hope estheim, adagio custom blends

Not long ago, I finally ventured into the world of making my own custom blends on Adagio. The process is extraordinarily simple (they're not lying when they call it easy peasy!)

It's literally just a manner of rummaging through menus to find what you want in your blend and selecting the percentage you want of each tea chosen. Of course, this isn't a promise that your creation tastes good. (Of the blends I've created only one has needed revamping, though) They have some helpful videos at the top of the page of you're stuck as well.

Adagio's Blend Creation Tool

I chose to start my blending adventure with a really divisive fandom -- Final Fantasy XIII. As a long-time Final Fantasy fan, I found the gameplay, pacing, and character development in XIII to be pretty extraordinary. I know there are plenty of folks that disagree with me, but to each their own! In any case, this is my own Hope Estheim blend that you can also pick up on Adagio here.

The blend is made of a mixture of Chamomile, White Blueberry and Green Rooibos with an accent of apple pieces. It is low in caffeine and, like all individual fandom blends, comes in either a 3oz or 5oz quantity.

The Hope Estheim label

Dry Leaf

Dry Leaf

The dry leaf is full of large chamomile flowers, and fuzzy leaves of white tea. There are chunks of apple and blueberries in here that tend to settle to the bottom of the package (which I, of course, forgot to shake before it's photo op). It smells like chamomile with just a touch of sweet blueberry.

Steeping

I used steeping parameters of 175 for 4 minutes, so as not to scald my white tea. I think you could creep it up to 180 or 185, but this produced a satisfying
flavorful cup and I'll probably keep it this way.

Hope Estheim brews up with a strong chamomile flavor, very honey-like and apple-y with elements of floral, and then a subtle blueberry backdrop. The rooibos doesn't seem to come through much in the flavor, but adds a bit of roundness to the cup.

Steeped up and served hot.

Chilled, this blend is more subtle on the chamomile and more potent with the blueberries. The liquor is a gorgeous golden color that reminds me a bit of sunshine.

Overall, I found this a very calming blend that works iced or hot. The flavors work together and the cup was harmonious. I could see this as a late afternoon cup as I'm tapering off of caffeine, or even earlier in the day once I'm already bright eyed and bushy tailed.

“Sometimes everything you know in the world turns out to be a lie. But at the end of the day the lie isn’t what matters, it’s what you do after you tell it. If you work hard enough you can make it true.” 

         -Hope Estheim