Plum Deluxe

Very quick note for day 5 of the Plum Deluxe herbal calendar. Long day, very tired. This is better than I expected. I have not had dragonfruit in a long time, so I don’t super well remember what it tastes like and therefore don’t know how accurate the flavor on this blend is. But it’s tart and sweet and lightly juicy. Note that I’ve been leafing this calendar’s teas heavily this year just to avoid having a lot of tiny half-packets around. So I’ve just been doing the full packet in a large mug.

I wasn’t really looking forward to this so I decided to be a little reckless and dump both packets into my soup mug and drink it in one go. Much to my surprise this worked so well.
The smell is lovely. Something sweet and cinnamony and a little bit like baked goods. Strangely, it smells exactly like my graham cracker chapstick. I don’t know how much caramel really stands out; it almost leans more maple. And though this is a rooibos blend, I didn’t notice any of the wood chip flavor that I dislike so much. I don’t know that I’d drink this often, but I’d be willing to buy it to have on hand!

Plum Deluxe no caffeine advent day 3

Tried this one hot and iced again. On its own, it’s fairly bitter black tea with artificial strawberry as an afterthought. They suggested some sweetener to bring out the flavor profile, so I tried a little strawberry infused honey in the hot version. That improved the bitterness. In the iced, I used a little crystalized lime instead and wound up enjoying it quite a lot more. I still think strawberry is hard to do right, and I didn’t feel like I got honeysuckle at all, but not a bad iced tea.

Plum Deluxe advent day 3

Plum Deluxe No Caffeine advent day 2

It’s interesting to read ingredient lists like this one, with two kinds of rooibos, coconut, orange, almond, when I’m really only getting a couple of flavors. In this one, it’s coconut. The coconut is smooth and compliments the rooibos, taking the woodiness away (though it’s still prominent in the scent). Unfortunately, coconut is another one of my least favorite flavors!

Plum Deluxe advent day 2

Always love trying to review the Plum Deluxe blends that aren’t here yet and are hidden on the website.

I tried this both hot and with the suggested cold brew method and was surprised to find I preferred the cold brew! Cinnamon is not usually a flavor I’d choose cold, but this was an excellent subtly fruity green tea with a cinnamon finish. The cinnamon stands out in the scent for all versions – the dry leaf, the hot tea, and the cold brew. I would buy this again!

Day 2 of the Plum Deluxe herbal advent calendar. I did actually drink my day 2 teas yesterday, but I wasn’t feeling well enough to write up notes. I have enough leaf left over to drink them again today, though, for a fresh impression while I write up the notes.
The dry leaf of this one made me think of cookies, so I wasn’t totally surprised to see that coconut is a major ingredient. It’s definitely the dominant flavor in the cup, by far. I tried this plain and with oat milk, hot and cold. I think it definitely tastes better hot, but somehow not really better or worse with the oat milk. It’s got that little bit of oiliness that coconut teas can sometimes get. Normally that doesn’t bother me, but I’m just feeling a little sensitive still. Tasty enough that I have now finished off all of it, but not necessarily something I’d seek out.

Plum Deluxe No Caffeine Advent Day 1

I grabbed this one bundled with the caffeine advent version because it can be nice to know I have a no caffeine choice available after a lot of other advent teas. I also expected it to steer fairly far away from black tea, so this was a surprise (and not one I was too excited about).

It is a good vanilla tea – sweet, creamy, likely good with some milk. I’d prefer a little spice or something to kick it up a bit, since it’s somewhat flat to me. Decaf black isn’t a choice I’d typically make, nor is vanilla, but I did enjoy this one. Just not something I feel the need to have on hand.

Plum Deluxe Advent Day 1

Given that I typically come to Plum Deluxe for their flavored tea, I was surprised to enjoy this as much as I did. I found it smooth and mellow, not too acidic, with just a hint of bitterness at the end. I added some apricot infused honey, which brightened it up a bit and took the hint of bitterness away completely.

With the second packet I made iced tea and found it excellent.

Day 1 of the Plum Deluxe caffeine-free advent calendar this year. On the up side, this tastes like Harney’s Vanilla Comoro and I find that blend delicious. On the down side, I had to stop drinking the Harney blend because, like most Indian black teas, it hurt my stomach. So I am drinking this carefully, on a full stomach, but probably won’t take the risk of opening the second bag. I expected there would be some decaf black teas here, so I’m fine with getting them out of the way sooner rather than later.

TTB sample! I don’t think this tea matches its name very well. It’s not spiced enough for me to consider it a chai. It’s a little fruity, but not super orangey specifically. I find this one to be overall pretty average and muted in flavor.

This tastes almost identical to their rosemary caramel blend, which is my absolute favorite PD tea. It doesn’t have rosemary, but my brain can somehow taste it because it’s so similar to that other blend. It’s warming and desserty and herbaceous on a delicious honeybush base. I wish I had more than just this TTB sample!

TTB sample! This tastes quite minty. I’m drinking it with milk, but maybe it would have been better without. It was a bit muddled with rooibos and some other flavoring in there. Not terrible, but I wouldn’t want it again.

Sipdown! A bit of an inglorious end though – my partner accidentally dropped a bandage into the tea after it was ready and before I had even had a sip! So I didn’t actually drink the last cup, but it is gone. Honestly, this was never ginger-y enough for me anyway.

Sip Down

It took me too long to sip this tea down. I had purchased it at a local shop roughly a year ago and tried it several times since grabbing 2oz. I disregarded it since I had noted that it was underwhelming. Jump to this morning and I had decided to make one last cup on the account there was hardly any leftover. Again, it wasn’t anything special. I tasted the maltiness of the black tea and the nuttiness (?) from the red rooibos, but the caramel and butterscotch weren’t present. Purely meh.

I taste a lot of lavender on a nice decaf base. The bergamot could be even stronger, but really, I thought this was quite a decent decaf EG. I’m always looking for good ones!

#mugtober

This was my choice for the “book” themed day. Other than going the comic book route (which is what I did for my mug) it was the obvious, low hanging choice. But that aside, it’s very much becoming a fast favourite Plum Deluxe blend. Maybe even my favourite overall? The cinnamon isn’t too strong at all and has such a safe, cozy feeling to it. But more than that the black currant note is so rich and plump, with this very round and jammy quality that coats the palate. It’s so distinct and delicious!

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sijmnGjnXUA

This is another blend that I steeped up for myself in the morning and it also very much hit the spot. It’s an interesting mix of flavours layered onto this gentle white tea base. Based on the dry leaf smell I expected the cinnamon to be the strongest note, but I think it was the rather jammy and plump black currant note I tasted the most. I’ve had other black currant teas from Plum Deluxe – it’s a flavour I personally think they execute very, very well. The cinnamon was probably the next strongest flavour after it, though. Cozy and almost pastry-like. Not a red hot type of cinnamon. It definitely evokes the sort of warm and fuzzy vibes that I think this tea is trying to give off based on its name.

I’m not sure I really tasted much orange, but in the moment I didn’t mind at all. The combination of currant/cassis and cinnamon was quite unique to me, and I found myself simultaneously relaxed by it as well as intellectually stimulated by the way the flavours danced off each other – in that regard I think it’s a very good representation of the bookshop inspiration!

I enjoy a fruity EG, and this one is pretty good! Hot, the flavor is milder than I had hoped, but the hit of tart cranberry is fun. As it cools, it gets creamier, which I always enjoy. The bergamot, cranberry, and black tea all mix quite pleasantly together. It’s slightly tart in just the right way. Yeah, definitely drink this one at room temperature with sugar and milk to get the most out of it.

Another finished tea today, and because it was single session sample from Kaylee not counted as a sipdown, though reduced from my cupboards. Thank you!

Although I am not a coffee drinker, I was somehow craving this tea. When I have opened the pouch, I knew it was a proper choice today. And it was rather the hazelnut than the coffee. I steeped it shortly, 3 minutes sounded enough for me; and I got just a lovely hazelnut cup with no bitterness from coffee. Honestly haven’t noticed that at all.
Also not much of the cake notes, it was rather like some hazelnut mousse or something, creamy and mild.

This is quite a decent EG. The strongest flavor I get is a banana, then I taste a bit of the bergamot. It could all be heartier, but I like it! With sugar and milk, I find this to be very fun and tropical – I’ve enjoyed my 1 oz bag!

It’s hard to decide what I think of this one. I taste the orange and rooibos with a bit of bergamot. It’s fine cold, if a little too tangy. Once I add milk, it gets more of a creamsicle quality, but I no longer notice the bergamot. I think it’s a bit of a strange blend.

TTB sample! This isn’t bad! The flavor is pretty light and pillowy and pleasant. I don’t taste the lemon and ginger distinctly, but it is quite gentle and nice. The flavors combine well.

I thought I would really like this one but really did not. I tried it at home, and then gave it a second shot at work- it just was not for me.

It tasted sort of bland overall, despite putting extra tea into the water. The strongest note was cinnamon, follpwed by the maple note seemed a little artiicial and there was this woody-bark taste underlying that I did not enjoy and cannot pinpoint.