Spiced Plum

Plum flavoured tea instantly makes me envision some fantastical exotic infusion, an explosion of brilliance on the palate, something probably involving druids and gold plates. You don’t (well I don’t) often come across plum, usually when one is creating a fruit tea or tisane. Far more lowly or common fruits are considered such as apples or berries. But plum! And blended with my Favourite Spice Of All Time: cinnamon? I knew it would be a winner before I even took that first sip. This is like a plum flavoured chai, with a surprisingly bold flavour – especially considering it is merely a herbal blend.
Congratulations Spiced Plum, you have the honor of occupying a permanent spot on my tea cabinet!

I am making my way through a lot of teas KTT kindly sent me on the Hoppitea Swap. This one came with a particular recommendation to not brew it over 2 minutes – well, it went a few seconds over that but not too much. I was going to divide the sample into two small teacups but accidentally poured too much so made just my very large half liter cup.

And this is very pleasant, though maybe a bit heavy on the cassia – which btw it is not cinnamon. Really. Truly. It´s cassia and pretty distinctive, though yeah I know cinnamon in the USA almost always means cassia and not the other (real, from my point of view) cinnamon. Cassia being sharper seems to go very well with the tang of this – I can detect fruitiness, but not plums specifically. If it has hibiscus ground in ( color and acidity) it is in a just right dosage It is a winner for me!

I was super surprised when I reached my scoop into this bag, and what came out was a kind of powdery substance. What the? I actually assumed this was a black tea blend before getting to try it (thanks Kristin!) when I’d see it come up on people’s feeds. As I drink it, it definitely has an overtone of red fruit tisane. Behind that is the cinnamon spice. It makes my mouth pucker a bit. Overall, I cannot decide about this one. I wouldn’t buy it, but I don’t dislike it per se. Um, hm. Will have to experiment with it.

Quite tasty and heavy on the cinnamon. This is incredibly forgiving tea to brew. As much as I hate to admit to my tea abuse, I didn’t have enough water for a full pot, so I poured what I had, started more water, poured that in the pot, and then forgot about the pot for an hour or so. Imagine my surprise that it was still tasty!

This works well without sugar, but is excellent with brown sugar or a dark agave. I would also recommend either using disposable tea bags or an extremely fine strainer.

I was very impressed by this tisane. The blend is a very fine powder, and I was afraid that it might be too strong, but it turned out just right. It does indeed brew a strong, flavorful cup for an herbal tea. I was pleasantly surprised by the combination of cinnamon and plum, especially since I’m not a huge fan of cinnamon on its own. The cinnamon flavor tastes more like freshly ground cinnamon and less like spicy red cinnamon candy. It’s perfect for winter as a hot tea (as most spice blends are), but I can imagine it working really well iced in the summer. Good with or without sweetener.

I have a bag labeled “mulled plum cider” from Harney and Sons. Not sure if this is the same tea or not, so take my review with a grain of salt.

I love spicy teas so this seemed like a good tea to try. In the dry leaves there were big cardamom pods and cloves, and lots of promise for a spicy brew. When I brewed the tea, there was an unexpected flavor in among all the rooibos and spice. I can only assume its the plum, though it tastes oddly savory, almost more like a spicy sweet thanksgiving stuffing. Not bad, but not the spicy herbal chai I expected. Worth a try, but be aware it might be a little different than you think.

Here’s Hoping TTB

I’ve had the Passion Plum from Harney before (and I may have even had this one as well) and I remember liking it but not loving it. I’m still in the same boat now – the plum is hidden, it’s still there and a little crisp (almost hibiscus-y) but this tastes like apple crisp with a little bit of plum in it. It would be fantastic with a little bowl of ice cream right before bed. I’ll definitely keep digging into this one while I have the box but I don’t know if I’ll be keeping it with me.

Here’s Hoping Traveling Teabox – Round #5 – Tea #38
I was expecting stronger flavors here overall. The hibiscus was masking as plum, which is annoying, but the hibiscus wasn’t as overwhelming as I thought it would be. The cinnamon surprisingly light. Hints of ginger that added extra depth. This is the kind of tea I love to see in a teabox: one that sounds intriguing, but I really just want to try it rather than have it around.

When looking at previous tasting notes, I noticed people either hate it or like it, not many in-between I made it both hot and cold brewed. I liked it both ways.I tend to overleaf all my herbals and that seems to work well for this. I lightly sweetened it which dropped the cinnamon a bit and brought up the plum. Yes, the cinnamon is strong but I don’t mind. It brings it to a nice bold flavor. I love herbals that have some punch for later in the day. Too often they are a little bland.

Oh wow. This tea smelled so fantastic in the bag. It was sooooo freaking sweet. I mean so sweet it almost hurt my teeth to drink. Not for me.