Sabriel Fandom Blend from Adagio Teas

Full disclosure, this is one of the blends I made on Adagio Teas.  Their create-a-blend tools are just too much fun, and their fandom tea community is active and engaging.  I wanted to review my Sabriel blend because I had been stewing over the idea for a long time, and it was so satisfying to have it finally come together.

Sabriel is one of the main characters from the Old Kingdom book series by Garth Nix.  I won’t go into too much detail about the books, except to say that the series essentially follows the lives of “good” necromancers who help fight dead creatures or put the dead to rest.  The stories are beautiful, imaginative, and just a little spooky.

For my Sabriel tea blend I wanted something impactful but nuanced; her work managing the magic of the dead takes steadiness and subtlety.  The body of the tea is made up of two types of green tea. The gunpowder tea is robust without being astringent, and adds a whiff of smokiness that compliments the crackling, toasted notes of the hojicha tea.

The rest of the ingredients are all fragrant and sensory-inspiring.  Peppermint brings a cooling creepiness, like fog in a graveyard, or a settling peacefulness like still water.  Rose and lavender can have the morbid interpretation of flowers at a funeral, but can also being nostalgic, like remembering a favorite bouquet or garden memory.  Cardamom adds some spirit and peppery spice, and feels a bit unexpected without its usual partners of cinnamon and ginger. The scent of cardamom always makes me think of opening the kitchen spice cabinet, and all the cooking possibilities within.

I have not come across a blend quite like this in my tea drinking experience, so I was more than happy to have the opportunity to make it myself.  It was also great fun to honor one of my favorite characters and book series in tea form.


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Great Gatsby from First Edition Tea Co. #greatgatsby #tea

So this may be an unpopular opinion but I actually hated The Great Gatsby. I read it. I analyzed it. I studied it. I get it. Doesn’t mean I need to like it. I found it boring and after reading it a few times and not enjoying it anymore than I had previously, I think it is safe to say that I am not a fan. Even the movie didn’t appeal to me, except for the soundtrack which was pretty amazing but I digress.

Now that I have that out of the way, I can focus on this tea, which smells amazing by the way. Lemon and lavender, such a crisp and fresh smell that is also incredibly soothing. It’s so calming, I could just doze off to sleep (so it has that in common with the book :P). Seriously, I could sniff this all day. I would scent my house with this. Okay, I will stop with my raving about this awesome smell and move on to the taste.

I was worried this would get burnt because it is a green tea base but the recommended steeping is 100C for 4 minutes. I couldn’t bring myself to do that so I steeped it for 3 min at about 96C. This is a robust green base though because it stood up to the heat. Just like the smell, this is an incredibly clean tasting tea. The lemon is crisp but not bitter and it manages to border on the line of lemon pledge without tipping over to the dark (chemical) side. Normally not a fan of lavender, I will say it really works here. It provides more depth to this tea and helps to round everything out. It actually creates a nice bridge between the more robust green base and the softer lemon notes. This tea is like spring in a cup and like the Gatsby lifestyle, it is decadent and elegant while boasting a more humble flavor profile.

I did not expect to like this in the least but it is proving to be quite the delight. I will be passing this on for my other sisters to try but I would actually considering keeping this one stocked for a bit. Just need to get my hands on some more


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Green Tea
Where to Buy:  First Edition Tea Co.
Description

Lemon & Lavender Green Tea

The perfect gift for any book lover, especially one who love a cocktail!

Perfect for a party, old sport. Starts out green as cash, brews up rich as gold. Tastes like lemon cakes and luxury. Chill and add a splash of gin for a really swell cocktail; a little party never killed nobody.

Ingredients: Green tea, lemongrass, organic lemon pieces, lime pieces, organic lavender, calendula petals, sunflower petals, natural flavours.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!