“ A rich and decadent blend that will leave you euphoric!” Interesting. I’d like to be left euphoric!!! Today really isn’t the best day I don’t really feel great and i’m just really tired and kind of cranky. So, naturally, I will turn to tea to give me some relaxation and happiness. I am a stay at home mom to a beautiful and lovely 8 month old baby and it’s tough and really weighs down on you. But anyways, tea usually brings me some peace….especially Blendbee. Not only does Blendbee deliver great taste but the teas also have many added health benefits and they are all listed on the packaging. For Heavenly Hazelnut, it looks like some of the benefits are easing of stomach ailments, immune system support, and eases allergies and helps to cure colds. Sign me up!! This is perfect for me for today because for some reason i’m feeling slightly sick. Maybe this will help.
I brewed up a nice mug of this tea and snuggled into the couch while my daughter played with her toys and made cute cooing noises (I love babies!). The first thing I noticed about this blend was that I wasn’t smelling hazelnut in the dry leaf. I could, however, smell it in the steeped liquid. Oh, yum! Yes this is definitely heavenly! So heavenly, so hazelnut, so vanilla, so relaxing. I am officially euphoric! This tea totally lived up to its name and description. It’s creamy and sweet, with notes of vanilla. It’s nutty and earthy, with notes of hazelnut and honeybush. I am just sipping this down, drinking and breathing it in! The delectable taste mixed with the health benefits IS euphoric. I will totally recommend this blend 100 times over, but I also really recommend the company. They have other great teas and I just love the cute packaging and the fact that they are health-conscious. Definitely give them a try!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Honeybush
Where to Buy: BlendBee
Description
A delightful and highly beneficial Honeybush tea blend. Paired with rich ingredients like Chicory Root and Carob Bean. Rounded out with super nutritious Agrimony Herb and infused with exquisite and nutty Hazelnut & Vanilla extracts.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
On the Rebound – Teavana-Styled Rebound Teas from Adagio Teas. . . .
Late last year, Adagio teas offered a free set of “rebound teas” for recent customers of David’s Tea and Teavana. While David’s Tea isn’t going anywhere as far as I know, Teavana has been closing its doors and sold out of the final stock in its online shop. Adagio’s rebound teas were blended to be familiar to tea lovers from those other shops in the hopes of encouraging these tea-fanatics to try out more teas from Adagio’s selection.
Now, I am a little biased because I got my loose-leaf start with Adagio, but I feel as though different tea suppliers have different specialities, and I’ve enjoyed tea from both David’s Tea and Teavana. David’s Tea and Teavana tend to have more specialized themed blends. They are a great choice when you want a tea that tastes like a peanut butter cup or an over-the-top tropical peach iced tea. Not to mention, they have some very cute tea tins, mugs, and accessories to jazz up your tea shelf.
Adagio’s Rebound Sampler featured 5 teas (though they are adding new rebound blends all the time, see their listing of comparable teas here)
Teavana had a few popular peach teas, so this sampler has two peach teas of its own: Peach Bellini and Peach Serenity. They are subtly different, with Peach Bellini focusing on more tropical flavors like mango and papaya, and Peach Serenity with more herbal ingredients like lemon verbena and chamomile. In both blends, the strong peach flavoring drives the smell and taste. I think these would be best suited for cold brews, where the sweet candy peach flavor can add sweetness without sugar. These teas are great if you are a fan of peach rings candy. I’m always in favor of having more herbal blends, but I think I prefer the more subtle peach taste in Adagio’s peach black tea or peach oolong.
Raja Oolong is an oolong blend with lots of delicious inclusions like chicory, ginger, and cocoa nibs. Likewise, White Ayurvedic Chai is a white tea with a long list of flavorful spices and fruits, like cloves, pineapple, lemongrass and cinnamon. Despite the varied ingredient listing for both blends, the strong cinnamon flavoring takes over. These teas would be great for fans of Adagio’s hot cinnamon spice tea, or for fans of Hot Tamales candies. I’m all for a spicy tea, but I wish there was more variety in the spice. It would be great to have some sweet ginger heat or herbal black pepper spice share the spotlight. I would recommend trying Adagio’s original White Chai blend as another take on the white tea and spice combination.
Samurai Mate is a sweet and tropical mate blend, with lots of sweet papaya flavoring. The fruit pairs well with the green yerba mate, but it is a little one-note. This might be more subtle when iced, not to mention a cold brew would suit the tropical fruit theme. Not the blend for me, but a very striking fruity blend.
If you were able to take advantage of the rebound deal, I hope all the Teavana and David’s Tea fans out there enjoyed your first taste of Adagio. I think Adagio’s strengths lay with their more naturally flavored or unflavored teas. Let’s not forget their lively fandom blends where customers design themed flavors using the tea blender tools. If there’s a discontinued tea flavor that you’re missing, why not try your hand at creating a signature blend of your own to bring it back?
Here’s to a healthy rebound in your loose leaf tea life!
Here’s the scoop!
Where to Buy: Adgaio Teas
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Red Suspenders. . .A Torchwood Blend from Adagio Teas. . .
Adagio Teas offers such a unique service for geeks/nerds like myself. Being a huge Doctor Who/Torchwood fan, I had to check out Adagio Teas Signature Blends to see if anybody had created a blend dedicated to Captain Jack Harkness. . .and was I ever pleased when I saw that someone had created such a blend.
Red Suspenders is a blend of Vanilla Green, Orange, Mocha Nut Mate, with Chocolate Chips as an added accent flavor. Right off the bat, this tea had a strong hazelnut chocolate flavor. Not being a huge hazelnut fan or really a big chocolate guru, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this tea, but thought this would be a great way to start my day off.
Since this is a tea made up of different tea blends, I stayed on the side of caution and brewed this tea with water prepped up at 190F and allowed to brew for three minutes and cool for two more. I took my first sip and wow, was I ever glad I decided to drink this first thing in the morning.
This tea delivers a solid sweet yet nutty flavor that really gets you moving. The vanilla green tea adds a sweet start, while the flavored black orange tea provides a malty touch. I can’t say I really was able to get much of the orange flavor. A well balanced nutty finish ends each sip which is eagerly provided by Adagio’s Mocha Nut Mate. Even though I can smell the chocolate aroma, I can’t say I really can pick up much of a chocolate taste. Another flavor that is hidden in this blend.
I brewed myself up another cup and enjoyed this round as a latte and I have to say that is where this tea shines. The frothed milk really gave this tea a touch of creaminess that really made my morning.
Being that this tea is one of Adagio’s Signature Blends, you really never know if this tea will be a hit or a miss. Being that this tea is one created in Captain Jack’s honor, I’m glad it was a total hit!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black/Green/Yerba Mate
Where to Buy: Adagio Teas
Description
Everyone loves a man in red suspenders- just take Captain Jack Harkness’ word. Now your tea can have red suspenders, too. Melty chocolate and orange meet vanilla in this blend- how could you resist?
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Orange Creamsicle from BlendBee. . . .
Often, I’ll find myself looking lovingly at my tea cabinet (not unusual) and envision myself as a tea blender. In this very particular fantasy of mine, I’m set up in a perfectly crisp, clean and home-y bright white kitchen, sunlight flooding through the windows, a gentle breeze pushing in the open windows, and I’m hand-blending delicious teas while the birds outside chirp backup as I trill, Snow-White-ing-ly.
I’m pretty sure this isn’t how actual tea blending happens. But this is my fantasy, so we’re gonna pretend it is.
Luckily, there exist some incredible companies who offer this service to fulfill all my tea-blending delusions of grandeur! I may not be in a sunlight kitchen, twirling through my own blending cabinet, but thanks to custom tea-blending services, I can almost be.
One of my very favorite companies that offers this service is the incredible BlendBee. I could wax poetic for ages about why I love BlendBee– super high quality teas, spectacular flavors, interesting blends and constant use of beneficial/healthy herbs and spices to flavor teas and support health, not just a bunch of “natural and artificial flavors” sprayed on some dry leaves. For a super reasonable price (and I’ve had great luck picking up a few groupons for this service recently, making it even more reasonable), you can completely customize your own blend, choosing everything from the base to a plethora of add-ins, flavors and other goodies.
In the past, I’ve made a custard tea (which was delightful, and I’ve already ordered more of), most recently, a blueberry Danish tart tea, and the one I’m sipping right now: Orange Creamsicle. I requested this blend be made with creamy, buttery green tea, marshmallow root, vanilla and custard flavor, lemongrass, orange pieces, and a touch of orange oil for flavor. The result s a pillowy green with dreamy, creamy vanilla flavors that is perfectly reminiscent of the favorite shopping mall Orange Julius of my youth.
Iced, this one is even better. The green is mellow, the flavors light and fresh, not at all artificial or overpowering. I love serving it up with a splash of freshly squeezed orange juice for a twist on an Arnold Palmer. It’s everything my little aspiring-blender-heart could have hoped for, and more!
Thanks, BlendBee, for making my tea-blending dreams a(n almost) reality. Now all I need are those singing birds in the background, and I’m set!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: BlendBee
Description
Click below to learn how to blend your own teas with BlendBee.
