Plum Deluxe

Tasty, I have others that I like from Plum Deluxe better.

I don’t usually like lemon teas, but this one was really good!

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N is for…No Obligations

Decaf teas almost always have a weirdness to them. This has that weirdness. It’s like the metallic briskness at the end of the sip that mediocre black teas get. Other than that, this has some vanilla but if I want a good decaf vanilla, I’m going with Harney’s Vanilla Comoro.

SO good cold brewed. The ginger doesn’t overpower the strawberry

Good hot, AMAZING cold brewed

I think this is the same tea I’ve had from TeBella. I remember liking it before, but this is the tiniest sample, so I’ll try not to underleaf. The flavor is good! I get some sour cherry and pleasant red fruitiness. It’s light and not too tart. This is one I’d buy again (from TeBella or elsewhere). Resteep is fruity and lovely as well.

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J is not for…Grandma’s Caramel Butterscotch

I actually finished all the “J” teas I own so I moved on to non-J teas.

This tea caught my eyes a bunch of times for a latte but it has sneaky rose hips so that never happened. Don’t know why they do that. Also it’s a black rooibos blend and that makes it less appealing as well. That aside, the flavor sounds awesome.

It’s not my favorite. It’s a mediocre artificial caramel flavor to me. And the base teas both come through and take over. The rooibos is at the forefront and the black tea sort of leaves a lingering touch of smoke. It’s not working for me.

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Instagram swap tea! I just had to request this one in a swap, because the combination sounded too interesting to pass up.

However, I don’t really get pineapple here? It’s mostly sage, and there is a vague, slightly fruity sweetness to it, but I would never identify it as pineapple. Apple, maybe?

I’m not a sage lover, but it’s not over-the-top at least. It’s still a fairly mellow sage flavor that seems like it would be pleasant as an herbal tisane before bed.

But I wish there was pineapple! T.T

I’m not sure what about this says holiday, but it’s definitely a berry green tea. The green tea can be a little harsh for me, and the berry flavor is pretty artificial. I’m glad I only had the sample of this, but it wasn’t bad to drink.

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D is for…Darling Blend Herbal Tea

I was sad that I haven’t really done an Easter tea though as a Jewish person and a student coming into exams, Easter doesn’t really feel like anything in our house today.

I guess this could be my Easter-ish tea since it is a chocolate blend of sorts. That said, it really is more Valentine’s Day if anything since it is chocolate and rose and called “Darling” blend. Flavorwise, it is Valentine’s as well since you definitely get equal parts rose and chocolate. Chocolate up front with a floral rose aftertaste that sort of gives way to the slightest lingering pepper from the honeybush base. One of my favorite blends was a rose blend (Des Roses et Des Bonbons by Camellia Sinensis which is discontinued now) but it had a sweet rose flavor and this is not that – this is more like someone was adding rose perfume to this since its more floral and perfume-y than it is sweet. I will finish the cup but I don’t really need more of this.

Got this one in a tea trade and I really like it!

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I wanted a caffeine free blend because I haven’t had as much water as usual today so I wanted something hydrating. I also intended to make a hot tea and this flavor just seemed like it would work better hot (the first couple I grabbed seemed like they would be better cold).

The apricot smell is really strong so it sort of threw me when I drank this and it tasted like a peach ring gummy. I guess peach and apricot are similar but the smell and taste still had a disconnect that caught me off guard. It’s also a bit woody and a bit honey from the honeybush base. I think I like it but its not what I expected. Also, given the name, its not really clear what the tea is and I keep forgetting so I never reached for it or even thought of it before. I want to say I like it though and I would grab more in a Plum Deluxe order…if I remember it when (if) that happens.

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Another swap tea! This one is also no longer on the Plum Deluxe website, but I found a blurb that mentioned it’s a Doctor Who-inspired strawberry Jammie Dodgers tea. Which is odd, as I thought I saw cacao shell in the dry leaf, but oh well.

I do get some strawberry for sure, and it does remind me of sweet strawberry jam or candy. But there is also cocoa?

For those who might not be familiar, Jammie Dodgers are a classic British biscuit that’s basically a shortbread sandwich with jam in the middle. I think the classic version is raspberry jam, but I don’t know what other flavors they come in. So chocolate doesn’t really make sense…

Anyway, it’s not important as this tea is not great anyway. The base is asntringent but not much else, and the flavoring too subtle to make up for it. So more like a fairly bland chocolate strawberry tea for me!

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I got a tea swap package today from a new Instagram tea friend, @its.a.tea.adventure! And this tea is a single serving size, so it’s the first to go!

This isn’t on their website currently, so not quite sure what to expect other than peach and berry ha ha! The base is quite brisk, even though I only steeped it for 3 minutes. But it does have some nice flavor to it, slighty woody, slightly bready… A bit metallic, maybe a Ceylon? Anyway, it’s not boring and generic, which is a plus for me.

The peach is quite mild and a bit candylike. I think the berry is raspberry? As it reminds me of the raspberry flavoring I find in some 52teas blends that reminds me of raspberry hard candies.

Anyway, this isn’t something I would order, as I just don’t tend to love peach teas, but it’s very pleasant and one of the better ones I’ve had from Plum Deluxe.

(P.S. – I feel like they missed an opportunity to be punny by calling this “Berry Peachy”…)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CM5rfwlB8r9/

This one is amazing iced! This is the last cup in my first bag :(

Cold brewed it! SO good!

Made as a tea latte

This was a free sample from a past order, and there’s under a teaspoon in there, so I’m sure I underleafed it since I’m not used to dealing with such small amounts. Warm, it didn’t taste like much of anything. I considered just dumping it, but I’m glad I didn’t. I’m enjoying it cold. It’s quite light, but also smooth. It’s just black tea with a hint of creaminess. I wish my sample had been bigger, but this tastes nice.

Hmm I feel like I’ve had this tea from another company before, which makes me annoyed that I paid $7/ounce for it from Plum Deluxe, especially since it’s not a blend I loved previously. The flavor is light, but also a little…not tangy, but something not super great. It’s a bit of a weird flavor but not really like dragon fruit. Yeah I’m disappointed with this one. Just a little sour and not great. I made the rest of it into a giant pitcher mixed with some better teas, just to get rid of it. I feel pretty annoyed about this one every time I drink it.

Tiny free sample that came with my advent order. I didn’t notice that this included lapsang, so I was very surprised at the scent, but it makes sense with the name of the tea. The strongest flavor is the lapsang, which is not a flavor I love generally, but it works well here. I’m having this with milk, and it tastes pretty cohesively desserty. I’d totally have this one again. It has just the right balance between smoke and other flavors.

I’m not a huge coconut fan usually. The coconut here definitely hasn’t gone off, but it’s just more generally soapy than I’d like. I feel like milk improves things. Yeah, coconut creme is a pretty accurate name. The flavoring is a little fake for me, and the black tea itself isn’t too delicious hot. As I continued with the cup, I did end up enjoying it. It all went together pretty well once it cooled; I guess I just didn’t love it hot.

I somehow feel like I’ve had this tea before somewhere else. The first time I had it, the base was a little too nutty to work with the fruitiness. I must have brewed it differently the second time because I didn’t experience that again. It’s not clearly pineapple, just lightly fruity. It’s pretty weak, so I guess it needs to be overleafed. Yeah, this one was just disappointing all around, weak and boring. I mixed the rest of the package with some other teas to make a giant pitcher, which is the most pleasant way I’ve found to drink this.

Yum! Amazing as a tea latte!