the layout and the color scheme. My blog used to be black and green (my two favorite colors), however, I decided to go with an Oriental theme in order to complement most of the teas that I drink.

The background is custom made by yours truely using the Chinese and Japanese colors of orange, yellow, red, brown, and black. A lot of the changes that were made involved editing blogger with HTML. I knew a little HTML to begin with, but not enough to do what I wanted to do with my blog. This complete transformation took me about 12-14 hours to teach myself HTML and do the necessary photo editing. The end result was worth it, though. I think it really looks amazing!

After looking over my tea collection, I have tons of fruit flavored teas from Adagio and few from Custom Leaf. I am thinking about doing a "Fruit Week" on MySI and reviewing a different fruit flavored tea each day. There will be a list on the right side bar about upcoming teas that will receive reviews once I get "Fruit Week" started. I have more than seven fruit flavored teas, so I am sure that "Fruit Week" will get extended into "Weeks."

Thanks for sticking with me! I hope to bring more tea reviews for you to check out in the next few weeks. Drink up!

Coconut Masala Chai Review

Type: Chai
Origin: India
Price: Sample (regular price - $15 for 3.5 oz.)
Vendor: Yogic Chai
Brewing Method: Per Instructed - 1 tsp of loose leaves, 1 cup of filtered water, boiled at 200-212F, steeped for 2 minutes, added ¼ cup of 2% milk, and steeped for another minute.
Overall Score: 4.7 out of 5

This Coconut Masala Chai is the sweetest of the three chai teas I have tasted. Just like the previous two, the first thing that I smelled and tasted was the cinnamon. The cloves and ginger are still present in every sip, but the coconut gives the brew a wholesome sweet taste.

This is definitely a very refreshing cup. I still get that over all warm feeling, but the coconut leaves a sweet after taste, instead of dryness, in my mouth. I think adding maple syrup or any other kind of sweetener would make the brew too sweet (at least for my taste).

I was worried that the Assam black tea base would make the brew bitter, like I had experienced with the Original Masala. However, the coconut added just enough sweetness to nix any of the bitterness left by the Assam.

Just like with the previous two chai teas, I brewed the Coconut Masala Chai without milk out of my own curiosity. With this brew, I could taste the coconut a little more, at first, than I could with the cup that had the milk added. However, the spiciness of the cinnamon and the smokiness of the Assam soon covered up that sweet taste and left my mouth feeling dry. The milk definitely makes the brew creamy, smooth, silky, and, with this particular blend, refreshing.

The Assam base makes the color of the brew about as dark as the Original Masala (first picture). The white milk lightens the color to a tan or light brown (second picture). It can almost be confused with a cup of hot chocolate. Speaking of which, I think adding some chocolate syrup, chocolate milk, or even some chocolate tea to this brew (or to any of the previous chai teas that I have reviewed) would make it heavenly. Ok, it may not be as healthy, but this amazing mixture of spices would undeniably add the right amount of kick to an awesome treat.

Before brewing the Assam leaves, along with the cinnamon, cloves, and ginger spices, are full of color (third picture). The white strings of coconut can easily be seen within the dark Assam background. After brewing the Assam leaves have opened up nicely (fourth picture). The smell of coconut seems to rise above the cinnamon when observing the wet leaves.

My exploration of chai tea is over… for now. However, this experience has been a huge step for me. I have heard of chai teas, but have never had the guts to taste them, until now. Also, I have always retreated back to my faithful green teas after trying a new type of tea. But this time, I have reached the bottom of my cup of the Coconut Chai Masala and I can’t wait to get this blog posted so I can go make some more! :)