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This is the seventh/ last tea sample (July 29) in their “Week of July 27th” which Adagio sent with my order a month ago. Being a neophyte regarding oolongs and other varietal teas (I hope I’m using the phraseology correctly), I don’t yet have the proper vocabulary to go into depth of description here.
This is mild, yet stands on its own two feet. So it’s nicely between green and black teas. I taste a toasty quality, as in genmai cha, but of course there’s no toasted rice in this cup. It’s a clean, clear mouthful that’s a flavor I wouldn’t mind drinking all day.
When I saw the leaves of different colors I was impressed. I like the fact Adagio points out this has low caffeine. It feels good, I feel good, after drinking this tea. Well worth looking into and learning more about! Yes, I definitely recommend this tea!

This is the fourth of eight teas gifted to me from a beloved niece. The Secret Garden Organic Tea Collection features 10 tea bags each of 8 different types of tea, There are six different flavored green teas, and two different black teas. I’ve already reviewed the Organic Orange Spice black tea; this review is for the Organic Earl Grey black tea. (I’ll review the remaining four green teas anon.)
I had already used 3 of the 10 teabags in mixed Earl Grey pots, so with the 7 bags left, I simply put them all in my 57 oz teapot where usually I only used 6 teabags. Normally that would impart more flavor; I had hoped that using another teabag would do just that. Unfortunately, this tea was still weak and watery, even after an 8 minute steeping time. There is nothing positively remarkable about this tea; it’s not a bad Earl Grey, per se—there just isn’t enough of it per teabag.
Since I truly love the person who gifted me this collection—and I know she did so imagining this selection would be as nice as the beautiful tome-like tin it came in—I will not “not recommend” it. I’m just sorry that The Secret Garden people put so much more time and money into their beautiful packaging than the teas contained therein.

Here’s the second (of four) samples in Adagio Teas’ Summer Teas pack. Quite an unusual tea to review! When I opened the packet, I got a whiff of the citrusy, acidic profile similar to key lime pie, but with an edgy note of dry mustard! Here’s a flavor note that should be added to that list: “Cosmetic”. It reminds me of whatever face powder is scented with. As someone who worked for a company which would occasionally test different fragrances to see how they would be perceived in products, smelling this tea before brewing reminded me of flavor test strips. Maybe that’s where “key lime pie flavor” came from.
My husband who has anosmia, liked this tea. “I can taste something!” But that’s not a criterion we’re looking for.
To be blunt, this is one weird tea. It doesn’t taste natural to me, nor does it taste like key lime. It has a tart, acidic profile similar to key lime, to be sure. But it falls short of being identifiable as such. I’m trying to think of something positive to say, but all I can say is, at least we finished the packet!

This (Aug. 1) entry from Adagio Teas “Week of July 27” box of samples is unsurprisingly somewhat more robust than the Apricot Green sample (Aug. 2) in the same gift box. I taste-tested the Apricot Green first, since I wanted the milder tea to hit my palate first.
This one being the black tea, even though decaffeinated, had a stronger tea flavor right from the start. Adagio uses the same “other” ingredients in both blends: apple pieces, natural apricot flavor, apricots, and marigold flowers. Yet this black tea is quite gentle; the lack of caffeine renders it a not-so-different version of the green.
Adding a bit of sugar to this tea does not result in a “oh! there’s TEA in here too, not just the apricots” feeling that happened when adding sugar to the green tea. Because the black tea had more of a presence from the beginning than the green tea does, all the sugar did was to sweeten it (duh).
When I sniffed the first-opened packets of tea, I actually liked this one better; the black tea gave it more odoriferous effect. The Apricot Green smelled more like being in the fruit section at the grocery. Yet in the drinking, I actually preferred the green.
Both are very nice cups of tea. But even though I usually live for decafs, since I’m affected by the caffeine, and usually prefer the flavor depth of black teas—I have to give the edge here to the Apricot Green.
I won’t “Not recommend” this tea, since I did like it. Just not enough to push it into an outright “Yes”.

Another Adagio Teas little bag from the “Week of 7/27” sampler box (Aug.2). Since a black tea Decaf Apricot was also sent (Aug. 1), I decided to “compare and contrast”, as my elementary teachers used to ask for in book reports.
This is a green tea, so it’s unsurprisingly much gentler on the palate. It’s a light, lovely vegetal apricot tea, almost buttery. Very pleasant.
That’s before adding a bit of sugar to see how the flavor changes. Oddly enough, while the green grocer aura of the apricot is still mild, the flavor of the green tea is advanced by the sugar. There’s a very nice after-taste of apricot in the mouth. Quite a gentle little tea.

I ordered Adagio Teas’ "Summer Teas " 4-sample pack because it was in the 90s for a week and a half. Feeling as if summer was going to linger longer than usual, “Watermelon Cooler” seemed like a good choice. It was!
It is! This cooler is a light, tasty tisane which tastes like summer. The directions read, “Steeping: 1 teaspoon per cup / 5-10 mins @ 212 F / 100 C”. There were 23 grams in the packet. I made 2/3rd of it first in 50 oz of hot water, let it steep for a little over an hour.
As it cooled, all the little dehydrated apple cubes were at the top of the pot, where I strained them out—then ate them. (Why waste them? Quite tasty from their steeping, too!) But even after all that steeping time, the tea itself was on the weak side.
I drained off some of the finished tea into a smaller teapot, which went into the refrigerator.
I boiled some more water, threw the last third of the packet into the original teapot, then poured in 25 ounces of boiling water. To make sure this batch would be stronger, I added the previously steeped tea leaves & (what was left of the) fruit, plus maybe 10 ounces of the first batch of tea. (The last of the first batch which wouldn’t fit in the pot going in the fridge.)
Not unsurprisingly, the tea has a much greater depth of flavor. I can taste berries, more sweetness, more of the watermelon flavor, and a slight rose petal hint, which I hadn’t before.
Next time I would make the entire 23 gram (0.8 ounce) packet, let it steep for at least an hour, then strain and refrigerate it. I’ve found any time I’ve had to make a delicately flavored tisane it ALWAYS takes more time and literal concentration of the ingredients to bring out more flavor. This is a tasty, summery drink that’s worth the work. Enjoy!

Got this little packet of Formosa Ruby 18 (July 28) as part of the “Week of July 27” sample box from Adagio. I’m on the second steep, and have not detected any of the flavors described by the company’s notes. (By the way—those notes are verbatim the ones from Masters Teas—at least they are the same ones posted on the Formosa Ruby 18 from Masters Teas. Which came first? As hard to know as the chicken/egg question, in my book.)
I find it a smooth, readily drinkable black tea. Now I detect a mere hint of smokiness, but that’s all. The finish seemed tannic, dry when drinking from the first steep, but the finish now, after the second steep is gentler, not as dry. Brisk on the first steep, mellow on the second.
I find this quite an enjoyable cup, and appreciate the chance to have tried it. I recommend it for a tea that would be a good cup, day in, day out.

Got this as a sample for July 27th, but here it is August 20th. (Guess I’m not going to join Adagio’s “Week of” Club! Grateful to be able to try all 7 free samples, though…!)
First of all, I do enjoy cherries, cherry-flavored goodies of all kinds. I was looking forward to testing this sample. Opening the packet, there’s a strong aroma of cherry—but alas, a strongly artificial cherry. As a child, our family doctor would give me a little Charms brand sucker for having been a good patient. This reminds me strongly of that artificial flavor.
Still, I was willing to give this tea a chance. After all, only a few months ago I discovered Republic of Tea’s Spring Cherry Green tea, and declared I had a new favorite! Well, that’s NOT Adagio’s Cherry Green, I’m sorry to say.
The artificial quality of the cherry flavor is so strong, it reminds me of nail—or even furniture polish! I’ve had artifically-flavored candy cough drops which tasted better to me than this tea. At least with those, I knew what I was getting and accepted it was to cover any medicinal taste. I generally like—and trust—Adagio Teas’ flavors and sources. If this was truly a “natural wild cherry flavor”, then they should find a different source for it, or else use a lot less. This had no subtlety, did not taste natural at all.
I’m really disappointed. I cannot recommend this tea at all.

Adagio Teas sent me a small sample of this tea (July 30th from the “Week of July 27th” samples) . It was a nice clean cup of green tea, but I wish I’d had more to brew it with. There didn’t seem to be too much to it, flavor-wise. Between wanting to have had more to give me a better mouth-feel, it just seemed like a plain good cup of green. It must be an important style of green tea, but it wasn’t possible for me to give it a fair sampling. I can neither recommend it, nor ‘not’. Hope to try it again under better circumstances.

Recently got adagio teas’ mid-summer special of a free 2-sachet pack of one of their iced teas, after a $29 order. For July 27 it was Blood Orange Iced Tea, which I made hot. But before I chilled it, I drank some as a hot beverage. It’s on the sour side, with the deep copper red color of both the blood orange and the hibiscus. This is a tea which does better with sweetening. You don’t really need to use a lot, but the sweetener brings out a lot more of the fruitiness as it dissipates the sour notes.
This was sent to use as an iced tea. It’s not bad either hot or cold—just make sure you give it a little sweetening unless you like a sour tea.