Traditional Plum Pudding (Holiday Series: Yule)

I was in the mood for something a little stronger for the morning, so last night I mixed this tea with some Kusmi Russian Morning Tea No. 24, and woke up to deliciousness. This tea is a nice medium strength (I think?) alone, and the Russian Morning tea just gives it a little more body, which I like in the morning. But really, it’s just as delicious by itself. I like it the more I drink it. It’s sweet and comforting in just the right way. I love love love the smell of it. Makes me smile when I take a sip. Butiki Teas are wonderful~

I’ve never had plum pudding so I really can’t compare this tea to the real thing – that said this is very tasty. It’s like warm spice bread with a hint of fruity plum and a nice rum-like aftertaste. I steeped this one 3 times and it never really lost flavor. Definitely a keeper!

Sipdown 21/287!

I got a generous sample of this in a mystery box I nabbed a while back from Janelle, and have finally worked my way through it.

This is definitely a subtle tea. When I first tried it, I thought it was a little plain, but I’m afraid that was just my untrained tastebuds talking. Now I’ve grown to appreciate a good tea, I wish I’d been able to appreciate this one when the flavours were still good. It’s getting on a bit now and the sample has lost a lot of flavour, although I can still tell it was a good tea. I taste no alcoholic-type notes, but I do get the plum. It’s an impressively natural tasting plum, and it pairs well with the nilgiri frost. In fact, I couldn’t remember what a plum tasted like (poor, I know) until I had my first sip and there it was! The plum is followed up by mild spicing, as I suppose would be found in a plum pudding, with the dominant spice suggesting itself to me as cinnamon. This spice fades after the sip, and the aftertaste goes full circle back to plum again. I have a big ol’ bag of Stacy’s Plum Brandy Cheesecake, so this one won’t be too sorely missed. Still, I am very happy to have had it.

From the EU TTB

I’ve tried this one before, but I just had to give it another go when I saw it lurking in the EU TTB. It was one of my all-time favourite winter teas, and it makes me sad to think I can’t ever buy any more. I used 1 tsp of leaf for my cup, and gave it 3 minutes in water cooled to around 180 degrees. It was rich and fruit-cake like, with an almost thick-tasting “pudding” like quality. Christmas in a cup, basically, and the best plum pudding tea there will ever be. I’m going to hang on to the rest of this sample for finishing up nearer Christmas itself, but I just had to sneak a cup today for old time’s sake. It’s as much of a delight as it ever was, and I’m pleased to be unexpectedly reacquainted.

Boychik sent me this sample. I must say, I’ve never had a plum pudding, so I don’t really know what to expect from this tea. Reading the description, plum pudding sounds amazing! The base tea is a beautiful dark oolong with long, twisty, fragile leaves. The leaves are almost jet black in color with warm chocolate tones, and there are a few flower petals and pieces of citrus peel mixed in among them. I can’t smell much while they’re dry, just a touch of rum and perhaps custard.

Honestly, the steeped tea doesn’t have much of an aroma either. I can smell a touch of custard and spice. Hmm, this doesn’t taste like much… I’m not sure if this sample is just old or if this is a super subtly flavored tea. There’s not much flavor here, even from the base tea. Withholding rating.

Good afternoon Steepster…

I am feeling a bit down today as my work notified me they were replacing me at my job due to my injury. The final stick in the eye seems to be that they “might” offer me a part time position in the future in some remote office in order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Why can’t they just lay me off and give me a severance package after the 9 years of service I’ve given them? :((

Anyway depressing things aside, I was in the mood for some oolong this morning so decided to have this today. It’s a nice darker oolong and seems sweet and plummy, as well as cinnamon-y. I think I may have underleafed it this time because I recall it being more flavorful in the past. Live and learn…

I was actually able to correctly identify the spices before I read the description of this- cinnamon and allspice. It tastes pretty fruity to me, and my first impression was that it tasted a bit like a spiced fruit punch, or some sort of fruit cocktail with dark rum. The orange is apparent, but I also can smell apples, and some cherries or plums. Mmmm. This reminds me of Meghanne’s plum kuchen. Yum yum. Oh, but this one is also drying my throat today, so there’s that one drawback.

Backlog:

Loved! I can’t say that I’ve ever had a plum pudding because to my recollection, I haven’t. But this tea does deliver each of the elements that are promised in the description. I taste the plum and the rum, and I taste the custard-like creaminess.

Sweet and gently spiced and very holiday.

A really delicious flavored Oolong. It tastes good served straight, but, a teensy bit of sugar will really amplify the flavors.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2014/01/18/traditional-plum-pudding-flavored-oolong-tea-from-butiki-teas/