Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
Black tea from the Fujian province of China. Golden Monkey tea is hand-processed each spring with careful plucking of only one leaf and one bud. The name comes from its unique appearance: the leaves resemble monkey paws. Sweet and very ‘nosy’: savory roasted apples, cocoa and spice notes that linger as you sip. Rich, coating texture and very smooth, soft mouthfeel. Delicate, almost indistinguishable astringency.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
A beautiful golden tea, the dry leaf has colors that range from a pale gold to a warm chocolate tone. And … if I were to describe the flavor, I might offer the same description: golden notes of apple, warm notes of spice and a lovely, lingering cocoa note. And it is those chocolate-y notes that makes golden teas like this Golden Monkey from Adagio Teas a treasure.
This is deliciously sweet. When I read the description, I wondered about the apple note … I don’t think I’ve ever had a golden monkey that I tasted a distinguished apple note … or perhaps I just didn’t identify it as such, instead I labeled it as a fruit note. But as I sip this, yes, indeed, it does have an apple note, and it’s quite a clear apple-y flavor. Quite nice.
The spice tones are subdued but warm … it doesn’t really taste “peppery” or “vibrant” or any of those other grandiloquent words I often use to describe teas. It is really quite a mellow spice note, but, it adds an interesting dimension to the overall cup.
But it is the chocolate note that I love … and it is the chocolate note that will make this Golden Monkey memorable. It lingers sweetly on the palate, and as I allow myself to enjoy the cocoa flavor, I also notice a hint of caramel hiding just beneath the bittersweet chocolate. Lovely!
I am not always overly excited about Adagio Teas, but this one is definitely worth trying. One of the best teas I’ve tried from this company.
Pumpkin Spice Tea from Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
Premium black tea from Sri Lanka flavored with pumpkin and exotic spices. Autumn festivities just wouldn’t be the same without the comforting, smooth sweetness of spiced pumpkin – and neither would your tea time. Warm and rich flavor, with lingering cozy aromatics.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I love handmade soap, and my favorite soap artisan is Rebecca, from Rebecca’s Soap Delicatessen. With my most recent order, she was nice enough to send me a sachet of this tea! Because I had not yet tried this particular flavor from Adagio Teas, I was happy to receive it, and especially thrilled because Rebecca was once one of my best tea customers (back when I sold my own blends), and it’s kind of cool that she’s now sending me tea!
Adagio Teas has a very … weird … black tea base. The first time I tried it, I wrote to them to find out what type of tea they use, and they told me a Ceylon. Well, their Ceylon is quite unlike any Ceylon I can ever remember tasting … except for in Adagio Teas’ flavored teas. It is rather harsh, to put it mildly. However, after having had some experience with Adagio Teas’ black tea base, I’ve learned a thing or two about brewing their flavored black teas so that it does not taste so abrasive.
First, don’t use boiling water. Just under boiling – between 195° and 200° F – will do the trick. Then, do not steep the tea for the five minutes that Adagio suggests. I find that a brewing time of 2 1/2 minutes – 3 minutes produces a much more favorable cup. Finally, allow the tea to cool slightly after it’s brewed. I find that letting it sit for three to four minutes before I take a sip and the cup is far less astringent than if I take a sip immediately. In this case, patience is definitely rewarded.
And this really isn’t such a bad tea after brewing it in the way I just described. The spices are nice and warm, and the black tea is rich tasting and only mildly astringent. My only real complaint about this tea would be with it’s pumpkin flavor – it tastes artificial. I’ve had quite a few pumpkin teas where the pumpkin tastes more natural than this. It just tastes kind of … off. However, it’s not so horrible that I cannot finish the cup and enjoy it!
Certainly not my favorite Adagio offering but I didn’t hate it either … and I loved that my dear friend sent it to me. That she thought of me … it meant a lot! Thank you, Rebecca!
Candy Cane from Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
Premium black tea from Sri Lanka flavored with minty candy canes. This wonderfully smooth treat that will fill you with warm Christmas spirit and leave you jolly. Santa knows if you’ve been naughty or nice, so you’d better buy some for a friend, too! Give our Candy Cane Tea a try before Yuletide’s end.
Taster’s Review:
Many tea companies have a special holiday offering, and this tea is from Adagio’s Stocking Stuffer collection, as well as their Spice Jubilee collection.
This is a very tasty black tea blend with a strong minty presence and just a hint of sweet creaminess. I like the addition of the creamy taste because it seems to soften the sometimes harsh character of Adagio’s black tea base, making it not only palatable, but actually quite smooth and enjoyable.
I like that that the mint here is strong but it isn’t overpowering, and I can taste the sweet “candy-like” flavors as well as the flavor of the black tea. Overall, a very enjoyable holiday tea, one that would be very happily received in a tea lover’s stocking!
Ti Kuan Yin from Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
A legendary oolong tea from the Fujian province of China. Ti Kuan Yin is one of China’s most beloved oolongs and is extremely time-consuming to produce (well over a dozen distinct steps in the processing are observed). The cup is warm, soft and soothingly mineral in texture. Notes of toasted walnut and tender collard greens. Intriguing lingering floral aroma, lightly orchid, and gentle astringency. A meditative cup.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have been drinking tea for a long time, and the one tea type that never ceases to amaze me is Oolong. There are so many different varieties, depending upon where it’s grown and how it’s harvested and how long it’s oxidized. And even when I think I know a certain type of Oolong – like Ti Kuan Yin – I taste a new one and I’m amazed all over again.
This is a truly lovely Ti Kuan Yin. It has a pleasing nutty flavor to it with hints of mild vegetation that weave their way in and out of the sip. A delicious creamy taste that is reminiscent of browned butter. It has a smooth texture that is almost velvet-like, and a light astringency toward the tail of the sip cleanses the palate so that the buttery taste and velvet-y mouthfeel do not overwhelm.
At the start, I did not taste a strong floral quality to this tea, but at the point where I nearly finished my first cup, the floral notes began to come forward. They were still quite delicate at that point, but they offer a lovely contrast to the nutty sweetness, and with the infusions that followed, I found that the orchid notes that Adagio promised emerged.
And like most Oolong teas, this one is indeed good for multiple infusions! I managed four from the same measurement of leaves, however, I probably could have gotten a solid six infusions … unfortunately it was getting quite late in the evening and so it was time to stop.
A must try for those who love a good Oolong!
Capricorn (Zodiac Series) Custom Blend from Adagio Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Tea Description:
Capricorn people like gifts, not gaudy and expensive ones, but practical and useful. Why not buy a delicious blend of Irish Breakfast, coconut and vanilla.
Capricorn people like to take charge and give practical advice. They often hold executive positions in business, or have leadership roles in their communities. They are typically loyal, stable and dignified, and have a natural ability to provide rules and guidelines by which others can achieve and grow.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This custom blend was created by Adagio Teas customer Inguna Trepsa combining Adagio’s Irish Breakfast, Coconut Black, and Vanilla Black teas. I am very grateful to my tea drinking friend that sent me a sampling of it (thank you!) – I am happy to have this opportunity to try it.
The aroma of the brewed tea is very inviting with its notes of coconut and vanilla. Irish Breakfast blends are traditionally very stout, strong black teas with a vigorous flavor to get you going in the morning. This blend maintains that vigor, while incorporating the flavors of coconut and vanilla to give the bold Irish Breakfast an interesting and flavorful twist.
Of the two flavors, I find the coconut to be the most pronounced. I tasted the coconut right away, but it took a few sips before the vanilla tones could be fully tasted. The overall flavor is creamy and sweet with a strong, bracing taste of black tea in the background.
I have found that some of Adagio’s teas are a bit “too much” for me, that is to say, the black tea base that they use can sometimes be too harsh and brassy. However, I am not experiencing those harsh tones that I’ve come to associate with Adagio’s teas. Rather, this is a quite delicious! It does have a fair amount of dry astringency, something that can be curbed a bit with the addition of milk, which also enhances the creaminess of the flavors very nicely.
A very pleasant Adagio custom blend – I’m glad I got to try it!