No Obligations Decaf Black Tea

Ok, final stretch of the holiday season! To those who celebrate, I hope you are having a merry Christmas and/or happy eighth night of Hanukkah! If it’s already Monday when you read this and you celebrate Kwanzaa, happy Kwanzaa! I hope folks are finding moments of joy and light even if parts of the holidays are rough.

I pulled this out of the Plum Deluxe Hanukkah sampler. The packets aren’t numbered but this is the fourth one I’m getting a note done for – I’ve fallen behind in the past couple of days due to a lot of family holiday stuff. This one is perfect for finally being done. I have completed my obligatory engagements with three different families, dealt with a higher than usual amount of drama, and trekked to a friend’s place in the cold to feed their cats. A tea called “no obligations,” decaf so I can have it in the evening, is just the right match for my state of mind. I am enjoying this one quite a bit. It’s a dessert tea that’s rich without being too sweet, relying instead on cocoa nibs. I’m enjoying the chocolate, nutty, cinnamon, and vanilla notes in this. The base is sort of bready, adding to that sense of indulgence. The chocolate and cinnamon build and linger, too, which is really nice. I’m not getting anything from the orange peel, but I’m not sure that I want to – citrus flavor on top of everything else just feels extraneous. This still tastes good cold, but I think it really shines as a hot tea given the flavor profile.

I liked this more at the start of the cup. At first, it was sort of a desserty black tea. Then out of nowhere, there’s something sort of food-like in the flavor. Something like pizza?? I don’t know, there’s something that’s ending up weird for me. The rebrew tasted normal, just unremarkable, slightly desserty black tea.

Sipdown (246)

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.

Plum Deluxe Advent Day 10
(backlog)
Another nutty decaf tea? Meh. This one actually smells really good- like the cinnamon coated almonds I used to get at Ren Faire. I’m tasting too much of the rooibos- not quite sure why it’s necessary here. Cinnamon, almond, rooibos. Not much orange.

Plum Deluxe Advent Calendar – Day 10

I’m with Mastress Alita in saying, another nut tea already?! They could have at least spaced them out a bit more…

This is fine, but the flavors are a bit muddled. The hazelnut is definitely the strongest, followed by almond and cinnamon. Then there’s some other stuff muddled up in the background, I think it’s the black tea combined with rooibos, maybe the orange peel? I don’t know, something about it tastes a bit overdone. Plus it doesn’t help that I just had a very similar tea from them two days ago, so I’m a bit over it at this point. I’m also getting a bit of astringency from the base that is not enjoyable.

Anyway, the nutty and cinnamon flavors are quite pleasant. The rest is meh!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIpHzlcAy2U/

(today’s advent teas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIn4CAHg-sf/)

Advent Day 10

This smells good! I’m getting an almond flavor with cinnamon. It looses some of it’s depth as it cools. It still smells pastry like. I bet it would taste better if I added sugar, but I’m not dedicated enough to venture ALL the way into the kitchen to make that adjustment. I am liking having a decaf cup of evening tea!

Plum Deluxe Advent Calendar Day 10

This wasn’t bad. I like a caffeine free tea in the evening, but usually they are herbal or honeybush or rooibos. So a black tea is different.

This isn’t strickly a black tea though. It is flavored, and I kinda like the flavor profile. Sorta chocloate-y, sorta vanilla-y, with an underlying nutty note. I did enjoy this one. Maybe some day, like 5 years from now, I will have drunk a substantial bit of my tea drawer and have room for more. This could be an order at that point.

I kind of lost track of my steep brewing up a little pot of this as my night tea tonight, so I hope I didn’t turn it astringent. If it is… totally my fault!

The dry leaf smells very nutty, and I can’t help but feel like Plum Deluxe has laid heavy on the nutty flavors for quite a few days in a row now… brewed up, I’m finally getting some cinnamon presenting in the aroma, reminding me of cinnamon covered almonds from the Farmer’s Market (man I love those!)

It tastes pretty smooth (phew), very nutty, with a subtle hint of sweet cinnamon and vanilla. I’m not picking out much from the base tea itself under the flavorings, aside from a general breadiness. It’s a pleasant cup, like a nutty bread with a light dusting of cinnamon; maybe just a tiny bit drying after the sip, and a slight bitterness like biting into dry nuts.

I like it, but I think I’m ready for a new flavor profile!

Enjoyed this after a stressful Saturday (hey, I’m a mom, Saturdays aren’t days off!). It is definitely cozy and relaxing! The chocolate and vanilla notes are definitely present, and I think the hazelnut probably contributes to the chocolaty “feel.” I am not aware of any flavor from the orange peel, but I’m sure it’s contributing to the background flavor. It’s just a touch flat tasting – in all likelihood, the problem suffered by most decaf teas in my experience – but still delicious and comforting. I added a fair amount of sugar to this – I don’t think you need to do that, but it just was the mood I was in. I’d like to try this one as a latte!