Plum Deluxe

I got this as a free sample with the advent calendar that I ordered for my sister. It came yesterday (at last) but I was too tired to drive over to Minnesota to give it to her last night.

This tea was nice. I didn’t LOVE it, but I enjoyed the flavor a lot more as it cooled. The cinnamon was a bit drying on my tongue. I don’t think I would order any more of this one, but if a friend served it I would have no trouble drinking the cup.

Did I buy this tea mostly just for the name? Yes, I did. Also because I enjoyed Plum Deluxe’s creme brulee earl grey and figured this one would be good too. The bergamot is pretty strong and maybe would have been too strong if I hadn’t made it into a latte. Hot, I didn’t really get the pecan flavor clearly, but you can tell that there’s something in there in addition to the bergamot. Cold…I feel like I can taste the pecan a little. So I like this blend! It has some interesting things going on in there and is definitely leaning more toward an earl grey creme than a regular EG.

This is the free sample that came with my advent order. Figured since it’s such a small package and I fear losing it I may as well just drink it up this morning. I actually weighed the tea (surprisingly, I actually weigh most of my tea rather than using imperial “teaspoons”), and it weighs 1.95g — I usually use 2.5g for a 12 oz/350ml cup of tea (up to 3g if I’m trying to use up a bit of leaf and it’s a tea that doesn’t tend to go super bitter on me). Using my favorite leaf-to-ratio calculator, OCTea [ https://octea.ndim.space/#/ ], dropping it to 8 oz/250ml seemed a safe choice. So hopefully the cuppa will balance out correctly! 205F water, 3 minute steep.

The package just said “black tea” but after brewing and smelling that distinct piney smoked aroma, they must have used Lapsang Souchong. I tend to have issues with that tea and avoid it as it is a migraine trigger; occassionally if it is used with a subtle hand with enough other flavors I’m okay (I’ve had some 52Teas blends that worked for me!) so we’ll see… It is a strong enough aroma I’m having a hard time making out any other aromas in the cup, which usually isn’t a good sign for me (it really does have to be subtle, if my head thinks there is smoke in the air, it flips the migraine switch…)

Honestly, I don’t mind the flavor; the lapsang is coming on the most strongly, but I’m getting a strong pine flavor that I really enjoy and the smoke isn’t coming off as a burnt or charred flavor like I get in some teas. But it is still such a strong flavor I’m having a hard time tasting anything else in the cup. I assume that the rooibos (though I can’t taste it) is at least cutting the intensity of the lapsang a bit which is probably why I’m able to tolerate this, and I am getting a little hint of the spices left on my tongue after the sip. But that vanila/walnut/chocolate flavor the tea is supposed to have? That is just impossible to taste against pine smoke. At least for me.

Pleasant, toned back enough that I am not inhaling smoke and going to get a headache, but not a flavor I’d care to have in my cupboard.

This is supposed to be an orange/spice blend, but I’m not getting much of either. There is a fairly muted cinnamon flavor coming through, and the black base is pretty brisk and bold. Perhaps a tiny bit of orange peeking through at the tail end of the sip. Overall, I’d rather just go with Constant Comment if I want this flavor profile.

Received this as a sample with my advent order, and though I usually really love lavender and chocolate paired together, this just isn’t working for me. The chocolate is pretty synthetic tasting, and the addition of the lavender is not helping things.

Sample of this came with my advent order. It definitely smells mango flavored. Mango flavoring never tastes like fresh mango IMO. What surprises me about this tea is how well they do the mango flavor. I feel like a lot of other mango teas I’ve had have an alkaline flatness to them that is really distracting, something this tea I’m pleasantly surprised to notice does not! I like this for a mango tea, but I feel like it needs something else to compliment it. Like how cinnamon often goes with apple. I’m guessing a little sugar might round out the flavor, but I’m not accustom to adding sugar to my teas anymore. I like this, but I wouldn’t say at this point it is a tea I’d need to buy.

Edit: I’m enjoying it more while eating dried coconut chunks. Maybe that’s what I want it to have!

This pretty much tastes like red rooibos with a bit of spiced apple. Not getting any caramel.

Sipdown 160-2021

This is by far my favorite Plum Deluxe blend- I love the combination of juicy apricot and herbal lavender. However, I don’t think I will be purchasing it again for some time.

Still really enjoying this blend, but working on sipping through it. Really juicy apricot and fresh lavender.

I really like this tea- still getting juicy apricot and fresh herbal lavender. But, I’m not sure I’d be in a hurry to repurchase. The Plum Deluxe advent really annoyed me last year, and the flat $7/oz is too pricey for what is offered.

I decided to grab an ounce of this with my advent order, based on AJRimmer’s glowing review. It doesn’t disappoint! The apricot and lavender work so well together. Very easy to drink. Really glad I tried this one.

Plum Deluxe Advent Day 5
(backlog from yesterday)
Yay! Very happy to see this, as I really loved the sample I tried last week. This is just as good, if not better, than the first cup. Definitely something I will be repurchasing.

I ordered a few samples with my Plum Deluxe advent, and this was one. I don’t really find that this tastes like a cherimoya, but it does have a really, really lovely baked apple flavor. There’s definitely a creamy custard note as well, but I wouldn’t quite consider the combination to be a custard apple (it’s more of custard and apple). Really like it though, definitely something I would like to have on hand.
Also….I wish green rooibos was utilized more. I really enjoy it, where I generally dislike the red version.

This is the (tiny) free sample from my advent calendar order. It seems to be an orange spice sort of blend, which is fine with me.

Unfortunately I used a bit too much water because I wasn’t paying enough attention, but it doesn’t seem to have done too much damage. This has a strong sweet cinnamon candy-like flavor, sort of like Hot Cinnamon Spice from Harney but without the actual sweetness that blend has. The cinnamon dominates the beginning of the sip, and then a bright orange oil note comes in and takes over near the end. The orange reminds me of candy as well, making this a very candy-forward tea for me. The black base has some body but I can’t taste much else, possibly due to the whole too-much-water fiasco… There’s a hint of clove here as well.

Overall, it’s fairly tasty. Probably not something I would feel the need to order since I already have a variant of Hot Cinnamon Spice, but I wouldn’t mind drinking it again. :)

I’m drinking this cold, and the mint and white chocolate are pretty well balanced, strong, and bright. Many versions of this sort of tea are really artificial and disappointing. This one ended up a little oily, but I don’t mind that, and the flavor was quite pleasant. This is a nice option, though at that price, I’d still choose another brand if I were in the market for this flavor profile. I did like that they used white chocolate like in my favorite Teavana version.

I really like this! The rosemary totally works with the black tea and other flavors. I was worried it would be too floral, but it’s really nice! I’m having it with milk. I can definitely taste the lavender, and though I’m not the biggest rose fan, it works here. Definitely one of the best floral teas I’ve had.

Sipdown (232)

This has cooled slightly and the elderberry is coming out a bit more. While I really enjoy the juicy and ripe apricot notes in this, the elderberry is a darker flavor that I find to be a bit distracting. It delivers on what is promised but for me, I wish it delivered less elderberry and was just all apricot, with a touch of honey from the base.

I was surprised at how much I liked this. I got it accidentally in an Amoda box I forgot to cancel. And it’s name is a bit of a turn off for me since I never liked teas that were marketed as wellness blends. However, looking past the name, it’s actually a tasty tea. It’s got a really great apricot flavour to it. Sweet and ripe and really good. I get some elderberry but the apricot is the real star here. The base also has a nice honey component to add.

Aha! I finally finished all the teas from last year’s advent calendar! Just in time to start the new one…… But, I have been having varying luck with these Plum Deluxe black blends lately. This is another one that doesn’t taste like too much of anything. I feel like I get some light ginger and that’s just about it. Honestly, it wasn’t worth the caffeine for me to even finish it. Mildly flavored and boring to my tastes!

This is actually the first rooibos EG I’ve tried, and I’m happy to say that it really works. The rooibos is rich and delicious with a natural note of something like vanilla (though there’s probably flavoring too). The bergamot is understated, but it works. I didn’t use any milk the first time because I didn’t want to cover up the flavors. I’ve since had it with milk, which actually makes it even better. It’s so desserty. The vanilla flavor is so strong. You won’t be fooled into thinking it’s black tea, but it’s good. The resteep is a bit weird with this one, very rooibosy.

I really couldn’t call this chai. It’s a mildly flavored black tea. This is from last year’s advent calendar, so it’s possible that not many spices made it into the tiny bag. But yeah, it’s black tea that’s a bit too harsh with the mildest of flavoring, maybe vanilla.

I’m starting to think I might not be a fan of rooibos, so take this with a grain of salt, but I didn’t much care for the earthy taste of something I thought would be light and fruity. Thankfully my partner finished it for me because I probably would have just let it go bad.

Fresh and bright cold brewed; would love to have available year-round. Admittedly finished it long enough ago that I don’t remember it well enough to comment better on flavor!