Plum Deluxe

2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 24
From Emilie!

This blend seems to have a cult following in the Plum Deluxe Facebook group, so I was surprised that it doesn’t have many notes here on Steepster. I was so excited to see this in my swap with Emilie because it’s been on my wishlist for a while. Everyone seriously talks it up whenever it comes up in the group.

James had the first sip and said that he could definitely taste the marshmallow, but I’m only tasting vanilla. I know that marshmallows are flavored with vanilla, but I was expecting more. Plus, it’s missing that toasted flavor for me. Emilie sent plenty of this one (thank you!!), so I’m looking forward to having another cup to try to coax out more of the flavors I’m missing.

Backlog from June 13th:

2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 18
From Emilie!

It appears that Steepster is down this morning, so I’m typing my notes elsewhere until everything is back up and running. Fingers crossed that won’t take too long. Maybe this will remind Adagio that we’re still here.

This is a really nice apple cinnamon black tea. My favorite apple cinnamon tea was a cheap teabag I found once at Walmart and has since been discontinued. I haven’t yet found anything to rival it, but I won’t give up my search. This is tasty, but not what I’m looking for.

This was surprisingly really good. It sounded kind of boring but it’s actually a really nice smooth creamy vanilla breakfast tea. Looking forward to drinking this one again and might buy a larger amount of it.

2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 15
From Emilie!

Plum Deluxe says that huckleberries are blueberries. I never realized they were one and the same. That said, there is a berry sort of flavor here but I can’t really say I taste blueberry. Or if I do, it’s very light. I prefer Blueberry Jam from DAVIDsTEA, but I’m guessing DT probably uses more (or a stronger) flavoring than PD. I don’t mind flavorings, so I’m going to go with the more pronounced blueberry flavor. If I were going for a potentially more natural version, this would be a nice change of pace.

This tea is pretty weak flavored. I get a very faint fruity flavor that’s not even really distinguishable as pineapple. Meh.

2022 Spring Tea Swap – Day 6
From Emilie!

I pulled this one the other day and didn’t have a chance to drink it, so I’m having two teas from Emilie’s swap today. James loves the Beach Bellini blend from Teavana, so I’m thinking this might be similar. I don’t think Teavana’s version has rooibos though, but I could be wrong. I’ve never much cared for that one. It reminds me too much of those peach gummy candies my grandmother used to eat. I had too many as a child and can’t quite stomach them anymore. This tastes similar but with that woody quality from the rooibos. I think James will love this one, but it’s not for me unfortunately.

Tea #2 from the AJRimmer advent!
I love anything even remotely Earl Grey and this was a nice delicate cream Earl Grey so I was a fan! Sadly it’s all gone now

Yeahhh, no. This is like buttery mineral water.

This is a pleasant caramel chestnut flavor. It’s rather light but has a cozy comforting flavor near the end of the sip and the aftertaste. I may order more of this after finishing my sample.

This has a nice rich flavor in a subtle way. At first I thought it was too light for my liking, but I kept reaching for it and drank the cup down pretty quickly! The chocolate and hazelnut are both present in just the right amounts. Overall a pretty tasty tea.

I picked up a sample of this because the combination sounded intriguing. However, the rosemary seems to come through much stronger than the other flavors which was a little weird for me. While I love rosemary in baked goods, I apparently don’t like it as a strong flavor in tea.

The most prominent flavor in this is blackberry with a fake butter flavor. Kind of a creamy berry? Not terrible but definitely not what I expected from the name. I added a bit of sweetener to it. Overall it’s just kind of nondescript and I wouldn’t buy again. The more I drink it the more I get a sort of fake butter flavor from it which is a little stomach turning.

This is my evening cup tonight. A small sample from Plum Deluxe. It’s quite nice. Green rooibos tends not to have the heavy woody flavor, which I appreciate. Red Rooibos is good for heavy spice teas, but this is fairly light and dessert-y, and the red rooibos would have ruined it. It is good, but as it cools it ends with a slightly soapy flavor, which may be the rose petals. Not a fan of floral teas. So I will not be ordering any of this. But glad I got to try it.

One of my favorites for tea lattes

So good iced!

I am continuing to use u0p my samples so I brewed this for last night’s evening cup. Like most fruit tisanes the color was very pale, almost clear. But the flavor was there. Almost sweet, with a little zing from (maybe?) the cherry and cranberry. I would happily drink this one again, but it won’t make it into any future order. Very glad to have tried it.

Sip down! (is it a sip down if it is only a sample that can make 2 cups?)

This was my evening cup tonight. For the past several weeks my evening cup has been either peppermint tea or my Good Earth Sweet and Spicy tea. Those are both good teas that I enjoy, and the fact that they are bagged makes them convenient, but that can get a bit boring. As part of my spring cleaning I started to go through my tea drawer. Holy moly, how could I have forgotten all these lovely little samples?

This will not be a re-order, but I did enjoy it. Even with my lack of a sense of smell I got bready notes from this. As the tea cooled, it became sweeter and I got a little banana. I wonder if this one would be good iced? Anyway, as I said, I won’t be ordering any of this but I would be happy to drink it again.

This is my favorite tea I’ve tried so far! It’s really pretty in the bag, little strips of blue flower stand out really well against the dark colored tea. It smells like Fruit Loops! The pecan flavor comes through really nicely without being overwhelming. I’ll definitely be getting more of this one!

The flavors in this tea are so hard to identify. I truly can’t tell what this is supposed to be. I taste black tea and something mildly desserty, but I can’t tell what. It’s mild and pleasant, but it leaves me feeling pretty neutral since I can’t tell what it is.