Adagio Teas might be known for the fandom-inspired blends submitted by their users, but the tea company also offers their own seasonal blends. One of my favorite flavors they have created is a fall blend called Bonfire.
This blend is mainly comprised of honeybush herbal tea, which brings the perfect caramel, woodsy notes to start as a baseline. If you are wary of red rooibos teas, don’t worry about this blend, the honeybush is much more gentle and less medicinal than the rooibos. The honeybush is paired with just a smidge of smoky black lapsang souchong. There is little enough lapsang souchong to keep the caffeine level low, and to not overwhelm you with its bacon-like scent. Truly, the smokiness is relaxed and minimal, if you are on the fence, give it a try. Personally, I’ve grown to like smoky teas, so I add an extra scoop of lapsang souchong to the Bonfire loose leaf to really pump up the robustness.
What takes this blend to the next level are all the other herbs and additions. Apple pieces add some juicy sweetness and their trademark fall flavor. Aniseed and cacao nibs add some dessert tones to make this brew feel like a treat. Orange peels and cloves bring their wintry spice combination, and red peppercorns add a pop of color and just a hint of cracked pepper flavor.
This tea is delicious on its own, but also goes well with lemon and honey, or could be a tasty starting point for a hot toddy. The blend is not available all year round, so I always make sure to stock up and make it last.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Honeybush and Black
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description:
Crisp autumn nights call for warmth and comfort and little can better provide them than an autumn bonfire. Behold our bonfire blend: Honeybush hazelnut and cocoa nibs relax and ground you, while a spice blend of aniseed, cinnamon, clove and orange peel offer cozy comfort and zest. Apples and rose hips add soft sweetness while lapsang and red peppercorn offer hints of smoke and the flickering spark of heat. A perfect tea for fireside enjoyment or downtime dreaming.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Isla de Coco from Pacific Tea. . . . .
Isla de Coco from Pacific Tea just conjures images of tropical islands, palm trees, and coconuts. While there is coconut in this blend, it’s not the pina-colada herbal tea you might expect!
Isla de Coco has an unusual mix of spices, with chai flavors like ginger, cardamom, and clove, as well as more dessert-like flavors like cocoa shells, cocoa beans, and licorice root. The result is an amazing, sweet and savory, cookie-flavored blend.
The cocoa shells are surprisingly nutty, almost salty like the sweet-and-salty mix of caramel corn. These flavors pair especially well with the buttery coconut pieces. As for the other spices, there is a little heat from the ginger on the back of each sip, and the licorice and cloves add their own herbal sweetness and silky mouthfeel.
Despite all the cocoa shells and cocoa beans, this blend is not dominated by chocolate. There is just a hint of cocoa powder, mainly adding to the warming, bakery notes of the overall blend. In fact, vanilla almost ends up being the strongest flavor, between the creamy coconut and smooth vanilla bean. No milk or whipped cream needed to get that smooth vanilla taste (though, you can’t really go wrong with adding whipped cream to a tea latte).
This is a great blend when you’re tired of the usual chai, but still want a fun herbal tea with a variety of herbs and spices. Not to mention it has a much-need hint of chocolate to reward yourself on those especially long days.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Pacific Tea
Description: Live life a little less ordinary with a grounding melody of coco-cocoa, vanilla perfection. This caffeine-free herbal blend entices with ‘natural-sugar, spice and everything nice’.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
#PeruvianSpiceBerry from #IncaTea
The dry leaf smells like mulled wine, with fragrant elderberry, cinnamon, and cloves. Pour a bit of water on these leaves and they brew up fast! Wow, what a dark red berry brew after only a few seconds!
Brewed, this tea gets much more tart, thanks to the powerhouse of hibiscus flowers. The ingredients list also include purple corn. I’m not sure how it adds to the flavor, but the brewed tea is a vibrant purple-pink color.
This tea is best served warm, though the fruitiness might be suited for an iced tea, I’m not sure all the spice is appropriate in a cold beverage. I’m of the opinion that cinnamon and cloves are best suited for a drink from a hot mug.
The cloves and hibiscus dominate this tea, which were a perfect combination for a cold, grey, rainy day when I brewed this cup. Drinking Peruvian Spice Berry made me feel like I was tucked in on a cozy autumn day, warming up with peppery cloves and dark currant flavors.
This is definitely a tea for fans of mulled wine and hot toddies. Or, if you just want to be able to say that you tried a tea made from purple corn!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Inca Tea
Description:
An enlivening herbal, fruit tea blend of purple corn, berries and spices. Caffeine free. This is our Original blend to characterize the true ancient Incan recipe.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Aria blend from The Jasmine Pearl Tea Co.
Immediately evident in the dry leaves are whole cloves and some seed pods that I thought at first were anise but, after looking at the ingredients, I decided must be fennel. The attractive-looking combination also includes bits of licorice and marshmallow root as well as orange peel and peppermint plus cinnamon and ginger.
I’d say this tea would probably great for reducing throat irritation/scratchiness/etc, whether you have a cold or allergies or have just overused or abused your voice recently. (Which I haven’t. But I’ll be sure to use this tea next time my throat is feeling under the weather!) It probably can’t work miracles, like if you have laryngitis and are hoping to still go on stage or something, but it does have a markedly soothing effect. Also, this tea can be re-steeped! So you can use it over and over again, although I personally didn’t test to see how many cups of tea it will make so I can’t give a figure. I’d recommend this tea for not only singers but anyone who might sometimes overuse their voice or who might have to use their voice while sick, like teachers (can’t stop teaching just cause you have a cold!).
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: The Jasmine Pearl Tea Company
Description
A singer’s best friend! This herbal blend was originally designed for Portland’s very own Hampton Opera Center. Licorice, marshmallow root, cinnamon and mint are some of the ingredients used in this blend to provide relief and aid to the throat. Aria satisfies, soothes and warms.
Caffeine-Free.
Licorice Root*, Fennel*, Clove*, Cinnamon*, Orange Peel*, Ginger*, Peppermint*, and Marshmallow Root.
*Organically Grown.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Sherlock Holmes Black Tea by Adagio
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Adagio
Tea Description:
All at once exotic and mysterious and perhaps a little bit insane, with a lingering hint of smoke.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is one of Cara McGee’s Sherlock fandom blends, inspired by the character of (who else?) Sherlock Holmes. It’s a blend of Adagio’s Lapsang Souchong, Assam Melody, and Oriental Spice, all of which are black teas. The dry leaf smells reasonably strongly of smoke, with a hint of spice underlying. Exotic and enticing! I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 3 minutes in boiling water. The resulting liquor is a medium golden brown, so no additions this time.
I will freely admit to being more than a little scared of smoky teas, and particularly Lapsang Souchong. One early experience with a very strong Lapsang really, really put me off, and I’ve been very wary ever since. I’ve tried a few lightly smoked teas since and not been repelled, so I’m hoping that I can perhaps gradually build up an appreciation of smoky teas, given time. My forays into this territory are still fairly rare, though, and this will be the first in a while!
The first sip was taken with a little trepidation! I’m pleased to report, however, that this is palatably smoky. The initial flavour is, of course, the Lapsang Souchong. It’s quite a gentle smoke, though, reminiscent of a just-beginning barbecue rather than a raging bonfire. I think this is owed at least in part to the assam, however, which adds a sweet malt undertone that seems to temper the smokiness a little, rounding off what might otherwise have been quite harsh edges. There’s a spiciness in the midsip that’s very welcome, adding a third string to this particular bow. I can taste cinnamon, clove, and maybe a touch of ginger, although none are particularly strong or overpowering. Mostly, I’m struck by how well balanced this blend is between its three elements – smoke, sweet, and spice. Each flavour can be tasted individually, but they also work well as a cohesive whole to make this an interesting and enjoyable tea. It’s certainly frames each of its constituent parts in a new way! What surprised me most is how smooth this tea is. I’m really pleased that it didn’t turn out acrid or bitter, especially since I’ve not added any milk.
With regard to the fandom aspect of this tea, this blend seems like a fairly fitting tribute to Sherlock. It’s a dark and a little mysterious with its background of almost hidden spice (shrouded in smoke, perhaps?) It tastes like I imagine Sherlock’s coat might smell. This would make a good introduction to smoky teas for someone uncertain (or just plain scared, like me!), or for a fan of flavoured blacks looking to try something a little different. This one’s a winner in my book.
