I’ve been going thru Stargate withdrawals and just might have to go back and re-watch all of them AGAIN from the beginning until then I can reminisce with this tea…Stargate(SG1) Dr Daniel Jackson from Adagio Fandom Signature Blends. Won’t you join us in celebrating #FanaticFriday: Stargate(SG1) Dr Daniel Jackson from Adagio Fandom Signature Blends is the tea I have chose for the occasion. Dr Daniel Jackson was one of my favorite characters!
This Stargate(SG1) Dr Daniel Jackson from Adagio Fandom Signature Blends is something I have had in my personal stash for a while and just noticed recently that it is one of the signature adagio blends from Jeffrey McWhirter. The tea gods must have been talking to me because Woodie (Jeffrey’s partner) and I have been chatting about possibly featuring some of their signature blends in the near future! Heck YES! Especially if Stargate(SG1) Dr Daniel Jackson from Adagio Fandom Signature Blends is any hint of what is to come!
Stargate(SG1) Dr Daniel Jackson from Adagio Fandom Signature Blends infuses to a very dark brown which I LOVE. The aroma is very chai-like with the addition of cocoa nibs, cocoa nibs, and more cocoa nibs! The flavor is an enhanced chai taste on tongue with your standard chai flavors paired with slightly sweet, creamy, and cocoa hints. Okay…there are more than just HINTS of cocoa there is quite a bit and I think that is pair of why this blend shines!
Stargate(SG1) Dr Daniel Jackson from Adagio Fandom Signature Blends is much like the character I adore on the show… strong, sensitive, geeky, smart, and intriguing!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Chai/Black Tea
Where to Buy: Adagio
Description:
ingredients & lore- blended with black tea, cloves, ginger root, cardamom, natural vanilla flavor, natural creme flavor, natural cinnamon flavor, cinnamon bark, teas: vanilla, cream, masala chai, accented with cocoa nibs, cocoa nibs and cocoa nibs
This is for entertainment only. I have no affiliation with the Stargate: TV-Movies brand etc. steep at 212° for 4 mins
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
The Holiday Season Approaches!
This isn’t a review but an advertisement (sorry guys!) No, we don’t usually advertise here on this site – this is an anomaly – but because one of the founding SororiTea Sisters is now the Mad Tea Artist behind 52Teas, she gets the privilege of deviating from the norm.
And 52Teas has a Holiday Pre-Sale going on right now on Kickstarter! This isn’t a typical “fundraising” Kickstarter campaign, instead, this is a chance for you to get some Christmas shopping done early while it helps us keep things just a little more organized by keeping our pre-sales separate from our day-to-day sales activity.
52Teas is offering 5 unique, limited edition teas for this promotion – these teas will be available only during the season and once they’re sold out, they won’t be reblended until next Christmas!
Here’s the specs on those five VITs (Very Important Teas):
- Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire – This is a special blend of black teas with a hint of Lapsang Souchong to give it that smoky touch that you’d experience from an open fire. Flavored with chestnut and caramel and just a hint of spice to give it that winter-y kind of appeal.
- Gingerbread Houjicha – I love the flavor of gingerbread and I think that the roasty-toasty, nutty flavor of houjicha would offer a delightful base to these flavors.
- Eggnog Chai – A Chai blend (black tea with a touch of honeybush) flavored with notes of custard-y eggnog with an extra dash of nutmeg to enliven the cup. This would make a great latte to serve Santa on Christmas Eve!
- Cranberry Orange Cider – A blend of red and green rooibos that’s been flavored with cranberry, orange and apple with a medley of holiday spices.
- Peppermint Marshmallow Melting in Hot Chocolate – For this blend, I chose a special black tea blend (crafted with teas from our friends at Verdant Tea) for the base that has a rich, natural cacao flavor with hints of malt. Peppermint, marshmallow and even more chocolate-y flavor to create a deliciously delightful cuppa.
YUM! So please take a moment to visit the 52Teas Kickstarter Holiday Pre-Sale and get some of that early Christmas shopping done early! The campaign closes on October 27th so your card won’t be charged until that date, and the teas will be shipped in plenty of time for gift giving!
Thanks for taking a moment to read this . . . now let’s get back to the reviews!
Happily Headless (Custom Blend) from Adagio Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black/Green
Where to Buy: Adagio
Tea Description:
You’ll lose your head over your loyalty to this kingly brew!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
WARNING: POTENTIAL GAME OF THRONES SPOILERS
(But really this is season one so if you’re not aware of this you might be living under a rock…)
I have to say, I’m quite happy I watched enough GoT to understand the character reference here! I’ve really only seen the first two seasons and part of the third. I think the ingredients picked out by this blender are pretty well thought out too; though I do think there might just be a bit more “Fire” than “Ice” – although to be fair there certainly are a lot of very visable candy cane pieces in the dry leaf. Aun-Juli Riddle is a pretty good blender; in particular her Doctor Who blends tend to be pretty good and well thought out.
This is essentially a Chai, though an unconventional one, so I wasn’t the most excited about this blend because I’m not a Chai fan myself, but it came out pretty tasty! The clove is easily the strongest flavour here, and since that’s the one ‘conventional’ Chai spice that I personally feel you can never have too much of that works very well in my favor.
The rest of the flavour is pretty nice too; there’s an even dispersal of ginger, cardamom and cinnamon with just the faintest little touch of smoke from the Lapsang. It’s not enough smoke for people who are fearful of Lapsang to be worried about, though. The candy cane isn’t as strong as I expected given how much I could see in the leaf and the fact that this is inspired by Ned Stark which obviously ties into the whole “Winter Is Coming”/Ice thing. It is present, but subtly so and it’s more acting as a sweetener than really contributing any strong mint flavour. The finish is a little bit peppery, with maybe a touch too much cardamom.
Overall I think this is better than most Adagio fan blends though; they tend to get pretty muddled because blenders pick out ingredients that are either too similar so there’s no contrast or playing off one another or they pick ingredients that fit the ‘character’ but clash with one another/don’t compliment each flavour. This kind of avoids that for the most part, while still being fairly thoughtful.
I definitely wanted more “ice” – but maybe it’s poetic irony that the “fire” was the most dominant thing…
Vanilla Mint Chai from Rishi Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Pu-erh
Where to Buy: Rishi Tea
Tea Description:
Creamy, rich textured and inviting, this pu-erh based chai is unlike any other. Its delicate balance of silky and luscious vanilla bean, bright and soothing peppermint and sweet cinnamon transform this chai into something magical.
Tasting Notes: Decadent vanilla bean and sweet Saigon Cinnamon complement smooth, rich Pu-erh tea
Ingredients: Organic and Fair Trade Certified™ pu-erh tea, organic peppermint, organic cinnamon, organic vanilla bean, organic licorice root.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have never had Rishi teas (at least not that I could remember) before nor have I had a lot of Pu-erh. So when I saw this the other day while I was online, I thought I’d give it a whirl.
Steeped this one up per the instructions on the box. 2 tbsp with 1 cup of boiling water on my stove top. Brought the mixture to a boil and then added a cup of almond milk and brought the mixture up to a simmer. Once I was at that point I removed the pot from the heat and let the tea do its thing and steeped for 3 minutes. After I steeped it for 3 minutes, I added some honey to my mug and strained the tea into the mug. Seems like a lot of steps for a simple cup of tea but this is anything but a simple cup of tea.
This chai mixture has pu-erh instead of black tea or green. I can’t say I’ve ever had a pu-erh chai blend before. I am a newbie when it comes to pu-erh so please bare with me.
First sip and I was immediately greeted with this beautiful blend of earth tones and sweet cinnamon spices. Sweet and savory at the same time. The vanilla just added to the sweetness/creaminess factor and the almond milk brought out more of the earthiness and gave the tea a well rounded balance. The mint gave the tea a refreshing after taste. It was very light and faint. I could barely pick it up.
I think I finished the cup in about 2 minutes flat. I really enjoyed this. My first voyage into pu-erh chai was a success. I think I may have to check out some pu-erh blends now.
Honey Vanilla Chai from theBeesTeas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black Tea & Honeybush
Where to Buy: theBeesTeas
Tea Description:
Black tea blended with the spiciness of cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, and the sweetness of honeybush vanilla. This tea is great hot and iced. Add a dab of honey and a splash of milk for a really tasty treat.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Chai and I really have a love hate relationship because I’m not the biggest ginger fan or a fan of overly spiced teas. I’m always looking at other peoples reviews in envy when they talk about the amazing chai blends that they are having, wishing I liked them. Kind of like red rooibos. I still haven’t found a blend I like that has red rooibos in it. I don’t get the rich dessert like quality out of those teas that everybody else gets. I always seem to get a medicinal weird flavor.
This tea though may change my out look on chai. This tea has a black tea base but also has a generous helping of honeybush vanilla to smooth out the flavor and bring a creamy factor to it. The ginger is there but isn’t the smack you in the face kind of ginger. The rest of the chai spices really mingle nicely together with the blend creating this beauty of a cuppa.
I did throw in some milk that I had froth and created myself a delicious latte out of this. I wasn’t adventourous enough to drink it without just yet. I plan to maybe later in the week. For me, I can’t see this being an everyday sort of drink but I can see this being the tea I grab for when I do want a chai blend.
Another home run from this company.