It’s been a perfect day so far. My rescue dog (an abuse survivor) was on his very best behavior during our walk AND our fetch session. I have fresh bread for my sandwich later. I’m going on a spaced-out masks-on walk with friends (and my dog!) later. And I’m trying tea!!!
Today’s goodness is Maple Pecan Black/Oolong from Plum Deluxe. I really love Plum Deluxe, as a company. They always list things like “love, gratitude” in their ingredients. Their tea costs more per cup than, for example, David’s Tea, but I feel like they manage to cram a LOT of goodness in there, and it’s worth it. Plum Deluxe is like my bougie treat.
I steeped this tea in boiling-hot water for 5ish minutes in a tea ball. (Sorry, guys, I don’t pay the best attention to the brewing specifics. I leave it in there until I remember to take it out.)
David’s Tea makes a maple chai that’s pretty good, but this one is better. It doesn’t feel as overly-sweet and/or artificial.
This one is rustic — no-nonsense, no pretension, just a nice gift. It’s a warm, chai-like tea with maple and nut overtones. The taste after you swallow is clove & cinnamon, not syrup.
A woods witch would infuse healing magic into this, and serve it to you in a handmade mug. Your skin would seal itself back together; your hair would detangle; your eyes would be 20/20. You would say goodbye to her, and she would hug you. After leaving the cabin, you’d take a glance backwards, and it would be gone.
You’d just have the cinnamon flavor in your mouth to remember her by.
Want to Know More About This Tea?
Leaf Type: Black/Oolong
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
Originally featured as a new blend in our 2019 advent calendar, Maple Pecan is back as a wonderful sweet and nutty tea to enjoy during the holiday season. A blend of oolong and black teas, paired with fresh pecans and a hint of real maple syrup, it’s sure to please many palates.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Drink Me Oolong from Plum Deluxe
Drink Me Oolong from Plum Deluxe has a warm and toasty roasted oolong base with added mango and almond essence. The darker oolong tea keeps the blend from getting too sweet, adding an almost savory nuttiness with each sip. The almond adds its trademark, almost-floral marzipan candy taste. The fruity mango adds a nice brightness to keep this blend uplifting and not too dense or cake-like.
I believe the name of this blend is inspired by Alice in Wonderland, but even without the reference is it a cute name to have looking back at you from your tea cupboard on rainy days. With sunny mango, bakery sweet almond, and a mid-level of caffeine, this is a great tea for the afternoon slump or a mid-day tea party.
Drink Me Oolong from Plum Deluxe was a limited edition blend, that should cycle back around in their seasonal blends or as part of their subscription service. In the meantime, give Pick Me Up Oolong a try, with almond and maple flavors and a similar oolong tea base.
Or try another flavor of oolong tea. Plum Deluxe teas always have great flavor combinations, and include things like “love” and “gratitude” on their ingredients list, so you can’t help but feel good when you brew a cup of their tea.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Oolong
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
This tea is no longer available but click below for other options!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Brunch in Paris from Plum Deluxe. . . .
If you are looking for a creative, rich, bold, chocolaty blended base to start your day…might I suggest this one…Brunch in Paris from Plum Deluxe!?
I was THRILLED to read that this doesn’t have dairy in it…just stand alone Cocoa Nibs! All-Organic Ingredients – to be exact – Black Tea, Honeybush Tea, Cocoa Nibs, Orange Pieces, Orange Essence. Love, Gratitude. What a great way to start your day…with love and gratitude!
These days it seems like if you say ‘love and gratitude’ it makes you a hippie. And some people think that makes you weak. I say…that couldn’t be further from the truth! And I would take it as a compliment to be called a HIPPIE. Actually, I have been called that…more than once…and I have to say that puts a smile on my face each and every time!
It takes a stronger person to love one another than those who hate. It takes a bolder person to stay positive and a weaker person to be ‘down in the dumps and negative’ all the time.
The same could be said for this tea. The black tea base is bold and rich. The cocoa is strong pretty ass-kickin’ but in a ‘warrior pose’ sort of way (and not a violent way). The orange isn’t as prominent and it’s the only thing I would alter if I was asked what I would change about. But I’m not saying that to complain because I truly do LOVE this flavored black tea/honeybush blend.
And let’s talk about the honeybush, shall we? I’m stoked they used honeybush and not rooibos here! Kudos on that!
I’m VERY pleased with this cuppa. It makes me want to go out and face my day with a smile on my face, love in my heart, and a certain swagger I was lacking before the sipping experience!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
We think that a good cup of tea can transport you to someplace special. And that’s what we had in mind when we created our fresh, flavorful blend of chocolate orange tea. It reminds us of brunch in a fine cafe in Paris, the city of light.
To create this magic we pair a simple blend of black tea and honeybush tea with cacao nibs and orange peel / orange extract. It’s delicious and will give you an emotional boost. Excellent with a splash of honey and milk.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
The Rest of the Plum Deluxe Tea Advent Calendar Run Down. . ..
If you have been following along, here are the rest of the goodies included in the Plum Deluxe Advent Tea Calendar along with some final thoughts regarding this whole experience. . .
Day 19- I think this is a little star shaped candle, but I’m not 100% sure. Honestly, the candle is so little, I’d be a little scared to burn it.
Day 20- Coconut Macaroon Dessert Tea- This blend features red rooibos and if you have been following along with this countdown, you know I’m not a fan of red rooibos so this blend will be passed along to someone I know who will enjoy it.
Day 21- Thoughts for this blend were posted on the 21st.
Day 22- Raspberry Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans- As delicious as this sounds, I’m not a huge chocolate or espresso fan so I’m going to pass these along to my stepsons who I know will love them.
Day 23- Holiday Embrace Herbal Tea. . . Oh sigh. . another blend with red rooibos in it. Too bad this one didn’t have green rooibos because the blend sounds amazing! Cranberries, orange peel, hibiscus, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and clove. . .sounds so festive and amazing.
Day 24- This tea got its own post on the 24th!
Day 25- Chocolate Cinnamon Black Tea (I think)- I knew Christmas was going to be crazy so I pre-tried this tea out and loved it but I can’t seem to find my notes. the tea was chocolaty with the right amount of cinnamon to elevate the flavors. I really loved this black tea blend and would have no problem devouring more if anybody didn’t like theirs. . . . .
We are now done with the Plum Deluxe Advent Tea Calendar. For the most part, I enjoyed the offerings. I will say that if I do this calendar again, I will only get the teas (if that is an option) since I wasn’t a huge fan of the treats that were included. I was hoping for more tea related treats but then again, the calendar can really only hold so much.
As a side note, If you are a picky tea drinker like myself where you don’t care for all black flavored teas or red rooibos, I will say this may not be the calendar for you. I was hoping for more of a variety of teas like green flavored teas, green rooibos teas, or even more white teas, but almost all of the teas had a black tea base. Just a personal preference. Again, I’m pretty picky about my flavored teas.
What I did love about this calendar was the calendar itself. I’m going to try to figure out a way to cover up the snowflake parts of the decoration so I can use this calendar all year round to keep me on track with what teas I need to review, drink, and just enjoy. Being someone who has a crazy huge amount of teas, sometimes blends that I was super excited for get pushed back to the back of the cabinet and I forget they are there. With this calendar, I’m hoping I can keep on track with what I need to drink and what I have.
I also found some amazing teas that I wasn’t for sure I’d love and I hope they get released to purchase on the Plum Deluxe site. If not, I’m happy that I did step out of my box and tried so many different black flavored teas. Something I should do more often!
All in all, I’m happy I took the jump and ordered this calendar. If nothing else, it was a fun experience and reminded me how much I adore Plum Deluxe.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type:
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
This is the final posting about the Plum Deluxe Tea Advent Calendar
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Day 7-Day 18-Plum Deluxe Advent Calendar Countdown. . Spoilers!
I’ve missed a few days here and there posting my thoughts on the Plum Deluxe’s Tea Advent Calendar and thought I’d do a quick summary of the last few days. . .
Day 7- Honey Dust- This is an example of some of the goodies that are tea related that you can find in the countdown. I’m not a huge fan of adding sugar to my teas and typically don’t use honey except for on biscuits but I’m sure I’ll find the right tea to try this lovely delight on here in the upcoming weeks. Not necessarily something I would personally pick up myself, but its cool that I’m able to try the honey dust.
Day 8- Chocolate Hazelnut Chai Tea- This black and honeybush based tea was delicious! I loved the nutty and chocolate notes way more than I thought. This is one of those teas that I didn’t think I would like but wanted something with a hint of spice so I thought I’d give it a whirl. Really delicious and another example of a chai tea that doesn’t go overboard on the spice which I really appreciate it. Big fan of this one and would be a tea I would like to have more of for sure, especially with the cold winter months still ahead of us here in the Midwest.
Day 9- Gratitude Blend Black Tea- This black tea based earl grey tea sounds amazing but I am not a fan of earl grey and actually have trouble even drinking earl grey teas. I’ll be passing this tea along to someone I know will love it.
Day 10- Snowman Ornament- This little ornament is very charming and would be a great addition to a desk size tree or one of the miniature trees. I have a feeling I’ll throw this guy onto a bow to dress up a package for the holidays.
Day 11- Snowy Mountain Black Tea- Black Tea, Orange Peel, Chestnut and Vanilla flavors. . .if that doesn’t scream holiday flavors, I don’t know what does. I’ll be honest, I haven’t tried this tea just yet only because I wanted to enjoy this tea with my dad on Christmas. I thought I’d whip us up some Snowy Mountain Black Tea Lattes while we watch the kiddos open presents. I can just tell this blend is going to be a winner.
Day 12- Nice Vanilla Spice Herbal Tea- I’m literally finishing up this sample right now. If this tea isn’t available on the Plum Deluxe site, then I’m going to beg Plum Deluxe to blend me up a ton of this herbal. Ginger root, cinnamon chips, fennel seeds, and vanilla extract. This tea doesn’t look like a whole lot but wow this tea is as soul soothing as you can find. Wonderful crisp ginger marries perfectly with the sweet cinnamon and the fennel and vanilla add to that lovely playful taste. This is one of those mugs you just wrap your hands around and sit back. Absolutely perfect!
Day 13- Reading Nook Blend Black Tea- I have a confession to make. I am one of those tea drinkers that dislikes lavender. . .a lot. I actually blend up my own teas and do have a lemon lavender tea that I adore but that is literally the only lavender tea I’ve ever liked. This blend looks to have a lot of lavender in it so I’m going to pass this tea along to someone that will thoroughly enjoy it.
Day 14- Caramelized Mango Black Tea- I’m bummed. This tea sounds amazing but I see the second ingredient is Red Rooibos. I wish honeybush had been used, but alas, I can’t complain. Unfortunately red rooibos and I do not get along so I will be passing this tea off to one of my Sisters who I think will love this blend.
Day 15- Slowly Unwind Herbal Tea- Wow, this tea is amazing! Sweet, fruity, with a hint of floral and earthiness. . . I don’t know why I’ve been digging herbals so much lately but this one is another stellar example of an herbal tea done right. You’ve got your honeybush base which gives this sweetness almost vanilla touch, berries which provides a bit of a tartness with the familiar berry flavor, and you’ve got your rose which gives you that elegant floral touch. I actually added in more rose petals because I just love rose petals that much and wanted to really kick this tea up. Really delicious and really comforting during this busy season.
Day 16 (posted earlier this week)
Day 17- Creme Brulee Grey Black Tea- Again, another wah wah moment for me. I know I mentioned this earlier but I’m not a fan of earl grey and actually have trouble drinking teas that have Bergamot Oil, so this tea is another blend not for me but again I know just the right person who I think will dig this blend way more than me.
Day 18- Lift Your Spirit Black Tea- I’m one of those tea drinkers that smell the blend before they brew the tea up. Thank goodness because I didn’t fully read the label on this blend and unfortunately for me, I see red rooibos in the ingredient list and can totally pick up on that red rooibos aroma just from the dry leaf. I know I should probably just be a big girl and try it, but I’ve had several red rooibos blends including a few Plum Deluxe and I just know for a fact that I won’t care for this blend. Instead of wasting the tea, I’d rather send along to someone who I know will enjoy it.
Here’s hoping that Days 19-25 contain some amazing goodies for me!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Advent Calendar
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!