I had a kiddo’s birthday party weekend over the last weekend and found myself a bit behind in my reviewing of the Plum Deluxe Tea Lover’s Advent Calendar. We are a bit over halfway thru and I will say, I’m happy I was able to experience this calendar, but there have been a 50/50 toss up on the hits and misses. Day 16, I’m happy to report, was a hit!
Gingerbread Chai Tea was Day 16 and I’m not a huge black tea drinker nor am I a big chai drinker but lately I’ve found myself drawn to all things gingerbread, so needless to say, I was excited to check out this blend. For the steeping set up, I brewed up this blend with freshly prepped boiling water and allowed to steep for 5 minutes and then cooled for a few more.
First sip in and I have to say this tea was such a delight. I wish the gingerbread flavors were a bit stronger, but there is a delicious mix of spices and tea for sure. Definitely a wonderful blend to thrown in some frothed milk (which I did) and enjoy as a latte. If you aren’t a fan of spiced tea, this tea doesn’t have that smack you in the face ginger or cardamom notes that one can normally see, more a gentle touch of spiced goodness that warms the heart during these colder last few days of 2018. This is one of those teas where you wrap your hands around the mug and it feels like the tea is hugging you back.
Subtle spiced chai goodness with ginger and orange flavors leading the charge with the honeybush providing this lush vanilla background. All in all, a delicious tea to enjoy for the holidays!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black/Honeybush
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
This tea blend is part of the advent calendar but is available in the store. Click below.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Day 6 of the Plum Deluxe Advent Calendar (SPOILERS!)
Today is Day 6 of the Plum Deluxe Advent Calendar and if you have been following along with this adventure with me- so far I’ve had a few hits and a few misses. And today’s goodie was a sample size offering of Plum Deluxe’s Maple Pecan Black Tea, a tea I had never had but had heard of. I had heart great things about this tea so I was wondering if this tea really lived up to the hype.
And I”m so happy to say it does. This tea is unbelievably amazing. Being one that doesn’t traditionally gravitate to black tea bases, I seriously can not get enough of this tea. The maple flavoring is perfection and provides this gentle sweetness while the pecan notes add in that nutty flavor to contrast the maple sweetness. Each flavor playing off the other and let me tell you, this is just the beginning of the sip.
Towards the middle, you start to get this wonderful spiced tone that gives you a nice departure from the sweet nuttiness and then at the very end, you get that roasted oolong flavor that I adore. I don’t really get to much of the black tea base, just here and there as an after taste. I do think I used too much water which is where maybe the black tea flavoring isn’t as pronounced.
I’ve been watching a lot of Food Network over the past few weeks and have been learning a lot about how to properly balance food. This tea blend is a great example of a well balanced tea. Sweet, nutty, with a spiced and roasted tone. So much loving in one cup. This tea is already one the list to order more.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black/Oolong Tea
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
Part of the Advent Calendar-hopefully available on the website soon to purchase more
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Plum Deluxe’s Advent Calendar- Days 1-5
Tea advent calendars are huge right now and I had to jump in and pick up a few for the holidays. One of the calendars I picked up was Plum Deluxe’s Advent Calendar- one of the more expensive ones I came across, but loving Plum Deluxe, I knew this would be amazing.
Unlike other tea advent calendars I’ve seen, Plum Deluxe’s calendar comes with a reusable 25 day “goodie” holder that you can reuse year after year. The goodie holder is made out of canvas and is done amazingly well. I’m quite taken with this calendar and actually wish there wasn’t a winter theme to the artwork because I would love to hang this in my office all year long to help me drink down my current tea stash. Unfortunately, my office is in the corner area of my family room, so it would look a little odd with snowflakes coming out of a tea pot in the crazy hot days of summer. Nevertheless, I’m in love with this holder and can’t wait to use it during the next few winter seasons to come. 
This particular calendar contains a mix of treats and Plum Deluxe teas- sample size. Being a huge fan of Plum Deluxe teas, I was excited to jump in and get my kettle going. I used to subscribe to their monthly tea plan, but found that I had to cancel just because I had so much tea on my hands. If you haven’t had Plum Deluxe teas, I encourage you to check them out. Beyond having delicious teas, they have the most amazing customer service and community behind the scenes. If you ever had any dealings with Plum Deluxe, you know exactly what I mean.
So, without further ado, I’m going to run down the first five days of treats/teas. . .
-Day 1- Sample Size of Apple Cinnamon Warmth Black Tea–
Not being a huge fan of black teas, I was still really excited about trying this tea. Like I said, I took a break from Plum Deluxe for a bit and haven’t had this tea as of yet. Brewed with water at boiling and allowed to steep for 4 minutes then topped with frothed warm almond milk, I was in heaven. This tea was everything I needed on a Mid-West brisk evening. The cinnamon was the star of this tea with a subtle apple note in the background and a touch of orange. I didn’t so much taste the black tea base but I don’t think this tea really needed that. This tea is one for sure I could see myself reordering.
-Day 2- Soul Warmer Herbal Tea (Red Rooibos)-
Unfortunately, this tea contains red rooibos, an herb that I have a strong (insanely so) aversion too. I’m one of those that adores and loves green rooibos but red rooibos is and always will be my arch enemy- so I have added this tea another’s Sisters tea package to send to them shortly. I hope they love it. It looks really pretty and I’m sure is amazing.
-Day 3- Berry Pie Dessert Tea (Honeybush)
This tea right here is hands down the best tea I’ve ever had from Plum Deluxe. The honeybush is crisp and provides this luscious dessert feel with a vanilla backdrop, the cinnamon and cardamom provide this subtle but solid spiced feel that is reminiscent of pie, and of course the berry flavor is spot on. Just so good, so right, so simple and yet so perfect. I want a gallon of this tea at the ready for me at any moment. That’s how much I love and adore this tea.
-Day 4- Self Care Blend Herbal Tea (Honeybush)
Brewed up with freshly boiled water and allowed to steep for about 4 minutes, I was hoping this tea would be a gorgeous blend of apricots and apple with a vanilla background based on the ingredient list. And that is exactly what the taste was but it almost seemed like this tea needed a touch of something else to really bring the flavors to life. The tea was good but it didn’t blow me away like I thought it would. With the second steeping, I threw in a few cinnamon chips and this tea popped to life. The sweet cinnamon brought the apricots, apple, and vanilla into this gorgeous spiced fruit note that blended perfectly with the vanilla flavors the honeybush was provided. I’m now quite addicted to this connection I created.
-Day 5- 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate Heart
I do like how there is a mix of teas and treats in the mix, but I was hoping for more tea related treats than a chocolate heart. I’m sure it will be delightful with the right cup of tea and will keep it for a treat later when I have a chocolate craving. (I’m actually not a huge chocolate fan)
So overall, I did enjoy the first week’s offerings. Some hits and misses, but planning an advent calendar to appease the masses would be a huge undertaking and I can’t even imagine getting together something of this nature. I’m hoping for more hits next week!
Here’s the scoop!
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description- A daily tea based advent calendar to enjoy through the holidays.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Waffley Wedded Custom Blend from Plum Deluxe
Waffley Wedded from Plum Deluxe is a specialty blend, and I was lucky to get a taste thanks to a tea swap. In trying this tea I learned that Plum Deluxe can be contacted to make a custom blend for a special occasion, in this case for a wedding.
With such a sweet and punny name, I was predisposed to like Waffley Wedded. I got a novelty waffle iron a few holidays ago and I use just about every weekend. This is a great tea have on hand while I’m waiting for my waffles to cook.
This is a blend of black and oolong tea, so it is both full-bodied but has a rounded mouthfeel. Sweet maple and creamy vanilla are the driving flavors, perfect on its own or with a dash of milk to pump up the dessert-like experience. A hint of citrus comes through from the orange peels to help the blend bright and not overly sweet.
You won’t see this blend on their everyday listing, but if you’re looking for something similar give Pick Me Up Oolong a try, which also has maple and oolong flavors. Or blend your own tea favors for a special occasion and customize it just the way you like.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black and Oolong
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
To have your own custom blend made and see all the amazing blends Plum Deluxe has to offer, click below.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Currant Conversation Oolong Tea from Plum Deluxe. . . .
This rich, tasty blend whisks together vanilla, currant, and a deep oolong to form a soothing steep. The berry notes hold hands with the earthy oolong; the vanilla wraps around everything to keep the enterprise running smoothly.
The ingredients also include rose hips, which I didn’t detect at the outset. I also didn’t pick up on the “love” and “gratitude” that are supposedly in here. To me, this doesn’t taste so much like love as it does ACCOMPLISHMENT and DECADENCE.
This creamy and fancy blend tastes like something a VERY rich widow would sip while looking out over her veranda. Her gilded armoires hold her furs; her wine glasses are always crystal, never glass; and her heels click on the marble every time she walks.
Has she had plastic surgery? She’ll never tell. But she looks AMAZING.
Maybe it’s the tea.
It’s probably the tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
Looking for a conversation starter? We’ve got one right here with our signature vanilla black currant oolong tea. It’s elegance in a cup, a wonderful balance of woodsy vanilla and tart fruit.
This blend relies on its simplicity. The base is a fresh, earthy, and grounding Formosa oolong tea from Taiwan. Our favorite vanilla extract helps bring out the layers of floral notes in the oolong, while rose hips and black currant add wonderful highlights of sweet-tart fruitiness. It’s invigorating and calming at the same time. We can’t decide if we like it more hot or iced, so you’ll have to try both.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
