Plum Deluxe

I will write a longer tasting note for this in the future but right now it’s the last tasting note in my queue and I’m ready to just celebrate being caught up on tasting notes so we’re going bullet point style!

- Smells great as dry LLT; sweet raspberry and lemon candies
- Steeps very similarly to the dry leaf smell
- Raspberry and subtle hibiscus are the immediate noticed flavours
- Followed by bright, sweet lemon then a hint of more herbal/earthy mate
- Would describe as light, vibrant and sweet but NOT sugary/syrupy
- Initial feeling is that this is REALLY nice!

Sipdown (901)!

A free one cup sample from a small Plum Deluxe order I made recently. I know this is supposed to be blackberry and hazelnut, but mostly I just got the hazelnut from the blend. I’m not upset with that; it’s hard to convey hazelnut well and I liked that nutty sweetness in this cup. I wouldn’t probably gravitate towards having it in a larger quantity because I found it a little to simple and I think over extending drinking I might easily tire of the flavour but as a sample it was very nice, and I’m glad to have experienced it!

Thanks to Plum Deluxe for the sample! The nuttiness is the main flavor. If you’re in the mood for something nutty, this would definitely do the trick. This blend is more rooibos than anything else, which I’m a fan of. Nuts and quality rooibos just combine so deliciously. I’m not sure I notice the black tea there too much. Really, this is a tasty, deep blend. I’m glad these samples are so big because I’m going to enjoy several cups of this one!

It’s starting to get hot in my part of the world. Like, 90 degrees hot. Ugh. Despite the fact that I grew up in this hot climate, I’ve never really liked the heat, preferring weather where I can cozy up with a cup of tea.
Oh well.
I picked this up because lemon and elderflower sounded delightful, refreshing, nice! In reality I’m finding my cup a little bit sour. Maybe I need to adjust the steep time?

Another tea from the tea box! This tea is a pretty good mix of fruit and oolong. Both flavors are light enough to be subtle and enjoyable, yet still quite flavorful. Once it cools, I also notice a metallic flavor that I don’t love. So my first impression was good, but in the end, I ended up finding this tea to be more average than I had hoped. I really wish I’d noticed the almond in the flavor, but I missed it!

They had this one in the advent calendar two years in a row, but I remember it being tastier last time. This time, it’s minty, but not really clear enough to be candy cane. I’ve had candy cane teas that are spot on, and this one just isn’t. There’s mint and rooibos, but it’s not perfect at all. Just sort of muddled and meh.

The flavor here is lightly minty. It’s pretty nice mixed with the green rooibos. It’s not super special, but it’s pleasant. To be honest though, the Simpson & Vail version of this is so great that I would always pick that one first.

Tangy, like a sour apple, sweet like a pineapple, and creamy with a a fragrance of banana is how I characterize the cherimoya. While this tea is not an exact replicate, its flavor profile is right there. I am glad it isn’t an artificial scent. The woodsy green rooibos allows this tea to be resteeped with a lingering flavor that still comes through. I coldsteeped my cup after brewing with hot water. Not a must-have but definitely try it if you like a unique fruity herbal blend.

Quarantine life isn’t much different from everyday life as far as my schedule goes, but I do enjoy working from home. A silver lining in all of this uncertainty. Today is a beautiful day so I have windows and doors open to the back porch, and there are lizards on the sill and bees buzzing around our blueberry bushes. We are truly fortunate to be safe and well at home.

Much like Shanie O Maniac, I find myself lacking the motivation to drink tea lately, though I’m surrounded by it and am working right near the kitchen. I felt determined today to have at least one cup so I pulled this, my final tea from Plum Deluxe, from the bin under our tea cabinet. Yes, we are in overflow.

I’m so grateful to companies like Plum Deluxe who make such an effort to share and introduce us to their teas. They could have done many other things, or nothing at all, but they sent three full-size pouches of tea plus a sample for me to try. This is my last of the bunch.

I’m not sure if this is a chocolate tea, but I taste chocolate. It reminds me of one of those hazelnut-flavored coffees, though I don’t actually taste hazelnut. That’s just the most common nutty flavor I think of when I think flavored coffee. And it is nutty, especially as it cools, but it’s not specifically pecan. I really think coffee drinkers would love this. It’s deep and dark and quite flavorful.

I haven’t been typing up notes lately. I keep starting them and then let them sit until long after my cup is cold. Not much motivation lately for some reason. Maybe it’s because I haven’t had any memorable teas lately? Today I decided to take a break from my sipdown list and drink a blend I really love. The last time I made this, it didn’t have any flavor and I was so bummed. This time, I upped the amount of tea leaves and the result was a deep, malty base with chocolate and sweet pastry. So good!

So disappointed, this doesn’t taste like anything! I’m not sure what I did (or didn’t do), but I’m feeling pretty tempted to dump the cup and start over.

I ran out of local honey (I know how this sounds) and had to use some from the grocery store (I know, I know) and it made my tea taste so funky (I KNOW).

This tea is one of my favorites, always deliciously chocolatey and vanilla…y (??), and this funky honey ruined it. Yes, I’m pouting. Yes, I’m probably being a little ridiculous. But also yes, I’m still grumpy about it.

For National Just Because Day.

I love this tea so much! The aroma takes me right back to my childhood. It’s always such a treat.

I woke up craving this one! Had to make a cup right away. This is such a good tea.

When I first received this tea from Plum Deluxe, I had to check the description on their website to see what the flavors are. It smelled so familiar but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It’s listed as a vanilla creme brulee tea, which sounds amazing, and vanilla I could see but I wasn’t getting any creme brulee vibes. Even after having a cup, I still don’t think I experienced creme brulee. Not exactly, anyway.

But oh my goodness, what I did experience was magic. Don’t laugh. This is going to sound pretty ridiculous to most grown-ups – and maybe it’s just nostalgia talking here – but this tea smells and tastes just like Chocolate Chip Pop-Tarts. My favorite Pop-Tarts growing up. Maybe even my favorite Pop-Tarts of all time. My brother and I, we would pop them in the microwave for just a few second longer than we reasonably should have, so that the inside was lava-hot and oozing and the crust was bordering on burnt but not and eat them while they were burn-your-fingers (and mouth and tongue and cheeks) hot. I remember like yesterday the chocolate dripping down the corners of my mouth, a molten river of bliss burning down down down.

So like I said, maybe it’s nostalgia, but this tea took me back and I loved every last drop of it. I tasted vanilla and chocolate and even the pastry with its sweet, burnt edges. Maybe that’s the creme brulee I thought I was missing. This, to me, is a true dessert tea. I love a good vanilla tea, but this surprised me and gave me much more than I was expecting.

Many many thanks to Plum Deluxe for reminding me of a happy memory from my childhood and gifting me a tea that truly put a smile on my face.

Strong scented floral lavender, not at all camphorous. I enjoyed it as an herbal tea with the enjoyability of the dry astringency that Ceylon tea brings. I took it plain as is my custom for most teas, without addition of sugar or milk. It won’t be my daily go-to but I look forward to adding this to anything I want lavender to stand out.

Thanks to Plum Deluxe for the sample! The main flavor here is the rooibos with the caramel flavor adding some sweetness/dessertness. I feel like you can also sense the black tea and the almond in some sips. The almond isn’t an amaretto-like almond, but more of a natural nuttiness. This blend is decent, but I’m not sure I prefer it over similar blends I could get at Adagio for much cheaper per ounce.

This is a repeat review, but I wanted to do something here while I’m waiting for my new W2T order to show up. If I get in the habit of doing this, then maybe I’ll do it more often when the new stuff comes.

I got this as a free sample from Plum Deluxe awhile back and I reviewed it then. It’s about a year old by now, so we’ll see how it held out.

Strong floral scent for the leaf, although there’s still that odd dirt note to it that I mentioned last time. Actually, it isn’t dirt. It doesn’t smell like filth. It smells a bit like potting soil, actually. Still odd though.

Taste is… surprisingly mild. I didn’t re-read my full note from last time so I don’t remember if I liked it or not but from the tiny sip I just had, it’s pretty good. It doesn’t taste as floral as it smells, so that’s probably a plus. Although the floral is there, you can definitely taste the Bergamot. That’s a good thing for me, I love bergamot. Probably why I love Earl Grey so much. I almost don’t want to put sweetener in this. It’s not a complex cuppa – you get black tea, you get bergamot, there’s some tannic flavor and just a hint of sweetness – but it’s really good. Although, I’ve been away from tea for so long my palate could be off.

Ooh, it’s starting to cool off and it’s getting better! I’m getting citrus now, so that’s awesome. There’s something else there too… ugh, I’ve been gone for too long. Need to recalibrate my taste buds.

Anyway, just take it that this is a reasonably tasty tea. It’s never going to win any awards, and it’s not a spiritual experience or anything, but for a good morning cuppa, this is pretty good. I can see drinking this over a plate of eggs and bacon with a side of buttered toast.

Not bad.
Not bad at all.

Another lovely tea that Plum Deluxe sent me to review! Thank you Plum Deluxe!

This has an ok flavor. I will admit when I first cracked open the pack, I was concerned because it smelled like dirt. It’s unfortunate, but it translates over a bit. There’s a dusty quality to this that isn’t the best. The main flavor is heavy on the floral. I added two splendas to this but it still has the dusty flavor. It’s depressing. I really wanted to love this. It’s decent enough, but I can’t get past the dustiness.

I mean it’s not bad. But it’s not great. It’s drinkable, but considering how wonderful the last one I tried was, I’m disappointed. Oh well.

Thanks again Plum Deluxe!