Plum Deluxe

I am not much of chocolate flavored tea drinker. My husband is, and we both agreed this was a good tea. He recommended 3 tsp per cup, but I think that was an exaggeration. I will say though that the 1 tsp per cup wasnt strong enough. The forward flavor in this blend was the hazelnut, and a chocolate undertone flavor. I like it, I order this again for the colder times of the year.

This was so good.

I’ve basically had my nose stuck in the ounce back since unpacking it. The aroma of blackberries with fresh sliced lime and crisp peppermint is intense in all the best ways. I was worried that the steeped tea wouldn’t translate, but it delivers. Medium bodied with a very thick and syrupy sweet blackberry flavour that anchors the sip. The sweet, zesty fresh lime note is almost effervescent and brightens up the top notes considerably, while the menthol heavy cooling, crisp peppermint closes out the sip. It’s very dynamic, and I just love how well represented and balanced all of the flavours are. Very impressed!

I can tell I over steeped this mug a bit because the top notes had a little bit of a sharp, bitter edge that I haven’t experienced with previous infusions. However it wasn’t so over steeped to be undrinkable or, even, all that unpleasant. My bitterness tolerance is pretty dang high. Still, there are A LOT of competing flavours in this blend and I find it pretty chaotic and muddied tasting which, if I recall, is a criticism I had in previous cups too? I mean, it’s chocolate AND pineapple AND pecan AND malt AND… well, the list goes on.

Too many things, really.

Adventageddon Day 24 – Tea 4/4

This is my only advent this year that actually has a 25th day, so this is the penultimate tea in the countdown and not the last. I do actually own this tea, but I’ve only tried it once before now and, if I’m being honest, this cup tasted a lot better. Still maybe just a few too many flavours going on, but they were much less muddled together tasting to me. today. Sweet and nutty with a brown sugar pecan flavour that pops out, especially as the tea cools. A bit of cocoa. Actually a bit of pineapple fruitiness too in the finish. The pineapple feels a little out of place, but also not? Pineapple and pecan is a no. Pineapple and brown sugar is yummy because it’s like Upside Down Cake.

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1QHuq0OvkR/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp0od728eg0

Y’know, I’m not sure if I’ve ever had actual Hummingbird Cake before. I’m fascinated by the idea of it though, so I knew I had to pick up an ounce of this when I ordered my advent…

It was interesting and ultimately pretty good but there are a lot of flavours happening here and none of them were the most distinct. Like a hodge podge of fruits, nuts, and “sweet browns”. If there were any notes that stuck out, it was probably the chestnut and the chocolate. I could also really smell the pineapple, but not taste it so significantly. The whole thing worked as one of those nice “background” teas to drink and enjoy pretty mindlessly. No off flavours, just mild and muddled ones.

I wish I’d had the real thing to have a better benchmark/reference point.

TTB tea! This one smelled weirdly sour, but the flavor was initially fruity and okay. I thought it might taste better cold, but that seemed to bring the weird tang out. I couldn’t really tell what this one was going for. It was mostly rooibos with only a tiny bit of black tea mixed in, not enough to contribute to the flavor. Maybe the sourness comes from too much orange peel.

I finally bit the bullet and ordered it. Of course, I couldn’t resist adding a few extra tea samples into the order for me to enjoy while I wait for December 1st to roll around – the advent hype this year is VERY real. To start, I’m sipping down the sample of Hazelnut Coffee Black – a black tea that was kindly included as a freebie with my order! It’s very delicious, and what I appreciate the most is that it’s an amazing hazelnut tea WITHOUT the addition of chocolate. Controversial take, I know, but I really do think hazelnut is better as a standalone flavour.

Though this year’s updated packaging was a huge selling point, it was actually the earlier release date that was the deciding factor for me – I hate gambling with late November holiday shipping when it comes to buying advents from companies outside of Canada…

What advents will you be doing this December!? Tea or otherwise!

Tea Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CzpEqhXurxR/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgsJTJQZjw4

Strange VariaTEA TTB #35

There was just a cup or two left of this one, so I grabbed it out of the TTB to sample later. Honestly not sure what this has to do with Thanksgiving, but it mostly tastes of vanilla and maybe a bit of red fruit flavor. I’m finding it a bit astringent and thinking I’d try it with milk next time.

I enjoyed the cinnamon and baked elements. It reminds me of blends from S&V, like their snickerdoodle flavor. It’s tasty with sugar and milk, though occasionally a little murky. Nice cinnamon flavor with a little something extra. It has a good baked flavor, but I would always choose S&V blends, especially with how much cheaper they are.

This is my first cup of pecan creme, i steeped it for 4 minutes, made it into a latte. The pecan flavor is very stuble unfortunately, i was expecting a caramelized pecan flavor but this was just very subtle, maybe next time ill try doubling up the tsp and come back to review it if it made a difference.

This is a very interest cup, it has this violet flower essence that gives it this floral essence when I smell it and taste it. The vanilla is a very subtle secondary aroma, the violet is a little overpowering. I enjoy drinking this as a latte in the beginning of the day, for me its jot an afternoon tea, maybe because the temperatures are getting cooler these days so im more drawn to warming spiced teas and pumpkin flavored teas as well. I feel like this tea its an either you like it or hate it.

Strange VariaTEA TTB #15

How can you resist a tea with a name like this? Sadly, this tea does NOT put me in a sunny mood. :( Though it’s labeled a black tea, the base is primarily rooibos. And honestly? That’s ALL I taste. I can see from the ingredients list that there’s a lot more going on here, but whether due to the age of the sample or my brewing preparation, or just my own sensitivity to rooibos, all I’m picking up on is that woody, medicinal rooibos flavor that I despise. Hopefully someone else will enjoy this one more than I did!

Strange VariaTEA TTB #14

I learned my lesson from the last Earl Grey I sampled in this box and tried this one without milk first! Straight, I was getting quite a bit of hibiscus, which sort of reads as cranberry, I guess? With milk, the tartness faded into the background and the bergamot popped more, giving me more traditional Earl Grey vibes. But I love traditional Earl Grey, so I’m not mad about it!

I prefer Adagio’s much cheaper decaf cream flavor, so I wouldn’t buy this one again. The black tea is hearty and nice with some milk and sugar. The marshmallow adds a nice desserty creaminess. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn’t buy it again for the price.

This is a really nice tea. It tastes super floral, but in a way that works. The base is hearty despite being a decaf tea. The cream flavoring is strong and very complementary to the floral flavors. I enjoy this one sweetened with milk. It’s so creamy it sometimes doesn’t even need milk! The resteep tastes really good as well.

Cuppa from earlier in the week.

I stand by my first impression that this is violet flavoured and not lilac. I do absolutely love it though. Lush florals with a perfect natural sweetness. I think I described it last time as tasting “plump” and… yeah. Yeah, it does.

It’s funny – I have a coworker who, like me, loves violet flavoured teas and another who HATES them. When I steeped this one up in the office I had a near simultaneous “Ooh, that smells great” followed by “Oh, what the hell is that”. I found it amusing, at least.

The rooibos is fine, but I really wouldn’t call this a chai. In fact, the spices were so mild that I forgot it was supposed to be chai until I saw the label again after I drank my cup. Inoffensive, but misnamed. In subsequent cups, I tasted a bit of almond and a bit of spice, but mostly just rooibos. Not bad, but pretty unexciting for the price.

The ginger was too sharp when I drank this by itself. Sweetened with soy milk, it’s more pleasant, but the ginger just overwhelms any other flavor here, so I wouldn’t buy this again. I’d rather drink either straight ginger tea or a blend with a more balanced ratio of ingredients.

This was a nice desserty tea. I can’t taste the macadamia specifically, but definitely some nuttiness – maybe more like chestnut? I enjoy this sweetened with milk.

Made this one last night. Once I’d strained the leaf I ended up forgetting about my mug just long enough so that, when I came back to it, it was the perfect temperature to slurp back in what felt like one big, uninterrupted gulp while still being somewhat hot and cozy. Kind of just a rich chocolate flavour with a hint of earthy beet and pu’erh. Definitely a simple profile, but a very smooth one.

Adventageddon Day 21 – Tea 4/4

I believe this is actually the first Plum Deluxe blend in the countdown to make an appearance that I actually already own, but even still I was excited to see it since it’s one of the few more “straight/plain chocolate” teas I own that I actually really enjoy. Usually I like chocolate blends paired with another flavour like orange or strawberry. This one is rich and earthy though, with a bittersweet cocoa note that feels decadent without necessarily being sweet.

Plus I’ve always loved the super rich reddish brown colour this brews up. It’s a pretty blend to look at!

Today’s Advent Photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1IZE2AOCfJ/?img_index=1

Song Pairing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ujM6Xto3LU

#SVTTB Round Two – Tea 17/???

This is the last Plum Deluxe blend from the TTB that I’ve pulled out to try and, honestly, I feel like I sort of unintentionally ended up leaving the best for last. I’m usually super picky about chocolate teas but there was something about this one that spoke to me in almost the same way that Wize’s Chocolate Dream (probably my fav chocolate tea) does. I also LOVE the pu’erh base (adds so much depth), and that combined with the beetroot is such a nice clean, smooth sweet earthy flavour addition

…and it does steep a red-ish colour appropriate for a red velvet so that’s a big win too.

Yeah, I think I’m holding onto this one!

#SVTTB Round Two – Tea 16/???

This tea was really nice, but definitely familiar feeling. It took me a while to place what the combination of silky French vanilla, sweet almond, and subtle red fruit notes were reminding me of but it was very satisfying when I finally cracked the code. Definitely the same sort of profile as Boston – which is one of my all time favourite Harney & Son blends. If I didn’t have a nearly full tin of Boston I might be tempted to keep this one, but alas I do not have the need for both. It’s very good, though!