Cup 3--Jasmine #12

I received my order from Adagio Monday and one of the first teas that i tried was their Jasmine #12. This incredibly fragrant tea is really relaxing.

As you can (hopefully) see from the picture, this tea is similar to the Black Dragon Pearls with it's ball shape, but these are much smaller than the BDP. They unfurl while brewing and release a great aroma and show off the three individual leaves and stems that make up the balls. The yellow liquor that this tea produces smells like jasmine, and has a faint flowery taste. This is the perfect tea to chillax with. Curl up with a movie or a good book, have a few cups of tea and slowly drift off to sleep. I steeped mine 3 times, the first time for the 5 minutes suggested, the second for a few minutes, and then the third for about 5 minutes. I was mostly watching for color more than time.I've found that with this tea you can expect 2 or 3 good infusions with the same leaves, pretty good staying power for a Oolong.

"WAIT!!!" you say, "STOP EVERYTHING! what in the world is this Oolong?!"

Oolong is a traditionally Chinese tea that is a 'tweener. It's not a black, but it's not a green either. Oolong typically has multiple steps for it's production. First they wilt the leaves to partly remove the moisture. To do this they either sun or air dry the leaves. After this they cool the leaves down before they gently toss the leaves so that the edges of the leaves bruise. When the leaf edges are bruised it creates more surface contact for oxidation. This cooling and then tossing will usually be repeated multiple times. After this they stir-fry the leaves in a large pan over high heat in order to stop the oxidation. Then they roll the leaves into strands or nuggets before they dehydrate the leaves by roasting them over low heat. This roasting can be repeated at varying temperatures to produce different flavors. After the leaves have been roasted then all there is left to do is grade them and then package them up.

Jasmine #12 might look like mottled rodent droppings, but it tastes great, smells amazing, and is a perfect way to de-stress after a long day of class or work.

Kind-Oolong Tea
Brew Time-4 minutes
Water Temp-185*
Color-Light Yellow to Honey
Fragrance- Sweet, flowery
Taste-Floral, slightly sweet
Best during- Late Afternoon and Evening
Style- Loose
Price per oz- $5.00
Place bought- Adaigo
Overall- it's like eating flowers, in a good way!

Cup 2--Black Dragon Pearl

When i first bought this tea i thought that instead of "black dragon pearl" the name should be "black dragon turds". These rolled tea leaves truly look like large rabbit droppings. Needless to say i didn't have many good thoughts towards it. Teavana advertises this tea as fragrant and the taste to be smooth-bodied with sweet, chocolaty, and malty undertones. It is a rare hand-rolled tippy black tea from the Yunnan province and is good for multiple infusions.

Now if any of ya'll are like me, you're probably wondering about the term 'tippy', it refers to the fine tips of a tea leaf bud, which are supposedly used mostly in quality teas. Which is fitting since Yunnan, China is 'the birthplace of tea'. that is, 'the first area where humans figured out that eating tea leaves or brewing a cup could be pleasant'. It has even been rumoured that in Lincang City area of Yunnan Province, is home to the world's oldest cultivated tea tree--a shocking 3,200 years old. It is this area's pride to be famous producers of the 'tippy' or fine leaf buds, which translates into fine teas.

Black teas are supposed aids in lowering cholesterol as well as being good for the heart. It has been said that black tea has the ability to gently stimulate the circulatory system to strengthen it. It is also known to promote healthy skin, teeth and bones. Black tea is fully fermented, so it has approximately 20% of the caffeine in a cup of coffee, the only other tea that has more caffiene that black tea is Mate tea. Black tea is said to help prevent the absorption of cholesterol into the blood stream, which helps to prevent heart disease, as well as preventing gingivitis, tooth decay, and it helping regulate blood sugar level and blood pressure.

Black teas are most likely the tea that American's think about when someone asks them about tea. It is black tea that we consume when we order iced tea from restaurants and buy our regular store brand tea bags. For example, regular Lipton tea is a black tea blend, and Assam is a black tea from India that is frequently sold for use in restaurants, others know it for it's use in teas such as , English and Irish breakfast teas. Way back in ancient times black tea was also pressed into bricks and used as currencey during long travels. Tea as a currency was valuable since it could be sold, eaten, used as dye for fabrics, or brewed for health benefits. Black Tea was used more than Green Tea for these bricks because it retained its flavor longer. It wasn't until the 1950's that tea was finally given up as a currency in some areas.

That said, i won't be trading off this tea any time soon. It has quickly become one of my favorites. It lends itself well to be drunk at ant time of the day and several cups at a time. I like mine "black" as in no cream, sugar, or any thing else.

Kind-Black Tea
Brew Time-3 minutes
Water Temp-195*
Color-Dark Honey to Dark auburn
Fragrance- Hearty and malty
Taste-Sweet, something else indescribeable
Best during- Afternoon
Style- Loose
Price per oz- $7.50
Place bought- Teavana
Overall- leaves me wanting more!