Adagio Teas is where I credit my loose leaf tea beginnings. They have a variety of teas for both beginners and experts, but their success comes from their lively fandom blend community.  There’s a themed-blend for every movie, book, and video game out there.  I know I’ve had a great time designing my own flavors, and I’m always interested in trying new blends from other tea lovers.

My favorite summer blend of late has been Forest Friend by Leslie Kiesler.  This blend is a homage to the main creature in the film, My Neighbor Totoro, of Studio Ghibli fame.  To me, Forest Friend is tea-blending at its best.  It is mixed from Adagio’s white strawberry, white pear, and rooibos jasmine flavors.  On their own, none of these teas are really my favorite: I found the strawberry to be a bit too sweet, the pear to be a bit too earthy, and the rooibos jasmine to be overwhelming floral.  But when mixed together in these proportions, I can’t seem to get enough of this tea.  It’s magical, like finding out you have a big fuzzy, forest friend as your neighbor.

I prefer this blend iced, with our without sugar depending on my mood.  This is a blend mainly made up of white tea leaves, so keep your water temperatures a little cooler than usual to avoid any harsh notes.  The strawberry makes this a delectable summer blend, almost like sugary kool-aid, but the pear and white tea gives the sweetness just enough grounding that it doesn’t become too much like candy.  The rooibos jasmine is amazing when added to a blend in smaller quantities.  It adds some tart, herbal rooibos flavors, and relaxing floral overtones.  There are even blue cornflowers and golden marigold flowers in the dry leaf to make the blend look vibrant in my pitcher as it brews.

Top off the great taste with Leslie’s cute label on the tin and you’ll realize why it is so hard to resist this blend.  Forest Friend is always in my wish list for when summertime comes around and I need a sweet, magical way to cool down and brighten my day.

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: White/Rooibos

Where to Buy: Adagio Teas

Description: There’s a friend waiting for you in the forest, but he’s snoring the day away. Wake him up with a cup of tea so you can begin a magical adventure!

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

MrsPremise

Growing up, I drank herbal teas like fresh ginger tea during New England's harsh winters and iced blueberry tea during its humid summers. Over time, I was tempted into trying a wider variety of loose leaf teas by the fandom-themed blends available online. I have since gone on to design my own blends, and I greatly enjoy drafting up flavor ideas and drawing tea labels. When I'm not thinking about tea I can be found reading novels and comic books, playing video games, or watching movies; my favorite genres being history, humor, sci-fi, and fantasy. Generally, I prefer bold teas: spicy chais, rich black teas, even smoky lapsang souchong on occasion. But I have also dabbled in herbal rooibos, flavored oolongs, and traditional matcha. I'm glad to be expanding my palette by tasting and reviewing new teas and blends. Find me on Steepster: http://steepster.com/A2shedsjackson Fandom blends: http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/list.html?userId=292149

This post was posted in Adagio Teas, Rooibos, White Tea