There was a while there during my tea journey that I was terrified of cardamom. Sometimes it has this overwhelming flavor that can get really old, really fast. When I saw this vanilla latte tea, which was previously named Cardamom Vanilla Creme, I was a little intimidated by the cardamom. I wasn’t sure how it was going to pan out, but i’m definitely glad that I gave it a chance.
The main component here is definitely the vanilla. It smells fluffy and creamy and tastes even more so. The second component is a mixture of the cardamom and black tea. The black tea is strong but smooth. If you’ve never tried cardamom before, the best way to describe it is an herbal-y/citrus-y spice. Its not “hot” or “spicy” per se. To me it is more so herbal/grassy tasting, but it can sometimes make cinnamon and nutmeg taste spicy and it can be overwhelming depending on what it is mixed with. In the case of Vanilla Latte Tea, however, it is spot on!
There is something about vanilla and cardamom together that truly makes me wonder why there aren’t more teas that utilize this brilliant combination. The vanilla is sweet and creamy, and the cardamom is herbal with a slight hint of citrus. It doesn’t need anything else and I love how the blender let the vanilla and cardamom shine on top of the black tea and honeybush. This blend is truly dreamy and is highly recommended by yours truly.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Black Tea/Honeybush
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
Vanilla tea lattes are the comfort food of tea lovers. It’s one of our personal favorites, so we’ve created a tea that is a delightful balance of sweet and spice, perfect for latte time. The base is a fresh black Ceylon tea paired with our favorite nutty honeybush tea, and topped with the lightest touch of creamy, dreamy vanilla extract.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Meadow Walk from Plum Deluxe. . . . .
You know when you find a tea that’s perfect in every way? Not too sweet, but just sweet enough?
Complex flavors that blend beautifully, unexpected and fresh but comforting all the same? I know. It’s rare. But I think I’ve found that tea for me, and it’s this insanely delicious herbal from Plum Deluxe.
A base of green rooibos with lavender, blueberry and rosemary– I wasn’t sure how this one would pan out when I added it to my tea of the month order, but it seemed too interesting to not give it a try.
Rosemary? And lavender? With fruit?! This coulda gone reeeeally badly, but it somehow all works together so, so wonderfully!
The rosemary and lavender are herbaceous but not vegetal, and the blueberry sweetness rounds the cup out beautifully. This one is just as great as an after-dinner stomach settler as it is a midmorning treat.
It’s not often that I can claim a tea to be like none I’ve ever tried before, but this one totally fits the bill. Plum Deluxe knocked it outta the park on this blend, and this will be one with a permanent spot in my tea cabinet, for sure!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Herbal
Where to Buy: Plum Deluxe
Description
One of our favorite places for inspiration is Nature. From field to forest, we love it all. We thought it’d be fun to have a tea made just for hiking, but also great for those days you can’t get outdoors but want to feel nurtured by Mother Nature. That’s what led to our Meadow Walk blend. We use a delicious green rooibos tea base and add a curious trio of blueberry, lavender, and rosemary to create a wonderful flavor profile. Extra bits of floral and berry come together to create your new favorite herbal tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Tea Product Review: May’s Tea Box Express
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White & Black Teas
Where to Buy: Tea Box Express
Tea Description:
Tea Box Express is a monthly box of tea goodies. Each month brings a new box that always includes
brand-name tea and things to enjoy with the tea. We source quality teas and interesting accessories.
Every month is a surprise!
Learn more about this tea here.
To see past Tea Box Express shipments- click here.
Taster’s Review:
Let me tell you how excited I was to receive a Tea Box Express earlier this week. This box featured one of my new favorite companies, Plum Deluxe. I have sang Andy’s (the owner) praises before and I will do it again. If you haven’t checked out his (& the rest of the crew at Plum Deluxe) tea of the month plan or the teas they offers, I highly recommend that you do. Their teas are simply beautiful and well balanced. Besides having two (yes two!) ounces of Plum Deluxe tea (Afternoon High White Tea and Oregon Breakfast Black Tea) there was an adorable flower pot infuser, McTavish Shortbread cookies, and Bee Local honey. All of these companies are Portland based companies. Receiving this box was so such a fun experience. This is something I can really see getting into and looking forward to every month!
Let us first talk about the honey. The honey is from Bee Local and it is a raw single-origin honey harvested from hives in Oregon’s fertile valleys and farmland. This specific flavor of honey we received in the box was Williamette Valley.
Williamette Valley Bee Local Honey-Harvested from hives located in the northern portion of Oregon’s most fertile valley surrounded by vineyards, hops, and berry farms; this honey is robust yet complex. It captures the magic of the Willamette Valley.8oz.
This honey, wow, simply incredible and delicious. I shared this with my boyfriend and one of his sons. All three of us were enjoying this immensely. And we were just eating it out of the jar with spoons! Not even sophisticated on cookies or in our teas. It was a funny sight! The description the site gives this honey is spot on. This honey is sweet with hints of berry flavoring, probably from the berry farms. This is a high recommendation from me. Very high! I wish I hadn’t shared it. This will be gone in no time at all.
The McTavish Lavender Shortbread cookies on the other hand. . .I didn’t care for. But that is just because I do not care for floral flavors. Casey, one of my boyfriend’s twins, loved the cookies and asked for more.
He finished the entire bag really fast. The shortbread part of the cookies was very good. Rich and buttery. The part that got me was the floral part, but if you like floral products like teas or floral honeys, I can see this being a winner to you.
Next, the tea. I am very excited about this. I have a love affair with Plum Deluxe teas. The only ones I haven’t care for have been the floral ones that have red rooibos in them as well. For those of you who have read my posts before, you know how much I do not like red rooibos. I was very happy when I opened this box and saw two teas that I have been wanting to try from Plum Deluxe-Afternoon “High Tea” White Tea and Oregon Breakfast Black Tea. Both of these teas are available on Plum Deluxe’s online tea shop.
The first tea we tried was the Afternoon “High Tea” White Tea. I even broke out my grandma’s tea pot for this one. My grandma has been gone for a couple years now but I know she would have adored this tea.
This tea’s description on the site says this is a Peach and Pear tea and that is exactly what you get. Peach and Pear notes with the white floral tea finished that is overwhelming by any means. The floral notes from the white tea are very subtle and add to the delicate flavor profile this tea has. At first, I wasn’t sure I liked it but the more and more I drank of it, the more and more I really liked it. I can’t say this is a tea that I would need again, but I am so glad I was able to try it. If you are a white tea fan, this one is for you. (I would love to see this one as a green tea!)
The second tea in this box was the Oregon Breakfast Black Tea- Like a beautiful sunrise, celebrate today with this rich, bright cup of love. What I adore about Plum Deluxe’s tea is that in the ingredients of each tea I have tried from them Essence, Love, Gratitude are listed. When a company includes that as their ingredients you know they have the love and passion for tea that you have and it shows in their blends. This specific tea has been one I have been eyeing on their site for some time now. This tea is described as a hazelnut and orange flavor combination cuppa. And it surely does smell like hazelnut. I didn’t get any of the aforementioned orange but the hazelnut is quite delicious and I don’t think I really care that I am missing the orange flavor.
I probably need to shake up the bag a bit and try again. This tea is outstanding. I would love to turn this one into a latte during the winter months and an iced tea during the summer. The boyfriend is loving this one too. He just looked at me like- you need to order more of this one and declared this tea to be the best tea ever. That is a huge compliment. Casey also downed this one in no time at all.
The infusion that came with this box was adorable. Being a tea nerd and having several different kinds of strainers and infusers, I can see this fitting in well with the rest of the collection. I haven’t used it yet, but I am looking forward to.
At the end of the day, I had a fantastic tea party and time with this box. This box is worth the price and I can see this being that special treat you give yourself each month. We all indulge ourselves in a little something and something from time to time. Having that something something being a complete surprise is almost a treat in its own.
Without this box, I never would have tried the McTavish Shortbread on my own or the Bee Local honey. I already knew I thoroughly enjoyed the Plum Deluxe teas but I can see myself being a Bee Local consumer from now on.
