Aronia Plumberry from St. Fiacres Farm. . . .

This tea is like the tastiest, plumiest, most perfectly-spiced fruit jam you ever did taste. Now, I could sit here and regale you with how my tastes have been changing to stray away from my heavy, wintry, black tea favorites lately (they have), or how all I want lately is fruity and fresh and bright and vegetal (I have)– but really, all I want to do is tell you how yummy this herbal infusion is.

I couldn’t find much about this tea on St. Fiacre’s website, but let me tell you– the dry leaf here can speak for itself. Big, bright berries pepper this dry leaf, and some of my favorite spices are large, in charge, and immediately visible– spicy cardamom pods, sweet licorice root, fragrant anise seeds– the gang’s all here!

And this blend takes all those unique ingredients and perfectly blends them together. Heavily fruity, but not overly-sweet– the warming spices bring a nice balance to the otherwise sweet herbal blend, hitting all those notes of lightly spiced jam that I just can’t get enough of. Now, if some enterprising tea-drinker would only *actually* turn this tea into a jam for me, we’d be in business. Crumpets, anyone?


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Herbal
Where to Buy: St. Fiacres Farm
Description

TEA CLUB OVERSTOCK! Missed out on the Aronia Plum Berry from our VIP Tea Blend in December? We have a little bit left that you can try or stock up on more if you loved it. A spin off the traditional sugar plum which is a candy that has a hard outer coating of sugar… think along the lines of the Jordan almond or an M&M type candy. A sweeter tea thanks to the licorice root, almond extract and vanilla. This tea also features Oregon grown aronia berries, plums and cornflowers

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Breathless from August Uncommon . . . .

August Uncommon is churning out some very unique blends. Some…amazing! Others…not so much (I’m looking at you, Black Lodge!). Yet with each new August Uncommon tea, it is clear that you are about to experience something different, at least something different from other tea companies and this tea, Breathless, is no exception.

*PSA:* If you’re already intrigued and want to check out the tea, please note that the images on the Breathless page might be a little NSFW if you are employed in an uppity office like I am. Just saying. You’ve been warned.

Anyways, back to the tea…

The smell here of the brewed tea is creamy and dessert-like thanks to the white chocolate and hazelnut brittle. That creaminess comes through in taste as well with the overarching flavor being the brittle. There is also a booziness here that blends seamlessly with the stonefruit flavors that make up the body of this tea. At first it feels like a rich and creamy dessert, a little bit boozy and a lot sweet. However, I will say the more you drink, the nuttiness builds and it almost begins to take on burnt quality that I just don’t enjoy.

This is a nice tea, though probably best in smaller doses. It has a nice flavor and one that you won’t find anywhere other than August Uncommon. For that reason, it is a fun tea to try, though maybe not one I personally will keep stocked.


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black
Where to Buy:  August Uncommon 
Description

This tea has a boozy aroma with soft tannins, and a touch of fruit and leather. It is inspired by our favorite ice cream flavor in the world: Agenaise. It’s a luscious ice cream laced with armagnac-soaked prunes made by the incomparable Parisian brand Berthillon. White chocolate gives it a super silky mouthfeel and a creamy finish reminiscent of ice cream melting over hot pie. This tea practically begs for milk to turn up the richness of its flavors.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Plum Oatmeal Squares from A Quarter To Tea. . ..

Oh plum oatmeal squares, where art thou? Pastry, fruit, and vanilla tea- you’ve already won me over. I love anything that is described as having “pastry notes”. I am one of those people who could cook an entire slab of pastry dough, and just eat it with some cinnamon and sugar. I have loved pastry dough since I was a kid. I utilize it whenever possible in my cooking, and of course in my desserts. The name “Plum Oatmeal Squares” definitely peaked my curiosity. We’ve all had those Quaker Oatmeal Squares as a quick breakfast or snack, but how would they translate into tea?

The answer to that, my friends, is “quite well”. That’s how! Yeah, I am really enjoying this. The first thing I taste when I take a sip is the fruitiness of the plum. Next, is the warmth of the vanilla. Lastly, this tea finishes with strong notes of pastry and oat! It is so good. Personally I would prefer to drink this on a crisp fall morning, but the fruity notes do make it suitable as a summer beverage. Although, i’m not sure how well the pastry and oat flavors would transfer iced. I would stick to drinking this hot, because it is dang delicious!


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black Tea
Where to Buy:  A Quarter To Tea
Description

Temi’s perfect muscatel notes are blended with rich dessert flavors: plum, pastry, and vanilla butter. A warming dessert tea, perfect for this (or any other) season.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Persian Plum Rose Black from Blossom. . . . .

I’m TOTALLY LOVING THIS TEA! So much so that I slapped it on one of my personal TOP TEN LISTS even before I gave it a proper review!

The tea I’m referring to is Persian Plum Rose Black from Blossom! It smells AMAZING as soon as you open the bag! I ALMOST didn’t want to infuse it – it was THAT amazingly-scented!

But I did – and I’m glad I did! It was incredible! Persian Plum Rose Black from Blossom is an exotic black tea blend with sultry notes of plum and rose petals, and a pleasant finish of cardamom spice. Organically Cultivated Ingredients – to boot!

The Plum was more like a Sugar Plum…but naturally-so! The cardamom was of gentle to gentle-medium on the flavor scale and done to perfection! The rose gave it a subtle floral-cream flavor to even everything out. This is terrific hot but dandy cold, too! I always drink my tea straight-up with nothing added but I could only assume it would be just as special with rock sugar. I’m thinking it would be the equivalent of a Rose Marzipan but with plum!

This is VERY delicious, memorable, and amazing! I’m totally in LOVE with Persian Plum Rose Black from Blossom!!


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type:  Black Tea
Where to Buy:  Blossom
Description

An exotic black tea blend with sultry notes of plum and rose petals, and a pleasant finish of cardamom spice.

Organically Cultivated Ingredients*:
Black Tea*, Cardamom*, Roses*, Natural Plum Flavor.

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Passion & PuriTEA from Cup of Love #VeganMoFo2016

So many memories and tea associations are going thru my head as I sample Passion & PuriTEA from Cup of Love, which is perfect because today’s Vegan MoFo topic is all about memories. Now the official post is about food memories, but we are going to put our own twist on the post again and make this just about memories.

Let me explain…my Grandmother…the Grandmother who started me on tea at the tender age of 3…LOVED Marigolds. She would line her garden with them. It was her trick to keep the bunnies out or put a natural fence of sorts between them and the other flowers and herbs.

8df0a3_6c34a79f646e4a9d9474b30f78dca326-mv2My Aunt Francis who treasured plums got me hooked on those at a very young age by handing me one every time I visited her.

Those are just two of the reasons, ingredients, and back stories as to why I was excited about trying this flavored green tea.

That’s right! Passion & PuriTEA from Cup of Love contains Pan Fried Green Tea, Marigolds, Safflowers, Plum, and Pear! Just when I think I can taste more plum than pear I then think I taste more pear than plum! Now that is what I call great flavor ratios! Plus there are undertones of floral flavors but they aren’t overpowering and I appreciate that!

The green tea itself is just the right intensity, too! It’s a nice even-steven medium green tea base perfect for this blend of flavors! I have to say I’m a fan of Passion & PuriTEA from Cup of Love! It’s a delight hot or cold!


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Green Tea
Where to Buy: Cup of Love
slowsippinDescription

A flavorful Green Tea with delicious, delicate notes of organic Plum & Pear.  Light and sun shining yellow in the cup, this is a tea that you can drink all day.  Its soothing, floral blend of lightly pan-fried Sencha green tea leaves delivers a rich aromatic and fruity fragrance with real chunks of goodness!

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!