Darjeeling Puttabong Summer

This is a Black tea from India the region of Darjeeling. I have not liked Darjeelings in the past but i have come around to them as of late.

Taste:
Woody with a light floral after taste, not bitter even with a 5min brew. A very neutral black tea, no malt like characteristics like most black teas.  Brews to a medium amber.

Brew for 5min @212F



You can order this tea here at adagio
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Darjeeling Puttabong Summer by Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Green Anji

This Chinese Green tea is very grassy and  mild. Good for someone who wants a simple green tea. Not much else can be said. Brews to a light gold.

Brew For 3min @ 180F


Note: Green Anji is out of stock as of this posting, adagio says that it will be back in stock summer 2011 
You can order this tea here at adagio
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Green Anji by Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Ooooh Darjeeling

This is an Indian oolong from Darjeeling, not to-many oolongs from that region. I have always found Darjeeling to be a bit too floral for my liking, however this oolong has most of the overarching flavors of black Darjeelings but not as overpowering. I wouldn't call it my favorite oolog but is a nice bridge between the black Darjeelings and itself.

Taste:
Sweet, very floral and not bitter one bit. Brews to a dark amber

Brew for 4min @ 212F (in most cases 212F is a bit to hot however with this oolong the usual 180F yields a tepid cup so go with boiling )




You can order this tea here at adagio
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Ooooh Darjeeling by Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Assam Harmony

This Black tea from the Assam  region of  India. The tea has a strong bite not that of a malty bite more of a floral one with a trace of a biter fruit finish. Brews to a dark red.

Brew for 5 min @ 212F



You can order this tea here at adagio
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Assam Harmony by James Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Formosa Oolong (#8)

A very floral oolong. The flavor reminds me of Rooibos, it is oxidized a bit more than most oolongs though you couldn’t tell by the taste, its not one bit malty or strong. Brews to a dark red.

Brew for 4 min @212F



You can order this tea here at adagio
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Formosa Oolong (#8) by James Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Snowbud

This is a Chinese white tea and as with most white teas this has a very faint grassy taste and well, not much else. Brews to a light green.

Brew for 5 min @ 195F



You can order this tea here at adagio
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Snowbud by James Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Huang Jin Gui Oolong

This is nice oolong from china, it has a typical grassy taste that most oolongs have. There is a faint sweetness leading to a subdued spice and a floral rose like finish. Brews to a gold green.

Brew for 3 min @195F



You can order this tea here at adagio
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Huang Jin Gui Oolong by James Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Favor

    So why no tea review? Well, I haven’t bought any new teas in a while(money is tight). That is why I have a favor to ask . Adagio tea where I buy most of my teas, offer a 5 dollar gift certificate that I can email to any one who wants one. All that you have to do is send me an email, just go to “about me” and in the contact I have my email( in the subject type “adagio certificate“). So how does this help me you ask. Well if you redeem the certificate I get 10 points, for every 100 points I get a 10 dollar certificate. Ten bucks isn’t much but it helps. Oh ya, with the five dollars you could get a sample and shipping (they charge 3.75 for ground) granted most of the samples are over $1.25 but it will definitely cover the shipping. One last thing, aside from adagio, which the certificate is sent through-I will not: give out, share, sell, rent, show, publish, distribute, circulate, or lend your name or email address to anyone or anything. I hope you will take me up on my offer. Sorry only one per street address.

Kukicha

Kukicha is a Japanese green tea. The tea not only has the leaves but it also has stems of the tea. So why would they include the stems? Well, they don’t have much farmland in Japan and adding the steams is a way to  increase the output of the farm without compromising the flavor.

Taste:
There is a slight sweetness, with a faint  nuttiness and there is an unambiguous grassiness to the tea. Brews to a pale green.

Brew for 3min  @ 180F.

You can order this tea here at adagio

Lemon Grass

Lemon Grass

Full disclosure, I am not a fan of herbal teas(no caffeine what’s the point :). First off yes it does taste like lemon but with out the sour, which leads into a slight pepper like bite. I seem to get a slight soapy after taste. It is not over powering, nevertheless not my cup of tea

Brew:
6 mins @ 180°F

you can order it here at adagio

Honeybush

Honeybush

Honeybush tastes like Rooibos, but a tad richer and heavier on the mouth and vaguely sweeter than Rooibos. It brews to a dark red.

Brew:
7 mins @ 180°F

you can order it here at adagio

Ceylon Sonata

Ceylon Sonata

 A very good tea with a good 'black tea' taste that I love. Its smooth and mild and holds up to milk, with a medium red tint.

Brew:
5 mins@ 212F

you can order it here at adagio

Chamomile

Chamomile

"Hard to describe the taste of chamomile but, it reminded me of apricot although not as sweet. I'm not a big fan of Herbal Teas, however, I do like chamomile tea. It brews to a yellow gold."

Brew:
7 mins @ 180°F

You can order it here at adagio

FORLIFE Stump Teapot

    Teapot? Yes a teapot, you cannot make tea without a teapot. Ok you could make tea in a mug, I did that for a while but it is a pain, especially when you try to pour it, a quarter of it ends up on the counter. I personally like to have a  dedicated tea brewing device, I looked at some other teapots like the “Bodum Assam” but I am not to sure of the glass being able to hold on to heat, as it is not double wall like most of  Bodum’s wares(I will buy one anyway and get back to you). There is also the Japanese style Cast Iron Teapots to consider, but they are expensive, well at least the good ones, they will run you about $50+, so I found the forlife company, they have other designs for teapots but I liked the Stump which comes in 12 colors, I got the black graphite. Unfortunately you cannot order from the manufacture directly, you can order “some” of the products on amazon but they don’t carry all of their stuff and finding the color you like is a pain (trust me) , why yes, in theory they have 12 colors, “but the question is are you feeling lucky….. punk”. The pain of finding the one you like aside, the Stump tea pot is a great way to prepare your tea .

And here are the Cons. (ya I put the cons first)
1.The "Stainless" Steel lid, well it stains because of the tannins in the tea.
2.You will need a strainer if you don’t use the infuser.
3.Only serves a max of 2 maybe 3, depending on the size of "cup" you use.
4.The tea infuser is way to small and really should not be used(however I do use it as a strainer when I pour my tea).
5.Kinda hard to get the tea out after brewing.

Now the Pros.
1.Easy to clean.
2.Holds heat well.
3.Comes in a lot of colors.
4.Very durable. Lead-free glazed porcelain
5.Holds about 16oz of water which is perfect for me.




How-To brew Tea
    I use one rounded teaspoon of tea, whatever stays on the spoon goes in. Not the measuring tsp. but the one you use at the table. You could also use weight, but for tea I don’t. For every teaspoon of tea use 8oz of water. Always bring your water to a boil no-matter the temp you use, if you need water cooler than 212 just let it cool down. Also, always preheat your tea pot or infuser that you use, run some hot tap water in to it.
    First, place your tea in the tea pot or whatever you are using , then pour your water in on top of the tea. Next, allow your tea to steep for the recommended amount of time. You don’t want to stir the tea while it is infusing, you’ll just make it more bitter. Finally, pour the tea through a strainer. You don’t have to use a strainer if you don’t mind the leaves in your cup, the tea will sink to the bottom.
    One more note on tea. I personally think that you shouldn’t use an infuser basket. Why? Well tea needs room to bloom which is required for a good extraction. Yes, I know loose leaf tea looks so small. Wait until its wet, it will become as much as 10x the original size, especially with oolongs.

Ok the Time and Temp varies for each tea but in general:

Black teas should be steeped in boiling water that is 212F or 100C for a brew time of 5 minutes.

Oolong teas should be steeped in off boiling water that is 180F or 82C for a brew time of  4 minutes.

Green teas should be steeped in off boiling water that is 170F or 76C for a brew time of 3 minutes.

White teas should be steeped in off boiling water that is 170F or 76C for a brew time of  7 minutes.

Now remember that these temps and times are only rough guidelines only to be used if your tea did not come with any brewing instructions.

I hope you found this review/ How to useful.

I did some of the searching for each color and hear is what I found:

Amazon
Stump Teapot w/ SLS LID & Infuser 16 Oz. - BLACK GRAPHITE
Stump Teapot w/ SLS LID & Infuser 16 Oz. - RED
Stumpteapot w/ Sls Lid & Infuser 16oz - Turquoise
Stumpteapot w/ Sls Lid & Infuser 16oz - Lime
Stumpteapot w/ Sls Lid & Infuser 16oz - Marine
Stumpteapot w/ Sls Lid & Infuser 16oz - Gray
Stumpteapot w/ Sls Lid & Infuser 16oz - Carrot
Stumpteapot w/ Sls Lid & Infuser 16oz - Sage
Stumpteapot w/ Sls Lid & Infuser 16oz - White

Other places
forlifedesign 

Red,White,Black: Harney and Sons

Red,Aqua,Chartreuse,Black: cookinstuff  

For the UK and some European countries, they do not ship to the US: sympathyteas  

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FORLIFE Stump Teapot by Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Tea Tins

These storage tins are great, they have a uv blocking lid that is hinged with a latch which makes an air tight seal, each tin will hold 17.84Cubic inches or about 4oz of tea in the case of Assam Melody and Ceylon Sonata, with out crushing the leaves. the weight of tea that they can hold will differ with the size and shape of the tea. The over all dimensions are 3.5inches in diameter by 3.25inches tall, as best as I could measure.

You can order them here at adagio

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Tea Tins by Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Oolong #18

Oolong #18

My favorite oolong, with a slight malt taste, and raw sugar sweetness with a floral finish. Brews to a medium amber.

Brew:
5 mins @ 185°F

You can order it here at adagio

Pouchong

Pouchong

Very nice Oolong, mild, with a  green tea like taste and a sweet under tone with a slight malt taste, brews to a light amber . One of my favorite oolongs .

Brew:
6 mins @ 185°F



You can order it here at adagio
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Pouchong by James Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Gunpowder

Gunpowder

I really like this green tea, it does not have a grassy taste like most greens. It has a understated smoke taste and a nice cutting finish. Brews to a light amber .

Brew:
3 mins @ 180°F

you can order it here at adagio

Assam Melody

Assam Melody

Now my favorite black tea, strong enough to stand up to milk, but not over powering with out, it has a nice candy sweet contrasting an earthy malt with a slight vanilla finish . Brews to a deep copper red.

Brew:
5 mins @ 212F

You can order it here at adagio

Tea?

Yes i am a huge coffee drinker but i do enjoy a good cup of tea. I will be tossing up a tea review on occasion.  right now i order my tea from adagio