hope estheim, adagio custom blends

Not long ago, I finally ventured into the world of making my own custom blends on Adagio. The process is extraordinarily simple (they're not lying when they call it easy peasy!)

It's literally just a manner of rummaging through menus to find what you want in your blend and selecting the percentage you want of each tea chosen. Of course, this isn't a promise that your creation tastes good. (Of the blends I've created only one has needed revamping, though) They have some helpful videos at the top of the page of you're stuck as well.

Adagio's Blend Creation Tool

I chose to start my blending adventure with a really divisive fandom -- Final Fantasy XIII. As a long-time Final Fantasy fan, I found the gameplay, pacing, and character development in XIII to be pretty extraordinary. I know there are plenty of folks that disagree with me, but to each their own! In any case, this is my own Hope Estheim blend that you can also pick up on Adagio here.

The blend is made of a mixture of Chamomile, White Blueberry and Green Rooibos with an accent of apple pieces. It is low in caffeine and, like all individual fandom blends, comes in either a 3oz or 5oz quantity.

The Hope Estheim label

Dry Leaf

Dry Leaf

The dry leaf is full of large chamomile flowers, and fuzzy leaves of white tea. There are chunks of apple and blueberries in here that tend to settle to the bottom of the package (which I, of course, forgot to shake before it's photo op). It smells like chamomile with just a touch of sweet blueberry.

Steeping

I used steeping parameters of 175 for 4 minutes, so as not to scald my white tea. I think you could creep it up to 180 or 185, but this produced a satisfying
flavorful cup and I'll probably keep it this way.

Hope Estheim brews up with a strong chamomile flavor, very honey-like and apple-y with elements of floral, and then a subtle blueberry backdrop. The rooibos doesn't seem to come through much in the flavor, but adds a bit of roundness to the cup.

Steeped up and served hot.

Chilled, this blend is more subtle on the chamomile and more potent with the blueberries. The liquor is a gorgeous golden color that reminds me a bit of sunshine.

Overall, I found this a very calming blend that works iced or hot. The flavors work together and the cup was harmonious. I could see this as a late afternoon cup as I'm tapering off of caffeine, or even earlier in the day once I'm already bright eyed and bushy tailed.

“Sometimes everything you know in the world turns out to be a lie. But at the end of the day the lie isn’t what matters, it’s what you do after you tell it. If you work hard enough you can make it true.” 

         -Hope Estheim

la vie en rose, american tea room

If there's anything I've learned from tea sampling, it's that floral flavors are overwhelming if not done carefully. Jasmine can taste a bit like soap, and rose can taste a bit like perfume, and hibiscus is just their tart unfortunate cousin.

So, while Turkish delight might taste like rose jelly, it doesn't smell like perfume.  Rose tea, on the other hand, where you first taste with your nose can definitely come across like perfume.

These delectable sticky cubes of
rose water somehow don't taste like perfume.

Now, don't take this as me not liking these flavors. A well done Jasmine or Rose tea is heavenly. And I was excited to find a white rose tea without fruit in it!

It's a colorful and gorgeous tea with large leaves and
full rosebuds. 

This tea is described as a Bai Mu Dan style white tea with wild-harvested fushia rosebuds. And luckily it was just that heavenly floral cup I was looking for!

Opening the bag, I was a little concerned because of the immediate hit of rose to my nostrils, (of course after our freak snowfall last night, the smell of a flowery spring was welcome.) but I pressed forward.

Lovely and golden.

American Tea Room says to brew this for 5 minutes at 190 degrees, and while this seems like a bit long for a white tea, one look at the large full leaves and I knew it could stand up to it. Following those instructions, I was greeted with a light gold cup of tea that smelled of rose, but also of slightly earthy undertones.

The initial flavor I tasted was that of the rose, but that immediately gave way to the delicate almost loamy flavor of the white tea. There was very little astringency and the more I drank this tea, the more I tasted the subtleties of the white tea against its floral counterpart. It was a dusky very slightly vegetal taste that finished again on the perfumed note. The white tea more than stood up to the rose.

I could see myself really enjoying this tea in a bubble bath or with a box of chocolates. It has a  luxuriousness that I would want to save for treating myself or special occasions, but might sneak cups in to spoil myself anyway.

American Tea Room

pineapple cilantro cream, butiki teas

The best thing about reviewing tea on a blog, is that it's rekindling a passion I've had for years and leading me to explore even more tea. Also, I get to drag my fiance along on parts this journey, so that's always a bonus.

This tea, however, is one I'm glad I didn't bring my fiance on for, because I'm pretty sure I just became hooked and maybe a little selfish because I definitely don't feel like sharing.

This beauty is all miiiiiiine.

My first impression of this tea when I opened the bag was that it smelled like ocean water and comfort -- it's sweet and seductive, but not cloying or unnatural. My second was that it was really lovely. There were chunks of pineapple and little flecks of pink flowers throughout.

I followed the direction on the bag and heated my water to 180 and put three teaspoons in my 16oz ingenuiTEA and waited three and a half anxious minutes (because something that smells that good has to taste good too).

After the three and a half minutes I was left with leaves that looked like, well, tea leaves. And a lovely golden cup of tea ambrosia.

Liquid escapism!

The first sip felt like an escape from a 45 degree spring in the midwest US and like being whisked to a private tropical hideaway. This tea has an almost creamy mouthfeel, which I loved. The pineapple also came through really well, and the cilantro came across as more of a nuanced herbal highlight than actual cilantro, on a delicate white base which tied everything together harmoniously. I did notice some very mild astringency while drinking. The aftertaste was sweet and initially strong, but fades quickly (which really just left me wanting another cup).

So, good bye reality. I'm going to go lose myself in another cup.

Butiki Teas