Adagio teas, sometimes improperly referred to as Adagio tea, is an online tea company that is arguably among the tea companies with one of the strongest online presences, as they run the websites TeaMuse, TeaChat, TeaChef, TeaMap, and TeaCritic. Adagio sells mostly loose-leaf teas, with a few blooming teas in their offerings, and has a large catalog that spans green, black, white, oolong, and flavored teas blooming tea of many different styles and varieties, and from many different countries and regions. This review of Adagio Teas looks first at the company as a whole, and the shopping and shipping experience I had, and then moves to talking about a few of the teas I sampled from this company.
Review of Adagio Teas as a Company:
Adagio’s website is visually pleasing and exceptionally easy to use and navigate. It also has a number of interactive features which make the site fun to use. One thing I like about Adagio, which is almost a prerequisite for me in terms of buying tea online, is that they offer sample sizes of all their teas. The sample sizes are large enough that you are able to brew a number of cups of the tea, which I find to be important.
Shipping was prompt. My only complaint is that, given where I live, I tend to prefer USPS to UPS, and this was not given as an option. Overall though, my experience buying from Adagio was overwhelmingly positive.
Reviews of Individual Teas from Adagio:
Xue Ya Ballad – This tea, intermediate in characteristics between a green tea and a white tea, was my favorite among the teas I ordered; it was light and grassy, and had a pleasant bite to it.
Jade Oolong or Oolong #18 – This jade oolong had a pleasing aroma but I found it to be too thin-bodied and weak for me.
Pouchong (Bao zhong) – This pouchong was light, vegetal, and honey-like, but I also found it to be a bit soapy. Very aromatic, but thin-bodied and not particularly flavorful.
Rooibos – This caffeine-free herbal tea was a bit dry tasting compared to other rooibos I’ve tried; although the dry leaf was fruity, the brewed cup was less aromatic.
Honeybush – In contrast to Adagio’s rooibos, this honeybush was sweet and intensely fruity. I also found it to be very reasonably priced.
Dancong Aria – This feng huang dancong oolong is among the fruitiest dancongs that I’ve tried. Its aroma so closely resembled apricot that it was quite astonishing. However, in addition to the light, fruity aroma, this tea had considerable depth to it, with a pleasing astringency if brewed for a longer period of time.