Adagio Masters Tea: Exciting, limited edition, premium loose tea with a story!

Enjoying one of Adagio's new Master teas as recommended by the tea harvester who brought it to us.

Adagio's new Masters Tea series brings us not only fresh, premium loose teas to savor, but also the  back stories of those who harvest the tea in the regions where they're grown. As Adagio notes on their website, you don't have to be a tea connoisseur to enjoy. These teas come "fresh from the fields" and are offered in limited editions only. 

There are a variety of Masters teas available. We're sampling the five shown here.

Last week, I received a sample of five Masters teas and have brewed up two so far:  jin kong que from Yunnan, China and formosa fancy bai hao from Wen Shen, Taiwan. Both were excellent in taste (more details on that shortly!), but the experience didn't end after the steeping and sipping. One can actually "meet" the tea farmers, who add their expertise to every cup we enjoy, by simply going to the Adagio Masters tea pages on the tea company's website.

The loose leaves of Jin kong que, one of the delicious Masters teas from Yunan.

For the tea from Yunnan, you can find Zhao Ji Lin's story and discover what he loves about the tea harvesting process (the smell) and the challenges he faces (his knees are not "so well" from all the mountain climbing). There are also tips to enhance your tea experience and, in this case, I took Zhao Ji Lin's advice on how best to serve. I switched from sipping this tea in an English bone china tea cup to a tiny Chinese cup to better enjoy the tea smell and taste. (It's also an incentive to bring out my gai wan for future steeping!). 

Originally served jin kong que in an English bone china tea cup -  delicious in every (and any!) way

The jin kong que was delicious and I loved everything about this tea from my first good sniff after opening the packet to several small slurps after its brewing. At first, I detected fruity notes, but after steeping, I could taste the roasted sweet potato as described on the tea's label. 

Formosa oolong from Taiwan, smooth and sweet

The other Masters tea I sampled to date was the Formosa fancy bai hao, a smooth, light oolong from Taiwan. Here again, I took in fruity notes and  was in agreement with the label's claim of hints of honey and peach.

This tea can be served hot, or as recommended by one of the tea farmers, as a cold brew, chilled for eight hours.

Yu Kui Weng is a tea harvester of this tea. She loves the craft of rolling the tea, but, like Zhao Ji Lin, finds her job more of a challenge as she gets older. Her tip for this particular tea is to also enjoy it as a cold brew. She recommends cooling it in the refrigerator for eight hours, which will make the tea "more sweet and smooth".

We've really enjoyed the Masters  experience and look forward to trying out more of these limited edition teas and "meeting" more of the folks who bring it to us!

 Product review disclaimer:  I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free or discounted price. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.