A Scrumptious Adagio Teas Haul + Some Shopping Tips | Hello Pretty Bird! - A beauty and not-so-glamorous lifestyle blog

12 March, 2014

A Scrumptious Adagio Teas Haul + Some Shopping Tips

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I haven't done a haul post in ages because (a) I haven't really done any major hauls recently and (b) I'm mostly using Instagram these days to share my gloatpiles of loot. But hey, guess what? I like tea. If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen me rambling about tea last week. Guess what happened? I went on the internet and bought a whole bunch from Adagio Teas. Want to see what I got?


It's a pile of tea, in resealable bags! That doesn't look so exciting. Way, way back in the day, Adagio used to include little tins with your purchase, but now you have to pay extra for them. Insert fist-shake at the passage of time. Anyway, I thought I'd share what I got with a few notes on the ones I've already tried, plus a few tips for shopping Adagio's site should you choose to purchase from them yourself. And a couple of macro tea shots I just took because those are fun. :)

First, a little background:

Adagio Teas is a US-based company. They have free shipping on orders over $49/a very reasonable flat rate of $3.75 for lesser orders within the continental United States. I have been ordering from them for a while - I just looked at my account and see that my first order was placed in 2007. Whoa. Anyway, I mentioning this because I've ordered from them a bunch of times and have yet to get anything truly awful. Some of their teas are more competitively-priced than others, but overall I've found them to be one of more affordable (and decent) online tea vendors out there, so I like them. Blah, blah, blah.

One of the things I like most about Adagio is that you can buy "sample" pouches of most of their teas. The sizes vary (all of the ones I have in front of me are between 14g and 28g) but it's an affordable way to try out a variety of stuff. Of course it's cheaper per oz/g if you buy a massive quantity of one tea, but if you're not certain that you like something it doesn't make sense to buy a ton of it, right?


Teas I've already tried:

Blueberry Black Tea ($2 ,0.8oz/23g sample):
This actually came as a free sample with my order. I wouldn't say this tea tastes overwhelmingly of blueberries, but it has a bright fruitiness to it that makes it very pleasant to drink. Plus... you know... lots of caffeine.

Earl Grey Bravo ($2, 0.8oz/23g sample):
I think the reason I discovered Adagio in the first place was because I was looking for a nice Earl Grey tea. So naturally this was one of the first ones I tried from them, and it's something I've ordered again and again. I really like this Earl Grey because it's on the citrusy side, which I find refreshing. I got a small pouch this time because I don't really drink Earl Grey as much as I used to, but it's a nice thing to have on hand for when the mood strikes.

Jasmine Phoenix Pearls ($7, 0.8oz/23g sample):
This is one of those "fancy" teas that unfurls when you add water to it. Here's what it looks like dry:


I don't know why, but I find tea pearls like this very cute. Here's what it looks like with water added and a few minutes elapsed:


From tight little pearls to aquarium in three minutes flat. As for the flavor, it's a very delicate jasmine green tea.

Coconut Black Tea ($6, 3oz/85g):
Another repeat purchase. Flavored black teas aren't usually the first thing I reach for in my pantry, but this one is AMAZING. Assuming you like coconut flavors, of course. There are even little coconut flakes mixed in with the leaves for maximum coconuttiness. I like putting a little soy milk and sweetener with this one so I can feel like I'm drinking a liquid coconut cake.

Irish Breakfast ($8, 3oz/85g):
Somebody gave this to me in teabag format a while ago, and I ended up really liking it. This is probably the most boring thing in my haul, but it's a really nice all-purpose black tea for those moments when you need caffeination and don't want to deal with flavors or random chunks of plant matter.

Jasmine Yin Hao ($12, 3oz/85g):
My favorite jasmine green tea. This is in the middle of the price spectrum of Adagio's jasmine teas, but I do think it's slightly better than the cheaper option (Jasmine Chun Hao). If you like jasmine teas, this one is really... jasminey. I love it.

Thai Chai ($7, 3oz/85g):
Hey, do you like chai? Do you also like lemongrass and coconut? Well then you should try this RIGHT NOW. I'm usually sort of "meh" on chai teas, but for whatever reason this one tastes really delicious and cozy to me. Mix it with sugar and milk for maximum awesomeness. Thai Chai is Stan's favorite, if his opinions on tea matter to you.


Teas I haven't tried:

Calypso Green Tea ($2, 0.5oz/14g sample):
Green tea leaves mixed with coconut and a bunch of dried fruit. Can you tell that I like coconut? Anyway, the website described this as "juicy, sweet and punch-like" so I'm really looking forward to trying it.

Cherry Green Tea ($2, 0.5oz/14g sample):
Green tea and rose petals flavored with cherry. Here's a picture:


Oooooh, pretty. This smells a bit like Robitussin in the bag, but I have a feeling it will taste better when I brew it.

Ginseng Green Tea ($2, 0.5g/14g sample):
Green tea with ginseng flavor and ginger root. I feel like this will be a good one to have on hand for if/when one of us gets a cold.

Gunpowder Green Tea ($3, 1oz/28g):
Another classic green tea. This is supposed to be a little bit smoky, which is why I chose it.

Matcha Green Tea ($12, 0.8oz/23g sample):
I'm sure all of you know what matcha is. This was the most expensive of the "sample" bags, but matcha is never cheap so no surprise there. Adagio only has one type of matcha listed on their site so I'm not sure where this falls on the quality spectrum, but I figured there's only one way to find out...

Jade Snail Green Tea ($5, 0.8oz/23g sample):
Another unfurlin' tea. The product description said things like "roasted" and "smokiness" and "crispness", which caught my attention. Plus look how pretty:


Assam Harmony ($4, 0.5oz/14g sample):
Another freebie-with-purchase. I'm not sure if I really like Assams, but I'm certainly willing to try it.

Earl Grey Lavender ($2, 0.8oz/23g):
Earl Grey... with lavender?! Yum! I gave this a good sniff and it smells awesome, much sweeter than Earl Grey Bravo. And here's a little picture for you to drool over:


Those little purple specks are blue cornflowers, FYI.


A few tips for shopping Adagio's website:

Shipping: It should be noted that Adagio does have a shipping surcharge for orders to AK/HI and APO/FPO addresses. Also, they do ship internationally - there's a rate calculator on their shipping page.

Coupons: If you click around the site a bit you may get a popup offering a $5 coupon off your first order. Use it! Also, when I checked out I had the option of sharing on Facebook to get a 5% off discount. I don't know if that can be combined with a new customer discount (probably not), but it's a nice way to save a little bit on repeat orders.

Free samples: When I checked out they automatically added a packet of Assam Harmony to my order, but once my order was complete I saw the option to add an additional free sample (of my choice) to the order if I shared it on Facebook. Obviously the really pricey varieties of tea are excluded from this, but it's how I got Blueberry Black Tea added onto my order for free.

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I hope you found this rather long-winded post about tea somewhat amusing and/or helpful. I'm going to go drink caffeine until my heart explodes now, bye!


Have you ever ordered from Adagio Teas before? What's your favorite kind of tea?


Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. For more information, check out my full disclosure policy.

14 comments:

  1. Oh my god I thought jade snail was actually snail tea hahaha...well who knows, snail cream maybe tea is in order LOL. I love tea but I can never seem to break myself from standard chai, jasmine, and thai tea. Do they have flower teas too (blooming teas)?

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  2. Haha! Thankfully, no snails were harmed in the making of this tea. But it would be funny to pair it with a snail mask during a pamper session. I did see jasmine blooming teas on the site, not sure about other varieties though...

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  3. I'm in love with all of the green teas. Especially the ones that flower out. I have to have my green tea everyday, especially the jasmine kind. That Calypso tea sounds amazing! I've tried mango tea but not coconut. I might have to hunt one down and try it. Thanks for the post! XD

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  4. Glad you liked it Sonya! I am also a huge fan of green tea, in case you couldn't tell. :P Jasmine's my favorite too, but anything with coconut added sounds too irresistible not to try... yum yum yum.

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  5. A citrusy Earl gray?! A must try! And the Thai chai sounds fabulous too...

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  6. Thank you for introducing me to the word 'gloatpiles' I've now added it to my vocabulary. I like your tasty aquarium and the sound of your coconut black, but I really enjoy adulterated teas. (-3 tea snob points)

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  7. The earl grey lavender looks awesome. I have their oolong tea, it's pretty good, nothing exciting like an unfurlin' tea (thank you for the funny new term).

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  8. Oh yes, both of them are SO GOOD. I want to take a bath in Thai Chai.

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  9. Glad to unintentionally provide a vocab lesson of sorts. You're allowed to like whatever you want! What's your favorite tea? I am open to most beverages, assuming they're free of dairy and not totally disgusting-tasting.

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  10. I don't think I've tried their oolong. I feel like the Irish Breakfast tea sort of falls into the category of "pretty good" - it's not exciting but it's nice as a staple tea. I love unfurlin' teas (hah) but they tend to be a little more expensive, so I buy those in moderation!

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  11. I am from the south so to be honest only tea I like is my Luzzianne or Lipton Iced decaffinated tea sweetened with Splenda. I have tried getting into the cup of tea thing, but haven't found any I liked. I do drink coffee w/ ID white chocolate mocha liquid creamer (does that count....LOL)

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  12. Haha, it's funny that you mention sweet tea... I grew up in Massachusetts, and we drank a lot of hot tea because it gets COLD in the winter. Anyway I ended up living in North Carolina for a little while as adult, and when I met the family of the guy I was dating at the time they were all ASTOUNDED that I didn't drink sweet iced tea. Of course it grew on me over time, but sometimes it does take a few tries to get used to something new. :)

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  13. I've never ordered from them but that coconut black tea sounds delicious. I love Harney & Sons teas as well as Yogi Tea (their skin detox tea is great) for a cheaper option.

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  14. I don't think I've ever tried anything from Harney & Sons, but my folks used to buy Yogi Tea when I was a kid (yes it's been around that long) so I'm fairly familiar with them. They made a licorice tea that I looooooooved way back when. :)

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