1146 Tasting Notes

66

Day 10 of the Plum Deluxe herbal advent calendar. Not sure I’m getting the “cookie” part of this, per se, but definitely getting the candy cane. Which is surprising, because Plum Deluxe is really really skilled at landing the cookie flavor. I don’t know if it’s the candy cane note interfering? The front of the sip is soft vanilla. The peppermint comes sliding in mid-sip and leaves a lingering menthol quality on the breath long after. But for the second time today I’m having trouble making out a cocoa note despite there being actual cocoa peel in this blend. My brain just doesn’t really know how to identify this tea other than “gentle creamy mint on a pleasant but undefinable base.” I made the second packet as an oat milk latte. This got it a little closer to “cookie” but softened the mint to a whisper, noticeable mostly in the cooling sensation at the end of the sip and after. This might be the first time I’ve had a cookie tea from Plum Deluxe that I haven’t absolutely loved, sadly. I think the balance is just a bit off for me today.

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drank Ancient Yunnan by Octavia Tea
1146 tasting notes

Day 10 of the Tea Thoughts Winter Countdown box. Still pretty weak, so I don’t have the strength to gong fu day 9’s tea; will have to circle back to it. I just brewed this one up Western style. It’s a little drying, but I didn’t find it bitter or acidic. I feel like I’ve had Chinese black teas with more heft and a thicker mouthfeel. This one’s landing as medium-thin. I’m getting notes of malt and cinnamon in the sip, and pepper and clove in the finish. I am really starting to worry that my sense of taste hasn’t fully recovered since the last time I had covid, though, because I’m not picking up any of the cocoa notes that are supposed to be here. I probably should see a doctor about it at some point. I’m just not sure what I’d even say that wouldn’t sound ridiculous – “before I got sick, I had a very sensitive palate and sense of smell, and now it’s merely average?”

derk

Sorry to hear. I had hoped the decreased sensitivity in my palate might be from terrible seasonal allergies since moving to a town surrounded by ryegrass. But as that season has come and gone this past year, I realize the lack of ability to finely differentiate aromas and tastes is probably due to last Christmas’s covid. I didn’t have to retrain my senses but drinking tea is different now – less pleasurable – and so are cooking and eating. Perhaps that will change with more time.

Kaylee

Ugh. While it’s comforting to know I’m not alone, I’m so sorry this happened to you too! I have read that some people do recover their senses more fully over time, so you’re right, there may still be hope for us :-)

Martin Bednář

My co-worker daughter lost her sense of spicy food completely. She was doing garlic spread and used a whole bulb before she noticed any garlic taste. Her boyfriend said it is toxic.

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70
drank Blood Orange by Flyest
1146 tasting notes

Sipdown! Still not entirely sure what black cohosh tastes like, despite it being the first ingredient. The internet tells me that it is bitter and somewhat astringent. If that’s present in the cup, I can’t make it out under the other flavors. The clove is super prominent here, followed closely by a tart orange, with a hint of cinnamon. While I don’t mind clove, I prefer it to be more subtle. I find this blend likeable enough, but I don’t know that I feel the need to stock it.

Flavors: Blood Orange, Cinnamon, Clove

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52
drank Tranquil Peach Herbal by Plum Deluxe
1146 tasting notes

Day 9 of the Plum Deluxe herbal advent. Love both the chamomile flowers in here and the surprisingly juicy peach aroma. The dry leaf smells more apple-y, but the brewed tea smells distinctly peachy. Unfortunately, there’s an earthy quality to this particular chamomile that doesn’t play nice with the sweet, juicy, almost candy-like peach. The flavors just clash with each other. Not a winner for me.

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drank Fig Lemon Herbal by Plum Deluxe
1146 tasting notes

Day 8 of the Plum Deluxe herbal advent. I’m not a huge fan of fig, so this isn’t my favorite blend so far. It tastes like fig with a citrus tail. Which if you like fig is fine enough, but just not my cup of tea.

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90

Day 3 of the Plum Deluxe Hanukkah sampler. This smells and tastes incredible, which is a bit of a bummer because I couldn’t finish it due to a sensitive stomach. But it’s a really great balance of maple, sweet apple, and gentle cinnamon on a malty base. With some oat milk, this made for a phenomenal latte.

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87
drank Apple Pear Green by Plum Deluxe
1146 tasting notes

Day 2 of the Plum Deluxe Hanukkah sampler. Between the TTB and this blend, I’ve had more pear teas in the past couple of months than I’ve probably had in a few years. Yet somehow I keep expecting them not to be very good! Thankfully I have been repeatedly proven wrong. Both the aroma and the flavor are dead on for a nice combo of sweet apple and pear. The base is just sort of inoffensively there – really it just exists as a canvas for the fruit flavors to shine on.

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Happy Hanukkah! Catching up on tasting notes after being sick for a few days. I liked Plum Deluxe’s Hanukkah sampler enough last year that I got it again this year. They’ve definitely upped their packaging game – not as nice as the advent calendar but nicer than last year’s sampler. There’s no numbered envelopes so I am just going in order of how they are packed in the box. This kind of black tea/black tea blend often messes with my stomach, so I only taste tested it but my partner drank the rest. I went with an overnight cold brew hoping that it might cut down on the tannic quality but no such luck, or at least not enough of it. It’s still very tannic and brisk. The lemon does complement those qualities well, and for a tea called “fog cutter” I can see why. But also – no. This flavor profile is just so thoroughly not my speed. I don’t want to feel like I’m fighting with my tea. I couldn’t even tell you whether the tea/blend is good relative to its peer group or not, because this kind of black tea is just so not what I personally enjoy that I’m entirely out of my depth.

ETA: My partner, who primarily drinks black tea when he drinks tea at all, added a bit of sugar to this and reported that it’s actually quite enjoyable. So take that for whatever it’s worth.

tea-sipper

Happy Hanukkah!!!

ashmanra

Happy Hanukkah, and I am glad you are feeling better!

Kaylee

Thank you both!

derk

Happy Hanukkah, Kaylee

Kaylee

thank you!

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drank Pineapple Pop Herbal by Plum Deluxe
1146 tasting notes

Day 7 of the Plum Deluxe herbal advent. The dry leaf smells candy-sweet, which had me worried that the brew would be overly sugary. Thankfully, it’s just the right level of sweet. There’s a bunch of fruit in here (apple, mango, apricot, etc.), but all I can taste is pineapple. Maybe apricot if I’m reaching. I’m perfectly happy with that, because this is just a nice, juicy refresher. I’m sticking the rest in the fridge and going to make a tea soda with it!

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85
drank Amber Dragon Oolong by Octavia Tea
1146 tasting notes

Day 8 of the Tea Thoughts Winter Countdown box. So many rock teas in this box! It’s definitely forcing me to expand my palate for a terroir I’ve mostly avoided. This particular tea might be my favorite Wuyi I’ve ever had, but that’s quite simply because the mineral note is not so strong. It’s definitely still present, but the front of the sip is floral and sweet, with the mineral coming in mid-sip and not as intensely as in some others. Sort of like a mix between a bai hao and a rock oolong.

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she/her

Geek and nerd (shoutout to GeekSteep). Still trying to get a handle on this whole work/life balance while ALSO succeeding at work thing. I have some chronic illnesses that make that harder. Tea is my respite.

Favorite tea types, in order:
oolongs
green
herbal
white
yellow

Don’t drink:
black
pu’erh

A sampling of tea shops I like:
Te Company
Calabash
Volition
Tea Thoughts
Harney & Sons
Yunomi
Teavivre

RIP Butiki

Website

https://www.instagram.com/try...

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