Adagio Tea's 24 Days of Tea Advent Calendar

A complimentary Tea Advent Calendar was provided to enable this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. 

Winter is my favorite hot tea season and it is my go to beverage when I am looking for something warm in the afternoon or evening. I used to reserve tea for the evening but now that I work from home, I find that I have been preparing myself a mug of tea as a late afternoon treat. Being at home, I have found that putting up my feet and sipping on tea is such a great way to relax and unwind and reenergize myself for the rest of the day. Of course, I also like a cup of tea as a soothing pre-bed time relaxation too. I think that with all that is going on, the ability to take a few minutes of down time and relax is an important thing for my mental health.

Looking for a unique Advent calendar? This Tea Advent Calendar from Adagio makes an 8 oz serving of tea each day, as you count down to the holidays. They offer three versions of their advent calendar and also have a variety of other gifting options.

Once you remove the decorative sleeve (perfect for gift giving with the printed bow), inside you find the calendar.

The numbers are not sequential, requiring a little search to find the right door each day.

I was thinking that buying one for your friends and family, could be a fun way for everyone to connect through a common experience. Enjoying a cup of the same tea while video chatting with your friends or family could help bring your together in a year where there is real potential that more families are apart during this time of year than normal. With 24 unique teas, you will have the chance to try many flavors. If you are enjoying it as a group, perhaps you could make a chart and rate the groups' favorites. The added bonus is that you would then have insite and could order more of their favorite tea as a gift in the future.

Do you have a favorite variety or flavor of tea? Who in your family would enjoy these gifts?

A complimentary Tea Advent Calendar and 12 Days of Tea Gift Set was provided to enable this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Adagio Bees - new Honey from the Adagio Tea company

Complimentary honey samplers were provided by Adagio Tea for me to try and share my experience.

A while back, I noticed that Adagio Teas had expanded their product offering to include honey. I was intrigued. As with tea, there was a time where honey was not high on my list but over the years, I had come to enjoy honey as an addition to my tea. Then, this summer, I bought some Vanilla Honey coffee pods and there was something so soothing about that flavor and aroma.
I started by exploring their site. They offer several options for jars of honey and sampler sets to let you try the different varieties and styles.

They currently offer 5 varieties of tea honey. Sold by the jar, these raw honeys were specifically selected for use in different tea varieties.

tea honey
Honey has long been a source for sweetening a variety of foods and beverages for over 10,000 years. The sweet nectar has also been used for medicinal purposes, served as currency, and been a symbol in many religious and cultural celebrations. Each offers the promise of making your cup of tea just a little bit sweeter. Glass jars. Made in the USA.

They also offer 11 varieties of raw honey by the jar.

raw honey
Honey, one of the world's oldest sweeteners, comes from flower nectar that has been consumed by the honey bee. Known as the "nectar of the gods" as far back as 5,000 years ago it was used for medicinal purposes, in cooking, and as a preservative in cosmetics, soaps, and even the beeswax has been used for candles. Our raw honey is packaged without the use of high temperatures to provide as close to the experience of heating out of the hive as possible- positively irresistable!

The third variety that they offer is whipped honey, in 3 varieties.

whipped honey
Whipped Honey (also known as creamed honey, cream honey, honey butter, honey spread, granulated honey or shipped honey) is the most popular state of honey in Europe. Whipped Honey is honey where a slow and controlled crystallization process has taken place. With controlled temperature and large sugar crystal size, the result is a spreadable honey with a silky mouth feel, almost marshmallow-like! This delicious honey that has earned its place on the breakfast table. Spread it on toast or eat right off the spoon!

After reading through all the descriptions of the varieties, I couldn't choose just one to try and decided to try the samplers.

Isn't that box awesome. Check out the side of it, I would be lying if I didn't do more than one double-take thinking there was a bee crawling on the box.

Here you can see the varieties that came in my sampler boxes:

The weekend the samples arrived, I had made biscuits for sausage gravy and decided that it was the perfect vehicle to start to taste some of the honey. I really liked how smooth the honey was on my palate. It was sweet but didn't have any of that too sweet flavor that I had at time experienced with my normal squeeze jar of honey. It also seemed to be a slightly thinner texture, which I think worked really well for enjoying it on the biscuit. I was able to taste the notes and differences in the different varieties of honey.

Also on that day, I tried the two whipped varieties as well. The whipped cinnamon honey had a terrific balance of sweet honey and cinnamon, reminding me in flavor of the mixture that I put on Cinnamon Sugar toast but without the bite that you get from the sugar crystals. It was really strange to me to get that flavor without that bite. I enjoyed it though. The chocolate was also good, although the ratio of honey to chocolate seemed pretty even and I would have preferred more of the chocoalte flavor coming through.

Over the next few weeks, I enjoyed the different honeys in my tea. It was interesting to try the tea varieites in the tea style they were selected for. Then, most recently, I enjoyed the Tupelo Raw Honey in my coffee with a bit of vanilla cream, helping to bring back the falvors from the coffee that I enjoyed this summer. I don't tend to sweeten my coffee (outside of the sweetness from the cream) but it definitely was a nice treat to have a sweet honey and vanilla coffee in the early afternoon (with a few vanilla wafers on the side).

I really enjoyed the honey. I really like that they come in glass jars, make them easy to store and serve. I would recommend that if you enjoy honey in your tea, on your biscuits or just on it's own that you give Adagio Bees honey a try. The samplers are a great way to check out several varieties at once.

Have you tried Adagio Bees honey? Have you tried whipped honey before? What is your favorite?


No compensation was received for this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. Complimentary product was provided for my review.

New Coffee Offering from Lardera (by adagioteas)

Complimentary samples of the coffee were provided so that I could try them and share my expierence.

I recently was introduced to Lardera coffee, offered by the same people that are behind Adagio Tea. Lardera offers four single-origin medium roasts, all sourced directly from Costa Rican farmers. The farms are located in two different regions of Costa Rica which is a contributor to the flavor that the different beans deliver.

Its "direct from farmer's" advantage bypasses brokers and middlemen. This allows Lardera to source the freshest beans whiles ensuring that the farmers receive the largest percentage of payment. Each farmer is highlighted with their own unique "know your farmer" profile. Read about how they got started in the industry and what makes their coffee worthy of the Lardera name. And, with samples starting at only $3 each, Lardera makes it easy to sample its assortment without committing to larger quantities.

One of the things that I like about their approach is the direct link to the farmer and that most of the money is going to the farmers. I found it interesting to read up on each of the farmers and learn more about them and their farms. There are four farmers that Lardera sources their fresh coffee from.

Lardera offers their coffee both as a whole bean coffee, or ground coffee - for those like me that don't have a coffee grinder (I did see though that Lardera also offers gear for grinding and brewing coffee) and in two sizes, 2 oz samples and 6 oz packages.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have taken the time to try each coffee a couple of times so that I could share my experience with you.

Catuai Anaerobic

I chose to try this one first because of the description on the package:

fruit bomb with lush notes of cherry, black currant, passion fruit and cocoa

I was intrigued, I don't know that aside from a flavored coffee that I had seen so many fruit notes listed for a coffee. I made a half carafe in my coffee maker using the classic brew style (you can learn more about my new coffee maker here). I decided that I wanted to taste it black so that I could really taste the coffee.

In my first taste, I was impressed with the coffee. It didn't have any of the bitter notes that I generally assoicate with coffee. It was flavorful and had body. I definitely picked up fruit notes (I couldn't have named them without the description likely but still noted it had fruity notes). In fact, it was so smooth and had such a great flavor that I realized that this was a coffee that I could absolutely drink black and enjoy. My current creamer is a sweet cream though, so I decided to give it a try in my second mug.

The sweet cream enhanced the flavor and the smoothness of the coffee, in my opinion. This is definitely a coffee that I will buy again.

Catuai Honey

Since I liked the first one that was called Catuai, I decided to try this one next.

complex blend of juicy clementines, tart cranberries, and ripe pomegranate

This coffee was also very good. I found it flavorful and full bodied. I could detect the touch of tart associated with the fruity notes it listed. I really appreciate how smooth the coffee is. Not only can I enjoy it without cream, I also found that when my last mug got cold, it was still enjoyable without that bitter note.

I did however decide to add cream at this point to make it more of a sweet drink, since it wasn't a hot beverage anymore. This is a coffee that I would buy again.

Kenya Washed

I decided to try this one third, choosing it based on the description.

layered notes of juicy citrus accented by sweet sugar cane and milk chocolate

Sweet sugar cane and milk chocolate remind me of a dessert, a treat. Based on the last two I had tried, I did start with this one black.

It was good. The citrus notes hit early but I didn't feel that the sugar cane and milk chocolate popped liked I expected. Then, I added a splash of cream. This brought foward the notes of sweet and of milk chocolate. It was very good. I could drink this coffee black but most likely I would add the cream to deliver on that treat expectation that the description gave me. As with the prior two, a coffee that I would buy again.

Tipica Honey

This was the fourth coffee that I tried, by default.

solid, well balanced cup with lingering notes of citrus, red apple, and pear

This coffee was a nice easy, smooth cup when I enjoyed it black.

It didn't have any noted pop like some of the others did but it was enjoyable in its simplicity. It also made the perfect canvas for a splash of creamer to really shine providing a smooth, creamy texture and a sweet flavor. I'm not sure that I would put this one at the top of my list but I certainly would enjoy it again.

Overall, I was impressed by all four of the coffees I tried. I was not surprised that I enjoyed the medium roast coffees, as I generally lean in that direction when I choose. I was impressed by how smooth they all were, the lack of bitterness or acidity on the tongue when enjoying it black. I definitely would recommend trying this coffee for yourself. You can try any of their coffees for just $3 for a smaple size, or if you are a drinker of single origin cofee, they have a free coffee offer that you can find on any of the coffee variety pages.

No compensation was received for this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. Complimentary samples of the coffee were provided for my family and I to try, so that I could share my experience.

Limited Edition Bella Luna Blue Tea from Adagio - Available Today (8/22) Only!

I received a complimentary sample of Bella Luna Blue so that I could try it and share my expierence.

The blue moon is finally here and with it comes our most elusive tea, combining fresh lemongrass, ripe blueberries and the exotic hues of butterfly pea. Do not miss the indigo experience of rare Bella Luna Blue!

Limited Edition Bella Luna Blue Tea. A customer favorite and magical tea that brews blue, and when you add lemon juice, it turns purple! It is an exclusive that is only sold on days of a blue moon. Today is your chance to order it because on August 22nd there is a Blue Moon.

I had a chance to try the tea and I really enjoyed the experience. I used a clear mug so that I could enjoy the beautiful blue hues brought to us by the Butterfly Pea Flower Tea

and see the cool transformation when I added the lemon juice to the tea.

Seriously, don't waste this tea on a dark mug, make sure you can enjoy not only the taste but the visual experience of this tea by using a clear or white interior mug.

Be sure to stock up on this caffeine free tea with the flavors of lemongrass and blueberries, since it is only available once in a blue moon (hehe). I really enjoyed the tea but will tell you I doubled up on the tea to make it a little stronger flavor and adding the lemon juice helped the lemongrass and blueberry flavors have more pop than they do without.

Over the past couple of years, I have really been enjoying a variety of new teas that I found at Adagio Teas, you should check out their many loose leaf tea options. You can also get some great teaware to help you enjoy your tea. I still use my toasTEA travel mug that I got a couple of years ago to enjoy hot tea on the go (or even just on my deck). I find it a little 'fun' that you flip it upside down to allow it to brew and then when you flip it back the leaves sit above your hot tea in the mug.

No compensation was received for this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. I received a complimentary sample of Bella Luna Blue so that I could try it and share my expierence.

24 Days of Tea Advent Calendar and 12 Days of Tea Gift Set

A complimentary Tea Advent Calendar and 12 Days of Tea Gift Set was provided to enable this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. 

When I was a kid, I was not a fan of tea. I'm not sure where or when I had had it but I remember thinking that it was without flavor and left a 'dry' aftertaste in my mouth. I knew that I also had tried and didn't care for sun tea. My feelings about hot tea changed when I was in high school. I had a really good friend that was a fan of tea and when I was at her house to work on a project or doing homework, she would often times drink tea but it wasn't plain tea. Rather she was always drinking different flavors and the aroma was enticing. I think the first tea that she had me try was a peppermint tea around the holidays. There was something that was so good about the fresh pop of the flavor. She also introduced me to apple cinnamon, lemon, and probably a few other flavors.

As I got older, I became more adventurous and liked to try new flavors. Dining out, hotel breakfast bars, and offerings at business meetings were the easiest places to try new flavors and further experience tea. There are a few that are definitely not for me and I have a tendency to primarily purchase herbal teas. I enjoy a mix of loose tea and tea bags. I like the flexibility to adjust the intensity of the tea with loose tea but there is an on the go convenience to bag tea. My tea making supplies expanded with time too. I have a tea kettle for boiling water. I have both a ball infuser that screws together and a snap ball tea strainer. One year for Christmas, I received a carafe with a center infuser that allows me to make several cups at once. A few years ago, I picked up a ToastTEA travel tea infuser from Adagio tea which makes taking loose tea on teh go a little easier.

Winter is my favorite hot tea season and it is my go to beverage when I am looking for something warm in the afternoon or evening. Lately, I have been preparing myself a mug of tea after the work day winds down. Being at home, makes the transition a little different but I have found that putting up my feet and sipping on tea is such a great way to relax and unwind. I think that with all that is going on, the ability to take a few minutes of down time and relax is an important thing for mental health.

If you are looking for a gift for someone on your list, check out these two items from Adagio tea. The 12 Days of Christmas Tea Gift Set comes with 12 varieties of tea, each in it's own tin that you can hang from your tea or stack for a cute ornament image. I love that they are each ornaments that you can hang in your tree. How fun it would be to seek each numbered tin on the tree. The teas include: White Pear, Rooibos Peacan Turtle, Lavender Lemon, Candy Cane, Golden Monkey, Jasmine Pheonix Pearls, Blue Mango, Cream, Cha Cha, Earl Grey Bravo, Fruit Medley, Rooibos Nutcracker. I'm curious to see what Golden Monkey is and the Rooibos Nutcracker I am expecting to love. Of course, it not only makes a great gift for the poeple on your list but you may also decide to make it a gift for yourself and experience the twelve flavors.

Looking for a unique Advent calendar? This Tea Advent Calendar from Adagio makes an 8 oz serving of tea each day, as you count down to the holidays.

It gets the thumbs up from my daughter, as she noted, the numbers are not in order, which from her point of view makes for a better Advent calendar.

I was thinking that buying one for your friends and family, could be a fun way for everyone to connect through a common experience. Enjoying a cup of the same tea while video chatting with your friends or family could help bring your together in a year where there is real potential that more families are apart during this time of year than normal. With 24 unique teas, you will have the chance to try many flavors. If you are enjoying it as a group, perhaps you could make a chart and rate the groups' favorites. The added bonus is that you would then have insite and could order more of their favorite tea as a gift in the future.

Do you have a favorite variety or flavor of tea? Who in your family would enjoy these gifts?

A complimentary Tea Advent Calendar and 12 Days of Tea Gift Set was provided to enable this review. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.