Spiced Plum

Well, this is certainly potent and probably better made with a t-sac. This kind of seemed to permeate into the older teas in the tea box so I had to toss a few, but they had no scent anyway.

So this is very fine, I usually think Perfect tea mug infusers are pretty good at not letting stuff through but it was no match for this tea. It’s very cinnamony and it’s also very bright red.

AUGH I cannot drink this, it just feels like particles everywhere, and it’s incredibly tart.

I decided to water it down and ice it. This is far more tolerable.

Definitely not one to let sit and steep for even 5 minutes. I already have another sample of this so I’ll put ANOTHER bag around this cinnamon filled bag and hope for the best in the next box, haha.

My mom got this tea from a friend and gave it to me. I’m always excited to try new teas, so I was excited to try this one! I did read that this was an herbal tea, so I thought it might be another delicious late night tea. So I opened the tin, and the bag, and…….

…….smelled a wonderful cinnamon aroma! WOW! This is obviously the main ingredient. I was just hoping this blend didn’t include hibiscus (NOT a fan of hibiscus). I read the ingredients: cinnamon, rosehips, and hibiscus [BIG SIGH!!]. I wasn’t expecting much. :// The cup color was a beautiful purplish-red, and did smell of cinnamon (AAHHH!), and hibiscus [UUGGGHHH!].

I really could taste the cinnamon, and the hibiscus. The hibiscus gave this tea the tart, plum-like flavor. I like a little tartness, but the tartness was a bit too much for me in this blend. I also noted a spicy quality on the back of my tongue, which I originally thought was ginger. I’m not sure. Could it have been the rosehips?

Overall, an average blend; and, thanks to the cinnamon, this will be a tea I will finish-one occasional cup at a time.

Cupped: Sunday, March 11, 2012.

Reviewed: Monday, March 12, 2012.

So far I have not been disappointed by any tea from Harney & Sons. I think that is impressive since I am very picky. This tea does not disappoint either. This tea sample was also a gift from chris_s (who just posted his first review today, so everyone should go follow him).

When I opened the bag, it smelled amazing. It smelled like cinnamon toast. I couldn’t wait to steep it. The tea itself looks like a cinnamon colored ground coffee or a coarse hot cocoa. I used a tea-sac for this one. It brewed up to a light purple-ish color. It smelled like candy and cinnamon. When I tasted it I got candy, then cinnamon, and then plum flavors. It’s almost like a cinnamony mulled apple cider, but with plum and more mellow. It’s complex and I really really like it. It’s such a nice afternoon or evening treat.

2 tsp per 12 oz cup.

I really bought this one for my husband as he has been searching for a replacement for his beloved Plim Harvest. He also loves anything tart. However, we like to share decaf teas at night and I’m not too into the tart side of things. I was hoping this would be a nice middle ground for us.
When I opened the bag, it was dust. Seriously, this teadust put my Chatsford infuser to the test. Chatsford won! This tea smells primarily of fresh ground cinnamon but I believe that tart is the first noticeable flavor followed closely behind by the fresh cinnamon. I added a bit of cane sugar and bit of half and half which surprisingly isn’t a total mistake with this tea. I think the additions help me to enjoy the tartness more than I normally would. My husband hasn’t tried it yet, but I suspect it will be a hit.

Part of my saturday sampler day. Ground up cinnamon and plum. Time to break put the Chatsford infuser basket. Tart, cinnamon. On first sip, I did not think it was very good, but I continued to sip and found it to be tasty and a nice edition to evening tea choices.

Plum flavoured tea instantly makes me envision some fantastical exotic infusion, an explosion of brilliance on the palate, something probably involving druids and gold plates. You don’t (well I don’t) often come across plum, usually when one is creating a fruit tea or tisane. Far more lowly or common fruits are considered such as apples or berries. But plum! And blended with my Favourite Spice Of All Time: cinnamon? I knew it would be a winner before I even took that first sip. This is like a plum flavoured chai, with a surprisingly bold flavour – especially considering it is merely a herbal blend.
Congratulations Spiced Plum, you have the honor of occupying a permanent spot on my tea cabinet!

So I have no idea how this blend works. It’s a really fine powder that smells very strongly of cinnamon and just a little of plum and I guess that’s all that’s in it? What exactly is this powder made of? I have no clue!

Anyway, the fineness of the powder means that I have to use a sieve to pour this since the insert in my teapot is not really up to catching it. Not a huge deal, but it also means that I have substantially less control over how long it brews since taking out the insert does nuffing. Hopefully it is as forgiving as other posts have said.

At first I found this tea unremarkable. Easily sipped while doing something else, but – on thinking about it, this is quite a nice trait for a tea to have. Sometimes it’s nice to just have a tea you don’t have to concentrate on. (Damning with faint praise, I know) The actual tea is quite heavily cinnamony, but when you take the time to think about it, there is an underlying fruity sweetness that must be the plum. I have to say I quite like it and, despite the fact that it smelled quite strong in the bag, it is not overwhelming. In fact, I was kind of worried that this would be too celestial seasonings-y most of which teas I find to be overwhelming (not to mention their tendency to stick hibiscus in everything).

I’ll have to think some more about whether I want more of this, but the fact that, while thinking, I am steadily sipping this down is probably a good sign for it. I DO think this would be great for winter – visions of sugarplums and all that. Not that I know what a sugarplum is. When I think about them, I envision plums dipped in chocolate, which is a very popular Polish candy (that I’m not all that fond of, but that’s another story).

This is a pleasant tea – if steeped correctly, that is! Don’t let it brew for longer than 3 mins, unless you like a tart tea. (I prefer spice over tart.)

One of my favorite combos is plum and/or berries with cinnamon. I created my own blend last year using the old Plum Harvest from Teavana and adding my own medley of spices. I’ve since run out and am on the hunt for a comparable replacement.

I enjoy this tea in the afternoon as it is caffeine free. Although today, at 11 a.m. I needed a pick-me-up and tried it… now I feel a bit sleepy, so my bad!

Back to the tea – I have not been let down at Harney & Sons, but I feel this needs a bit more cinnamon to match the tartness of the plum. Overall this is a nice tisane. My mom, who can’t drink caffeine in large quantities, loves brewing this up throughout the day.

I am making my way through a lot of teas KTT kindly sent me on the Hoppitea Swap. This one came with a particular recommendation to not brew it over 2 minutes – well, it went a few seconds over that but not too much. I was going to divide the sample into two small teacups but accidentally poured too much so made just my very large half liter cup.

And this is very pleasant, though maybe a bit heavy on the cassia – which btw it is not cinnamon. Really. Truly. It´s cassia and pretty distinctive, though yeah I know cinnamon in the USA almost always means cassia and not the other (real, from my point of view) cinnamon. Cassia being sharper seems to go very well with the tang of this – I can detect fruitiness, but not plums specifically. If it has hibiscus ground in ( color and acidity) it is in a just right dosage It is a winner for me!

I was super surprised when I reached my scoop into this bag, and what came out was a kind of powdery substance. What the? I actually assumed this was a black tea blend before getting to try it (thanks Kristin!) when I’d see it come up on people’s feeds. As I drink it, it definitely has an overtone of red fruit tisane. Behind that is the cinnamon spice. It makes my mouth pucker a bit. Overall, I cannot decide about this one. I wouldn’t buy it, but I don’t dislike it per se. Um, hm. Will have to experiment with it.

Quite tasty and heavy on the cinnamon. This is incredibly forgiving tea to brew. As much as I hate to admit to my tea abuse, I didn’t have enough water for a full pot, so I poured what I had, started more water, poured that in the pot, and then forgot about the pot for an hour or so. Imagine my surprise that it was still tasty!

This works well without sugar, but is excellent with brown sugar or a dark agave. I would also recommend either using disposable tea bags or an extremely fine strainer.

I was very impressed by this tisane. The blend is a very fine powder, and I was afraid that it might be too strong, but it turned out just right. It does indeed brew a strong, flavorful cup for an herbal tea. I was pleasantly surprised by the combination of cinnamon and plum, especially since I’m not a huge fan of cinnamon on its own. The cinnamon flavor tastes more like freshly ground cinnamon and less like spicy red cinnamon candy. It’s perfect for winter as a hot tea (as most spice blends are), but I can imagine it working really well iced in the summer. Good with or without sweetener.

tart, not overly plummy.

Absolutely delightful and refreshing, particularly when cold-brewed overnight. Naturally sweet, but with a great balancing tartness and spice.

Brewed a cup of this with my sister while we set up the family Christmas tree this evening. I forgot how nice this tea is!

First of all: COLOR. Holy cow, what a beautiful deep purple.
Second: The plum flavoring brings you to a warm happy place.