Aged Pumpkin Rum Pu'erh (Tea-Guy / Adagio Teas)

Adagio Teas has this neat feature on their website they call “Signature Blends.” With this, you can select the ingredients you want in your own custom tea, and even provide a label image for them to use on the packaging. I put together several mediocre teas before I created this wonderful Aged Pumpkin Rum Pu’erh.

The loose material came packaged in one of Adagio’s old tins. Now it will arrive in one of their splendid new pouches. Gone are the days of cracked or broken plastic lids or latches that are too loose!

The leaves in this blend appear as medium and light twisted pu’erh leaves. These are the same as Adagio’s Pu’erh Dante. However, mixed in are slivers of pumpkin and rum spice. The dry aroma provides a smooth but spiced scent on top of an earthy almost gritty base.

The liquor brews to a dark golden brown and almost reminds me of blood pudding or a fresh beef based soup stock. The aroma is much sweeter, almost malty and reminds me of a fresh CTC style Assam with a lump or two of sugar added in.

When sipping, the brew I noticed an uncharacteristic astringency. After a few tries I think I’ve nailed this down to the rum spice. The effect strengthens as the tea cools, so be sure to drink it hot. The pumpkin seems to soften the strength of this teas’ finish and the pu’erh base is clearly notable throughout. Hints of stone fruits like apricot or peach were noted as well.

While pu’erh purists will decry the suggestion, I think a little milk does this brew wonders. I’m not wont to adding milk to any tea but gave it a shot here with some positive measure of success.

I would readily suggest this tea to fans of pumpkin spice teas, including chai, as well as fans of Assam teas, breakfast teas, milk to soften and fans of Lapsang Souchong.