Hello, tea fans! It’s time, once again, for a new tea.
Today’s offering comes from Plum Deluxe’s “magical” tea-of-the-month club. They send out a special tea every month and then read the tea leaves.
This is an unexpected and cute practice, so I shouldn’t’ve been so surprised at how unexpected and cute this tea was. This black tea has lemon, hibiscus, rose, and vanilla. I never would have thought to combine them, but it’s delicious. Like, really really good.
The “Midnight Melange” isn’t available on their site any more, but this Reading Nook Blend is similar. You could just add a drop of lemon from one of those plastic squeezy things, and boom! There you are!
As I sip this, I keep going back to the tea leaf thing. That’s so cool. I am kicking myself for not looking at their post before making mine. I would have totally loose-leafed this if I had known.
So I did the next best thing: I dumped the contents of my gravity steeper onto a piece of paper and photographed it. (My office? Exactly the mess you think it is.) I dropped it into Photoshop and, a few clicks later: here’s a Rorschach test.
What is it?
Obviously a butterfly.
(Original Artwork Provided by Super Starling)
Google tells me that butterflies mean “Inspiration, intuition, higher consciousness, transformation, resurrection, flashes of insight, power of beauty, strength in vulnerability.”
How inspiring is that? I love it.
I never would have thought to do this crazy experiment without Midnight Melange. Thanks, Plum Deluxe.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to clean all this up.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
This tea is no longer available but these are!
Waterfall Mist Honeybush Tea from Plum Deluxe
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Tea Description:
A blend for refreshing body, mind, and soul. All Organic: Honeybush Tea, Orange Peel, and Peppermint. No Caffeine.
Learn more about tea’s available from Plum Deluxe here.
Learn more about Plum Deluxe’s monthly tea club here.
Taster’s Review:
Waterfall Mist Honeybush Tea is a lovely simple blend of honeybush, orange peels and peppermint. Plum Deluxe knows how to create the most wonderful flavors out of a simple concoction. Sometimes the most simple blends are the ones we hold dearest to our hearts.
So let’s chat about the tea! Waterfall Mist Honeybush brewed up with water at 212F and allowed to steep for 5 minutes is soul soothing and as comforting as tea gets. I added in a few fresh slices of lemon to complete the tea.
First notes you really pick up on are the rich lush silky honeybush, followed by an orange sweetness, and to finish each sip, the peppermint provides a touch of that familiar minty flavor. With the lemon wedges in the brew, the citrus notes are even more amplified.
All in all, this tea is exactly what I was needing today. Simple, sweet, and cozy. Doesn’t get much better than that!
Fresh Jasmine from BlendBee
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: BlendBee
Tea Description:
Indulge in this jasmine green tea blend of citrus, spice, and delicate floral notes. The perfect tea to serve hot or cold brewed. Your summer tea party won’t be complete without a pitcher of Fresh Jasmine..
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Recently I signed up for BlendBee’s monthly tea subscription and my first box arrived with my 2 teas for the month yesterday. The first blend I checked out was Fresh Jasmine. (The other was Coco Blue which I well review in a bit so stay tuned!)
Fresh Jasmine consists of green tea, jasmine flowers, hint of spices and lemon. I opened up the pouch to start prepping the tea and this tea had such a lovely bright candy note. Think lemon drop candy!
Each package of tea that BlendBee sends you has the steeping parameters laid out for you. After a few minutes of steeping and allowing the tea to cool, I was ready for my first sip. . which I’ll admit turned into a huge gulp. This blend is incredibly delicious!
Fresh juicy lemon notes pop while the green tea creates the full bodied rich buttery flavor. The ginger creates a slight contrast that actually fits in well with the rest of the flavors. As light and gentle as this tea is there are flavors that are bold and vibrant. And honestly, as flavor goes-this tea does remind me of a lemon drop. Sweet and candy like.
Since this tea showed up at more door yesterday, I have already enjoyed about 10 infusions of this tea. I can’t seem to stay away from the blend.
All in all, I am crazy impressed with this tea and I’m incredibly happy with my decision to go with BlendBee. For the price of two drinks at my local coffee shop, I get 30 cups of this (and another) amazingly fresh cuppas to enjoy.
Midnight Melange Black tea from Plum Deluxe
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black, Green, Roiboos, Etc.
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Tea Description:
A fresh cup of curious delight, great for calm mornings or evening gatherings.
All Organic: Black Tea, Hibiscus, Lemon Peel, Rosehips, Rose Petals, Vanilla Essence. Has Caffeine.
Learn more about this tea here. Learn more about their monthly tea subscription plan here.
Taster’s Review:
If you haven’t tried or checked Plum Deluxe out, do yourself a favor and click on those links above. Plum Deluxe is one of those companies that just makes you happy from the start. I may not like every blend they create, but they always put 100% into each blend, truly care about their customers, and have even created an online community for their monthly tea subscribers that is extremely active. I don’t participate as often as I would like to but I always check out whats going on. They have swaps and lots of fun goings on in the group. So neat to see what Plum Deluxe has created.
I have been a customer of Plum Deluxe for some time. I enjoy getting my purple envelope each month full of loose leaf goodness. Like I said, I don’t enjoy every blend but I can always find someone to share the tea with. Each blend is gorgeously hand blended giving you all the lovely tea feels you can want and more.
This month’s selection is a black tea, which I couldn’t be happier about. (I didn’t see this tea listed in the shop so I think this might be a subscriber only tea.) My favorite blends that Plum Deluxe creates are black and green tea blends. Midnight Melange Black Tea is a lovely blend of lemon peel, black tea, hibiscus, vanilla, and rose petals. The pieces of lemon are huge and the smell of this tea blend is heavenly.
Prepped with boiling water, I scooped a few tsps into my infuser and steeped the tea for about 4 minutes. I didn’t want to oversteep so I played it safe in the middle of the suggested parameters. I allowed the tea to cool for a moment and took a sip.
This tea shines and is perfection! Lush lemon along with a sweet creamy vanilla finish. There are hints of a tartness here and there from the hibiscus. The hibiscus is subtle and completes the sweetness from the vanilla nicely. A simple yet complex tea all at the same time. Each flavor really shines and delivers a lovely and gorgeous finished product.
Can’t wait to try this tea as a cold brew. I’m hoping the lemon flavors pop even more.
Another well crafted tea from Plum Deluxe!
My First Experience with a 52Teas Monthly Box. . .
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Variety
Where to Buy: 52Teas
52Teas was named 52Teas because we create a new tea every week: a new tea, every week, 52 weeks a year.
By subscribing to our Tea of the Week program, you’ll receive a package once a month (at the beginning of the month) that includes all of the teas in our taster size (1/2 ounce pouch) for the following month.
Learn more about subscribing here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve reviewed a ton of 52Teas for SororiTea Sisters and CuppaGeek. I love them and highly recommend their teas. When you purchase from 52Teas, you know you are getting a quality blend that was made with love and care from someone who has a passion for tea and tea blending.
I will admit tho, I have never subscribed to the monthly service. Shame on me! Reason? Well, I am very much against red rooibos. It is one of those ingredients that (for me) once that ingredient is in the blend, it ruins the tea. No matter what else is in it. There has only been one blend that I have enjoyed red rooibos in. I also am not the biggest fan of ginger or chai teas so basically what I’m saying is that I’m picking up what I get. I do subscribe to Handmade Tea and Plum Deluxe so I do take a gamble here and there. After this month’s box that I received.. . . I will more than likely start subscribing.
Having never rec’d a box from 52Teas before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I loved opening the box and seeing a special note or the tea menu, outlining all the tea that was in the box and a little description of each flavor. This is a great way to learn more about what teas are in your box at a glance.
This box featured five different teas- Blackberry Zomba Green Tea, Raspberry Almond Cookie Honeybush, Rose Mango Daiquiri, Bananas Foster Black Tea, and Coconut Flan Genmaicha. My tea kettle is just itching to start prepping the water for these mouth watering teas!
My eyes went instantly to the Blackberry Zomba Green Tea. That sounded like heaven to me. Green tea, blackberries, and other organic flavors. . .sign me up. I quickly set the kettle to green tea setting and began the prep to check this tea out. This tea was amazing! Simply fabulous. Sweet yet vegetal like green tea with a gorgeous blackberry finish. Like the description says, simple straight forward tea. And wow, is it ever good. So good that I instantly emailed Anne and said I needed a larger size.
The next tea I tried was the Raspberry Almond Cookie Honeybush. Do yourself a favor. Check this tea out right now! I’m surprised there is even some of this left. This tea is just dynamite! I had talked to Anne about this tea and she told me it was good. I think she underrated it a bit by saying good. This tea has lovely fruity berry notes of raspberry with a solid nutty finish that gives you that baked cookie feel. Holy tea kettles! This tea is a winner and one that I may need a larger size of as well.
I have yet to try the remaining teas due to a crazy work schedule but I will be fixing that soon. From the experience I’ve had with these teas so far, this is a winning box. The teas are fresh and each pops with its own unique character and flavor. I’m crazy impressed with the presentation and the little menu you get in the monthly box as well. A simple touch that gives the recipient a warm fuzzy and shows that the ladies behind 52Teas care!
After this experience, I’ll be signing up for sure to start receiving this box myself. A great way to keep getting these unique and fun teas without worrying about ordering them on time and missing out. I’ve missed out on blends before. By signing up for this box, you don’t have to worry about that!