Plum Deluxe

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Recent Tasting Notes

65

TTB! The peach flavoring was a little chemically for me. It reminds me of maybe an Adagio tea I had years ago. With milk and sugar, it’s still drinkable and reminiscent of peach rings. Not bad, but not something I would seek out. It’s just a little too fake, and I don’t get any cream or much oolong.

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70

April backlog and sip down

Steeping method: Western. 195F @ 3-minutes.

Tasting Notes: The honeybush takes the lead in the cup; however, it helps elevate the chocolate notes as it cools down. There’s a slight hint of the chocolate oranges I’d get in my stocking for Christmas when I was little. Very nostalgic.

Flavors: Chocolate, Orange

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 3 min, 0 sec
TeaEarleGreyHot

MadHatterTeaReview- I believe there may be a misspelling of the tea name? You can probably edit the tea name, once you decide whether it is Artemesia or Artemisia. In any event, the description in the listing states it’s a mugwort, so the actual plant being infused is probably Artemisia argyi or A. vulgaris. It would be nice if the vendor specified, as there may be important medicinal differences. Mugworts are related to wormwood, of course, and other plant species as well, and readers may find the Wikipedia article on the genus interesting. I would caution folks to steep with care, as there may be toxicities (or medicinal effects, depending upon ones perspective). I recall learning in grad school of some of the compounds having abortifacient properties, for example. And the relatively benign Absinthe is legendary— some of its reputation may be owing to poor identification of the exact plant species being infused.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_(plant)

MadHatterTeaReview

Per their site, it’s “Artemisia.” Good to know! Thank you for the detailed information.

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90
drank Chestnut Creme Decaf by Plum Deluxe
3031 tasting notes

Steepster 2025 TTB Tea

I REALLY enjoyed this sample. There is no way it woiuld be enough for 2 cups, but I used the whole thing (2.5g) and brewed it twice. The honeybush in the blend gave it a super honey-rich flavour with some oaty notes as well. It is very caramel-heavy with lots of sweetness. I get some nuttiness, but I would have expected this to be caramel vanilla instead of chestnut based on the flavour. I will be making a plum deluxe order next time this is in stock so that I can get more.

Flavors: Caramel, Honey, Nutty, Oatmeal, Sweet, Vanilla

Preparation
195 °F / 90 °C 4 min, 30 sec 2 g 13 OZ / 375 ML

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90
drank Jolly Fig Green by Plum Deluxe
2663 tasting notes

TTB! I surprisingly loved this tea. It’s supposed to be fig, but I really just tasted a candy-like, non-specific fruitiness plus some cinnamon. I drank it sweetened with milk, and it was really desserty and tasty. I wouldn’t mind more of this! The resteep was really nice too.

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77

Steepster TTB 2025

The TTB is out the door and on its way to Canada, but I kept a small sample of this tea and am having it with breakfast today. Not in bed, alas — it’s the first day of my FINAL SEMESTER OF GRAD SCHOOL. I am experiencing a bit of ye olde senioritis, which will not affect the quality of my scholarship but will probably increase my grumpiness with respect to things like “doing readings” and “writing papers.”

Aaanyway. The hazelnut flavoring here is so pronounced and tasty, and it’s complemented well by the blackberry. The black base is very brisk and astringent, which honestly is exactly what I want in a breakfast blend.

I will say that the more I drink, the more I wish the hazelnut was just a smidge lighter and the blackberry a smidge stronger. The hazelnut lingers after the end of a sip in quite a powerful way!

Still, this is pretty dang tasty.

Flavors: Astringent, Blackberry, Brisk, Hazelnut, Nutty

Courtney

Whoop whoop! Congratulations on making it this far!

gmathis

Light at the end of the tunnel! You can start checking things off your list: it’s the last time I have to …

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One of my favorites from this company. I make mine with sugar and cream and it reminds me of the lilac cordial filling from a local chocolatier

Flavors: Floral

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 6 OZ / 177 ML

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drank Jolly Fig Green by Plum Deluxe
500 tasting notes

Advent Tea! Not sure what makes this Jolly or Fig, but the green is smooth. Mostly cinnamon, but some sweet fruity notes here too. Glad I got to try, but I like my cinnamon with other flavors.

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69

Advent tea! My cup it too big this morning so this brewed kinda weak, but this is a nice black tea to start the day. The citrus note at the end is very subtle, similar to a bergamot note, but not so sharp. Don’t like it enough to purchase, but it was nice to try.

Flavors: Astringent, Chocolate, Citrus, Malt

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Advent tea! This is a strange combo, green and mango/papaya. Not sure where the abundance in the tea name comes from. This is just ok, glad I got to try but don’t need this in my cupboard

Flavors: Grassy, Mango, Papaya

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drank Red Velvet Puerh by Plum Deluxe
500 tasting notes

Advent tea! Sweet tea with a slight chocolate aftertaste. The puerh base makes it savory and salty. I would probably overleaf a cup, especially in the morning like I am drinking it now. That may bring the chocolate out? It is an easily drinkable cup and I would add it to an order.

Flavors: Chocolate, Earthy, Salty, Sweet

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Advent tea! This has an ok strawberry note, but it smells more like strawberry than it tastes like strawberry. The finish is astringent. Might make a nice iced tea, so I’m confused as to why it’s in a holiday advent. Not something I need to try again.

Flavors: Astringent, Chemical, Strawberry

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89

Last blend in the Plum Deluxe caffeine-free Hanukkah sampler! This smells so good while it’s steeping. The white chocolate, peppermint, and coconut scent just wafts at you alluringly. Those same notes translate into the flavor, too. With a splash of oat milk, it’s a perfect wintry dessert tea. Theme-wise, this is probably more of a Christmas or generic winter blend than a specifically Hanukkah blend, but it’s so tasty that I’m willing to forgive it. In general, I feel like this year’s Hanukkah sampler didn’t have any holiday-specific flavors/themes that I picked up on. But most of the blends were tasty, the price point is very reasonable ($12 for 16 packets, each with enough leaf to make 2 regular or 1 large mug), it’s packaged nicely, and I can see that they’re working to make this offering better every year. All of those things keep me coming back to this sampler, and I expect that I’ll be getting it again next year.

Flavors: Coconut, Peppermint, White Chocolate

Michelle

I thought this tasted a bit like a vanilla marshmallow!

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71
drank Easy to be Green by Plum Deluxe
500 tasting notes

Advent tea! This is very lightly berry flavored green tea. Maybe it’s blueberry aside from any other berry? Whatever berry it is, it’s quite smooth and drinkable, a perfectly good afternoon cuppa. Not something I need in my cupboard, but glad I got to try.

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Advent tea! This has a burnt toffee, sweet caramel vibe. I can even taste the pecan. I wish I had more of this tea and would switch it out for a few of the other ones in the advent. This reminds me a bit of OBTC pecan pie.

Flavors: Caramel, Earthy, Pecan, Toffee

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drank Decaf Mindful Morning by Plum Deluxe
1375 tasting notes

Boo, it’s already the 7th night of Hanukkah! At least I’ve been having fun with it – lots of latkes and sufganiyot, candle lighting, cute socks, my epic holiday playlist on repeat, family time, crafting, and presents. I just finished applying gloss to a Hanukkah repaint of a vintage Polly Pocket McDonald’s toy, so fingers crossed that works out well! This is the second to last tea in the Plum Deluxe caffeine-free Hanukkah sampler. Good news: it’s not hurting my stomach. Alas, it’s still an Earl Grey, which means lots of bergamot. It’s fine for an EG, but there’s too much bergamot for my tastes. I do like the creamy note from the vanilla and the base tea is nice enough. Hard to get past the bergamot of it all though.

ashmanra

That sounds like a marvelous Hanukkah! Happy Hanukkah and more fun to you!

Kaylee

Thank you! The gloss set wonderfully and I’m very pleased with how it turned out!

Kelmishka

Happy (belated) Hanukkah!

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86
drank French Pear Herbal by Plum Deluxe
1375 tasting notes

Arbitrarily selected day 6 of the Plum Deluxe caffeine-free Hanukkah sampler. Who knew pear and chestnut would go well together? Even more surprising, I liked this better cold than hot. I think of chestnut as more of a hot-tea flavor but the fruity pear here seems to portal it into iced-tea territory.

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Day 25 and final day of  the Plum Deluxe caffeine-free advent calendar. Bit of a bummer that this is the last one, just because it’s not my favorite. I can see why it was chosen, though – spicy orange is a pretty classic Christmas flavor. I like that this goes for ginger instead of clove. That makes it a little different than the usual, plus I generally love ginger. I don’t know though, this just isn’t hitting the spot for me. And the base is one that I’m sensitive to, so it doesn’t really seem worth continuing to drink this if I’m not enjoying it. Folks who like orange-clove blends and don’t have issues with black tea would probably like this, though!

Did every tea in this advent calendar bowl me over? No. But I consistently found myself pleased to have something from this calendar for my evening cuppa and drank through it pretty quickly. There were some particularly notable blends – candy cane herbal, chocolate caramel macadamia nut herbal, and warm hibiscus herbal come to mind. I’ve bought this calendar in the past and something I appreciate is that they don’t do a lot of repeats year-to-year. At $48 and free shipping on my order, this came out to 96 cents per sample bag. Each bag had enough leaf for either two regular-size mugs or one large mug. This year, for both convenience and in order to avoid dealing with a bunch of little opened baggies, I made every sample bag in a large mug rather than deal with portioning it out. It’s not an incredible value but I’m ok with that price point. It’s nicely packaged in a lovely tin, individual numbered envelopes, and some useful tracking tools. And it’s a nice way to try out a wide variety of their blends, which is ultimately what I get these calendars for. Very likely that I’ll get it again next year.

Michelle

I’ve enjoyed the caffeinated so far, haven’t tried them all yet. I’d consider doing both a caf and a decaf next year just to get variety.

Cameron B.

Maybe I’ll try one of theirs again next year, it’s been a few years.

Kaylee

The only thing that actually bugs me about their calendars is that sometimes the plastic baggies get staticky and the tea leaves stick to them, though for whatever reason that’s been less of a problem this year.

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80
drank Maple Custard Herbal by Plum Deluxe
1375 tasting notes

Day 24 of the Plum Deluxe caffeine-free advent calendar. I tried this one both straight and as a latte. I think I liked it more as a latte, but it was surprisingly tasty straight and cold too. Plum Deluxe has a pretty yummy maple flavor that I enjoyed here. I have never actually had cherimoya so I don’t know whether this is a fair representation. But this has a tropical-fruit note that goes surprisingly well with maple. I wouldn’t object to playing around with this some more. Also now I’m keeping an eye out to try custard apple!

Cameron B.

I remember really liking their regular custard apple herbal!

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60

Randomly selected Day 5 of the Plum Deluxe caffeine-free Hanukkah sampler. With a long steep, the hibiscus was too strong. So I tried a four-minute steep for the second packet. That didn’t get me great results either – the flavor was overall a bit thin but still primarily hibiscus-tart. Mostly this just tastes like a hibiscus blend with a creamy, almost vanilla element. I like hibiscus so it was fine, but definitely not one for the anti-hibi crowd.

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70
drank Queen's Blend by Plum Deluxe
500 tasting notes

Advent tea! Well, I guess I should write a tea note about some of these teas in the advent, even though I was traveling too much to really enjoy it. I would consider doing this advent again, though I do wish it was a mix of caf and decaf teas. If that’s my only gripe, I think I like it! This one is certainly not one I would try, but I’m glad I did. I am not a bergamot fan, but this has enough lemon/orange/citrus and vanilla to disguise the bergamot. I will gift the second pouch of this to someone who will appreciate it more!

Flavors: Bergamot, Lemon, Orange, Vanilla

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72
drank Almond Verbena Herbal by Plum Deluxe
1375 tasting notes

Night 2 of Hanukkah, and the second blend arbitrarily chosen from Plum Deluxe’s Hanukkah sampler. I took the day off work to spend time with family. The day went much better than I expected, so I’m taking the win. I also had a truly wonderful time visiting the Walt Whitman Birthplace Museum. It’s small but charming and I had a lot of fun learning from our tour guide!
By the time I got home, I just wanted something cozy to drink. This fits the bill! It’s got that almost alcoholic almond flavor taking up most of the sip, with the verbena sort of layering on top just to brighten things up a bit. The woodiness of the rooibos complements the nuttiness well. If it wasn’t for the twinge of an alcohol note, I’d like this even better. Possibly that might fade if the dry leaf had more time to mellow, but by the time I figured that out I had already made all of it.

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70

Happy Hanukkah! I do adventaggedon because it’s fun, and it’s a community thing, and it’s a great way to try out lots of new teas and companies in a fairly short period of time. But I’m very aware that it is, at best, a borrowed tradition – like wearing your friend’s clothes. Having Hanukkah teas and Hanukkah-specific samplers is like wearing my own. I went for Plum Deluxe’s Hanukkah sampler again this year, but this time I opted for the fully caffeine-free option. There are four regular blends in here and four unique to the box. They’re not numbered the way advent calendar teas are; more of a choose-your-own-adventure. So I chose one that I’m hoping will help me digest the latkes I ate tonight after a big Christmas meal earlier today!
Good chunks of ginger in the dry leaf translate into a lovely ginger bite at the front of the sip that lingers afterwards. Sweet, tangy fruit notes dance around the ginger. I actually had to double check the ingredients for hibiscus because it reminded me of the flavor made by whole hibiscus flowers, which I think is generally sweeter than cut-up hibiscus. No hibi here though! Just the sweet-tartness of the strawberry playing tricks on me.

Courtney

Happy Hanukkah! I had no idea there were Hanukkah-specific tea samplers and now I’m intrigued. I’ve also just learned (thanks Google) that Hanukkah starts the same day as Christmas this year, super neat! I hope you enjoy your celebrations!

Kaylee

Thank you! The only ones I’m aware of this year are Plum Deluxe, DavidsTea, and Nerdfelt. They’re generally pretty rare. Nerdfelt also does a Yule sampler, which is the only such sampler that I know of.

ashmanra

Neat! I never knew about those!

gmathis

I’m wearing my Hanukkah socks today :)

Kaylee

Yay, happy Hanukkah gmathis!

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90
Day 23 of Plum Deluxe herbal advent calendar. This is so good. Macadamia flavor is on point. The chocolate and caramel give it a pastry-like vibe. Evocative of rugelach or nutella, though not tasting precisely like either. I made the second mug of this as an oat milk latte and it is downright decadent. I’m trying to savor it but it’s so smooth and delicious and the perfect balance of nutty, chocolatey, and sweet that I’ve already almost finished it off!

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80
drank Candied Pomegranate by Plum Deluxe
1375 tasting notes

Day 22 of Plum Deluxe herbal advent calendar. Yup, this tastes like pomegranate and sugar! I get a kick out of there being a whole dehydrated cranberry in my sample. That’s probably not the best way to extract flavor but it is very visually pleasing (not to mention satisfying to watch it plump up). It’s good cold. I liked it even better when it was hot, though. Sort of a hot apple cider or hot toddy vibe, but with pomegranate as the base flavor.

Kaylee

Correction! I noticed while cleaning out the filter that the cranberry is actually a half berry, it was just laying in the steeper in a way that made it look whole.

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