#fandom blends

[theartofblossoming]

I made the mistake of running out of MacCrea-tea and then browsing when I went back for more.

(I might also be collecting the tins)

[days-of-storm]

My Pandelions tea blends arrived <3

Can't wait to try them!!

(Art on the RamKing Happy Ending blend by the amazing @shanblackrx, and the After Dark blend art is by Red Snapper)

[rhapsoteainbrew]

Downton Abbey Grantham Breakfast Blend from Republic of Tea

Prep: 212° water, 4 minutes steep, milk and honey Verdict: ★★☆☆☆ 2/5 Not my cup of tea

The Grantham Breakfast Blend is an Assam black tea, which claims to also have ginger, though I don’t notice it. It’s a perfectly good cup of tea. Tastes good, solid black tea taste, the same comfort and coziness that I expect out of a cup of tea. But it isn’t really much more than that. 

And I’m going to be a bit harsh in my rating because it should be more. I’ve been disappointed by the Republic of Tea Downton Abbey line—not because it tastes bad, but because it isn’t anything special. There’s nothing wrong with your basic staple teas—you need those strongholds of classic flavor in your cabinet—but I want more from this line. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by my time on Adagio, where fan-created blends are uniquely crafted to embody different beloved characters and franchises. I suppose a creation done by a fan out of love will always have more care than something produced for profit, but what about this is “Downton Abbey” other than the picture on the packaging? It’s just an Assam black tea—which is good in its own right, but there's nothing to differentiate from just a ol’ regular tea. 

Probably the best thing I can say is that I baked a really delicious lemon blueberry loaf cake yesterday, and this tea was a great complement to drink alongside it—with a sturdy black-tea taste that cleanses the palate after a bite of sweetness without competing with the dessert. Sometimes you need a tea like that. But any old Assam would do the trick just as nicely. There’s nothing unique about this particular tea besides the branded packaging. 

[elfpen]

It’s unimaginably bittersweet to see the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy come to an end. I’ve seen the third movie twice already, and though it’s odd to say, it’s only now that I’m making these adagio tea blends that it really hit me that it’s over. I’ve never been so emotional about tea before, it’s embarrassing.

I hope you’ll all enjoy The King, The Queen, The Chief, and The Chieftess.

Back in 2013, cooped up during a week-long rainstorm, I made my very first blend on adagio, which ended up being the first blend in my HtTYD fandom blend set: Toothless. Then, I made Hiccup. And Astrid. Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs, Gobber. Stoick.

Then in 2014, the second movie came out, so I made a new blend for Valka, and additional blends for Hiccup (Viking Prince) and Toothless (Alpha). 

And now here we are, a whole six years later from where we started, and I’m wrapping up the fandom set with four new blends to celebrate the end of this decade-long era. I hope you can all enjoy the tea, or if nothing else, my bittersweet celebration of a world that tugs at my deepest sense of whimsy, a friendship that inspires me to become a better writer, and a story that’s pulled me through some of the toughest times in my life.

Thanks for everything, guys. We’re all going to miss you.

[keenmixer]

AAAAAAAHHHH!!!! My teas came in and they smell wonderful! Finally splurged for the BIG box of my favorite tea and I couldn’t be more pleased with the tin!

[nothwell]

Finally got to try Sir Evelyn Winthrop, the tea!

I love green tea in all forms, and gunpowder green with green chai and apricots is absolutely delightful. Thanks to @mwritesink for creating this blend!

[artsyramblingroses]

 I wanted to do art for all of the characters in this game one day, but I didn’t think I’d do it like this.

All of these pictures are for tea blends that I made for The Path. And I had to work with a limited amount of room, but they turned out pretty good.   I’m glad that I finally completed this, it was long, I worked on it slowly throughout a few months and had to redo Carmen’s blend entirely, but I’m glad I did this. 

And hey! I may even do a few more teas blends. So if you wanna give this a try, go to the Adagio Teas website and search for The Path in the blends section, and check out the other fandom blends too!

[adagioteas]