Earthly Pleasure - Cinnamon, Valantines and Cream!

Discuss some of the favorite customer-created Signature Blends.


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Oct 18th, '08, 00:14
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Earthly Pleasure - Cinnamon, Valantines and Cream!

by Vulture » Oct 18th, '08, 00:14

Hey,

I finally got mine in to test it with my friend. He thinks it has a bit too much cinnamon but I like it that way. So for now it is my finalized version. I drink it with just a little bit of sugar crystals. This was the black flavor brew I drink at work every night but now I don't have to keep mixing it :twisted:

I can't link anything as I am still new but you can check my adagio's profile out for it.

Thanks!
Last edited by Vulture on Jan 2nd, '09, 02:33, edited 2 times in total.

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Oct 18th, '08, 00:50
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by Chip » Oct 18th, '08, 00:50


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Oct 28th, '08, 02:54
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by Rakuras » Oct 28th, '08, 02:54

Hi, I'm unfortunately the 'friend' who tried this brew. Let me grab my notes that I took when I steeped it at around 190 degrees, varying times as noted below.
Smell: something akin to cinnamon and cherry atop a light black brew
Color: light caramel, similiar to infused brews
Taste: a mixture of spiced tea (similiar to the old-style spiced teas common in India to my knowledge) with higher points of cinnamon, cherry, and a low cream. Might be tasting the strawberry as cherry due to the lower temperature or mixture of flavors overriding the softer taste of a strawberry.

Steep 1: ~9 minutes (forgot about it after pouring, common accident). Light brew with a rich black base that was mixed with a powerful cinnamon- additive rather than destructive- with cream settling in during and after swallowing. When let sit in the mouth a very mild bitter could be tasted but was fairly hard to determine until actually swallowed and leaving the tongue to dry and gather the hidden flavors left as a residue.

Steep 2: ~7 minutes. Cinnamon balances out and the cream was more of an aftertaste effect. Cherry/fruit flavor came out much more and added to the brew rather well. Might need to up the temperature to get a better infusion next time. Additionally, try sweet or with actual cream to see if that heightens the infused cream or becomes detrimental.

Over-steep: ~15 minutes. Very little if any harsh bitterness was tasted and what bitterness was tasted added to the blend rather than took away from it. Due to the mixture it might be impossible to truly over-steep this blend and is adequate for someone who might forget how long they've steeped a pot or for those who enjoy sun tea or iced tea.

Final analysis and notes: a decent brew that reminds me a fruitier version of the old Sleepy Time and like bagged blends that could mix well with a sweetener or something similiar. Likely needs to be brewed hotter to get all the flavors but I impulsively decided to try this rather than have the remainder of my jasmine-green blend. Need further testing.
There's my first report. Someone take this commentary apart and get me to test this hotter, Vulture. Now back to trying some blood oranges.

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Oct 28th, '08, 09:55
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by auggy » Oct 28th, '08, 09:55

Wow, those are some serious steep times!

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Oct 28th, '08, 10:13
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by Vulture » Oct 28th, '08, 10:13

Yah, I have a bad habit of starting to steep my tea then getting distracted with something, usually a game. This is a great tea to 'set and forget' because it can be steeped for long times and still come out with a great flavor.

Really good for me at work because something will alarm and I need to take care of that ASAP then I remember I have tea brewing :x

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Oct 28th, '08, 10:30
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by auggy » Oct 28th, '08, 10:30

Vulture wrote:Yah, I have a bad habit of starting to steep my tea then getting distracted with something, usually a game. This is a great tea to 'set and forget' because it can be steeped for long times and still come out with a great flavor.

Really good for me at work because something will alarm and I need to take care of that ASAP then I remember I have tea brewing :x
Hehe - yep, I've done that before! Let me tell you, a darjeeling steeped for about 3 hours - not good! That's what I get for setting the microwave timer. It only beeps once so if I miss it, it never reminds me. Now I have the most annoying little beep-beep-beep, beep-beep-beep that goes for a full minute so if I step away, I don't get distracted enough to forget my tea. And it is annoying enough that I rush back to turn it off and pour the tea. :lol:

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Oct 28th, '08, 12:00
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by jazz88 » Oct 28th, '08, 12:00

auggy, I got distracted all the time and used to constantly forget about my tea but since I bought the electric tea maker from Adagio I'm a happy person :)

@ Vulture – wow! That's serious stuff!

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Oct 28th, '08, 15:26
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by auggy » Oct 28th, '08, 15:26

Jazz, I will admit, that puppy does look pretty nifty. But I would be sad to show my zoji less love. It would feel neglected and sad.

And yes, my zoji does have feelings. I sing to it to keep it happy.

Thankfully, while it has feelings, it has no ears, because me singing would make anyone grumpy.

Hmm, I think I can tell I'm on heavy cold medication. :lol:

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Oct 28th, '08, 16:23
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by Vulture » Oct 28th, '08, 16:23

auggy wrote:Hmm, I think I can tell I'm on heavy cold medication. :lol:
Just getting over something myself.

Jazz, I work in networking so I get an alarm I have to act on it. This is the tea I have at work all the time. I wouldn't want to drink anything more sensitive or I would ruin the cup I was making at the time.

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Nov 4th, '08, 19:26
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by Rakuras » Nov 4th, '08, 19:26

At the time of writing this it is Election Day '08 in the United States. As I do my research leading up to my vote I began re-sampling Earthly Pleasure at a higher steeping temperature. As such I shall write my notes here as I sample rather than use the paper method as I tend to.

Steep 1: 212 degrees, ~4 minutes. The color deepens compared to the first steepings at a colder temperature and the aroma become much more in line with black teas with a bitter component. The taste was similiar with a very rough bitter tone that blanketed the brew and diminished if not overwhelmed the lighter flavors outside of the cinnamon. I can only guess that boiling burnt the cream out of the brew as there is only a mild strawberry aftertaste to it that is almost ignored due to the bitter. I would have dumped the cup if I were served this in a cafe'.

Steep 2: ~205 degrees, ~3 minutes. Color is much better than the first run, deeper than the colder steeps but more caramel than the first steep today. Fragrance is highly of cinnamon and a hint of the cream within compared to the bitter of the first steep. The taste is very much like the oversteep of the colder brewing but has only the bitter aftertaste- much reduced- and has a very pronounced cream addition to the cinnamon base which makes this blend homely. Luckily the strawberry and like flavors of the Valentine do come out though they are definitely dwarfed by the cinnamon as would be expected from most drinks mixed with cinnamon. Overall a hotter steeping has thus proved to be more temperamental and is best when watched compared to the colder steeps that are preferable to a working environment.

Steep 3: ~205 degrees, ~2 minutes. Oooh... yum. I was rather surprised with first few sips of this steep. The cinnamon was there but more of a base with the black rather than being the center performer. The cream and spices/fruit of the Valentine came forth to join the cinnamon as they all went down very smoothly. It is a touch light, though, so you do get a watery weight to it rather than a fully flavored tea would be- much like steeping a very delicate green. The entire flavor of this steep seemed to blend rather well with only barely obvious black and bitter hints that brought out the cream in the aftertaste rather than overpowering it in all the previous steepings. So far this would be my optimum steeping method and time as it does indeed taste like an Earthly Pleasure that flows from the cup deliciously and stays warm and flavorful in my gut. Rarely do I say such flowery things but this time this cup deserves it as I would certainly like to emulate this cup in the future.

Final notes: steeping this brew hot is very, very rigorous at times and should be done similiar to steeping greens at higher temperatures: hot and fast. Ideally 3 minutes should be the maximum time steeped otherwise it becomes bitter in short order. For blending this further I'd reduce the cinnamon content by 10-20% and increase the Valentine by the same percentage to give it more volume and flavor depth compared to the spice the cinnamon does present. Of course, the mixture I received may have been changed since Vulture does edit his blends often enough so the original order he put for himself is the only thing I have to compare to. As such I doubt most people would desire the increased fruit/etc taste if they are seeking a very good cup steeped at lower temperatures. Overall the tea is a great addition to my shelf and I shall likely be making a few more cups of this in the coming months... if Vulture will allow me to make off with an ounce or two from his private stash! Now back to election details and frosting my cupcakes.

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Nov 26th, '08, 03:19
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by kaotic » Nov 26th, '08, 03:19

Hello all!

I'm new around here, (first post) but I'm Vulture's coworker, we work together 3 nights a week and I've tried this brew myself, Great combination of teas I really enjoy it.

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Dec 17th, '08, 00:51
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by boywoodhe » Dec 17th, '08, 00:51

I got this tea as a gift and I was just hoping i wouldn't have to regift the tea. :wink: lol
I was pleasantly surprised when I open the tin and you can smell the aroma of cinnamon and chocolate that filled the kitchen area. :shock: I brewed The first cup about 2 mins with some sugar and without milk/creamer, and it had a nice deep cinnamon taste with lite notes of valentines and cream. The second cup I brewed the tea abut 3 1/2 and I added some creamer and sugar. The second cup the cinnamon flavor was stronger but had a very nice mellow taste not overpowering. The valentines and cream teas was just very lite taste, but it goes well with cinnamon tea. The tea overall in my opinion Earthly Pleasures is stronger on the cinnamon side but the valentine and cream give it the right touch to make this tea a smooth delicious treat. It goes really well after dinner because earthly pleasure is not a heavy tea but rich with flavor. (not to sweet) If you want to start your morning with a nice flavored tea, earthly pleasure is the right choice. :D
Vulture, you really did a great job! I think you need to do more signature blends. :)

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Dec 17th, '08, 03:13
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by Vulture » Dec 17th, '08, 03:13

boywoodie wrote:Vulture, you really did a great job! I think you need to do more signature blends. :)
I been playing with raw spices more than adagio's teas. I will probably get back into trying things out. Glad you liked it :o

I originally liked drinking this with just sugar (the brown sugar crystals from adagio). But I also like drinking it with a little bit of chocolate milk and no sugar.

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Dec 31st, '08, 17:20
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by Figgy » Dec 31st, '08, 17:20

That sounds like a really yummy tea...

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Dec 31st, '08, 17:49
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by Herb_Master » Dec 31st, '08, 17:49

:shock: I see you and Adagio spell it slightly differently. :D

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