Hey there Teacups! I’m back today with another Let’s Talk Tea post and this time around I’m going to be reviewing Adagio Tea’s – Reindeer Fuel. I know that Christmas has passed now but I really wanted to review as many of the Christmas Teas that Adagio Tea (UK) very kindly sent me as a Christmas present before December and the festive period was over (most are still available while stocks last). I was eager to try this one straight away after the tinsel tea sampler as it has mint in it and I really wanted to known whether or not it was going to trigger a migraine for me. Most blends with mint in them do but I went into this tasting session filled with hope that the mint would be subtle enough that I could enjoy drinking this tea.
Here’s what Adagio Tea have to say about this blend over on their website: “A limited edition blend specially formulated to give Santa’s team the caffeine boost they need to get through the holiday season”.
Ingredients: Black Tea, Cocoa Nibs, Toasted Mate, Peppermint, Natural Flavouring & Ginger.
Tea Tasting Notes
There has only ever been two mint chocolate blends that I have ever enjoyed because they are so hard to get right and most of the time they either completely miss the mark with the ”chocolate” element or the mint is far to strong and I can’t drink it without it triggering a migraine. Luckily though Adagio have hit the nail on the head with this blend and I love it. You all know I was really nervous to try it because I thought the mint would trigger a migraine but luckily it isn’t too strong and it’s really well balanced with all of the other ingredients so thankfully it didn’t even come close to triggering a migraine.
The black tea base that has been used it strong (but not too strong), malty, woody and ever so slight astringent which makes a perfect base for this blend. I couldn’t have picked a better base for this blend and I’m really glad Adagio chose to go with a black tea base. Most companies use rooibos to make their mint chocolate blends so was really surprised to see that this is a black tea. The mate I couldn’t really pick out at all but I’m not too bothered by that as I’m note a huge mate fan anyway so I was relived that it didn’t really come through but just added a light toasted note to this tea. The cacao nibs provide a nice creamy chocolate note that is actually stronger than I thought it was going to be making for a delicious creamy mouthfeel and a hard hitting chocolate taste.
The mint is much softer than I thought it would be but again it stands it’s ground but isn’t overly strong, and it isn’t overpowered by any of the other elements. The ginger was very much a background note and didn’t come through very strong at all but it did provide a nice natural sweetness to this blend which meant that I only needed to add a tiny bit of honey to this to balance it out fully. So far I’ve tried this on it’s own and as a latte and I have to say that while I loved it both ways I think I prefer it as a latte. It mutes the mint a little bit more for me and it intensifies that creamy note provided by the cocoa nibs. The black tea base holds up well against the milk meaning you don’t have to use too much tea to make a latte which I am always grateful for.
Don’t get me wrong it’s great on it’s own but as a latte it’s super indulgent and makes a perfect after dinner treat meaning that I will not reach for something sweet instead. Adagio definitely have the best range of Christmas teas I’ve seen out there in 2019 and I really hope they bring them all back in 2020 especially this one because I will need to buy more of this before Christmas 2020.
Overall Teacup Rating: 5/5
If you want to find out more about Adagio Tea and purchase some of this delicious blend for yourself (while stocks last), you can do both here . As always if you have any questions at all either stick them in the comments or send them to me on Twitter/Instagram @teaisawishblog and I’ll answer them all as soon as I can.
Speak to you all again soon. Happy Steeping. – Kimberley
*The Tea featured in this post was gifted to me as a Christmas present very kindly by Adagio Tea (UK). I was not asked to review it but I did so to thank Adagio for gifting me the tea. All opinions are my own and they have not been paid for.*
Kimberley's Kyusu 