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Loose Leaf Tea Reviews

On the following pages you'll find the Crazy Tea Chick's reviews of Loose Leaf Teas...

The Two Autumn Teas You Need ASAP

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Thanks to Adagio, I’ve got the inside track on the two loose leaf teas you have to have in your autumn rotation. And when have I ever steered you wrong? 🙂

The first is my current favorite loose leaf tea (I’ve probably said that before about another tea but look, I discover new teas all the time and my mind changes okay? Lol.) The Honeybush Blueberry Pancake tea (don’t say it 5 times fast) is THAT tea. The smell is incredible, like sticking your face into a plate of blueberry pancakes and syrup (which we’ve all done, right? RIGHT?)

But luckily, the taste is just as good. I’ve only ever tried this tea hot (I drink it before it even has a chance to cool), but I’m sure it would be amazing as an iced tea too.

The other tea I’m going to advise you to check out is actually one of my husband’s favorites, the Fiery Cinnamon Spice tea. He’s an odd bird in that he doesn’t like desserts or anything sweet, but he loves fruity teas or any tea with cinnamon. He said that this tea reminded him of eating hot cinnamon candy, which apparently is a good thing.

I’ve actually mixed the cinnamon spice leaves with two other teas to make little cinnamon autumn hybrids, and they’ve all turned out amazing, so even adding these leaves to another tea you have will kick it up a little. Or a lot. That’s between you and your tea and God.

Let me know if you try any of these amazing teas! I’m anxious to hear which one you prefer!

Review: Kent & Sussex Summer Raspberry Green Tea… Wonderful!

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Kent & Sussex Summer Raspberry Green Tea Kent & Sussex Summer Raspberry Green Tea

I was recently sent three wonderful loose tea samples to review on the tea blog from Kent & Sussex. They’ve each knocked my socks off and I’m anxious to tell you about each one. However, I want each tea to have its own spotlight, so I’m going to take them one at a time.

First up: Summer Raspberry Green Tea. Don’t let the word “summer” in the title fool you – this beautiful tea would be perfection any month of the year. It’s equally delicious iced as it is hot, meaning it will be one of your favorite teas regardless of the weather outside.

One of my first thoughts after tasting this beauty was actually about Christmas – this would be an extra special tea to serve during the holidays. After all, what better time to be extra special?

Description:

Summer Raspberry Green Tea. A lovely early summer Green Tea blend to welcome warm sunny afternoons. A fine quality Chinese Sencha Green loose leaf tea which is scented with Raspberry and is enlivened with Rosebuds Strawberries and petals. A Green Tea with a great fruity taste explosion! Ingredients: Green Tea, Rose Buds, Strawberry pieces, Mallow Sunflower petals and Natural flavouring.

Brewing instructions: Brew for 2 – 3 minutes for a delicious summer time tea.

Kent & Sussex Summer Raspberry Green Tea

Summer Raspberry Green Tea

If you or anyone you know has been trying to “fall in love” with green tea but can’t quite get out of the friend zone, flavored green tea, such as this one, might be just the thing you need to kick things up a notch. The wonderful raspberry flavor will acclimate your taste buds to green tea – trust me, years ago it was exactly what it took for me to fall in love with green tea.

We’ve been in a committed relationship ever since.

Flavored tea is also the absolute best way to give up sweetened tea. The lovely hint of flavor keeps you from missing the sugar, artificial sweetener, or honey at all.

This is seriously a wonderful tea and you are going to love it as much as I do. This is one you’ll want to have on hand at all times.

See Summer Raspberry Green Tea for more information about this extra special and beautifully delicious tea.

Kent & Sussex Summer Raspberry Green Tea

Adagio Teas: Fandom Signature Blends

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Adagio has done it again, people. They’ve kind of broken the mold here, because their new fandom collection of teas is unlike anything else I’ve seen in the tea world before.

The Adagio Teas: Fandom Signature Blends is incredibly cool and creative. It features unique tea blends created by superfans based on different themes from TV, movies, anime, video games, etc. You’re sure to find one of your favorite nerdy topics here – Star Wars, Star Trek, Suicide Squad, Sherlock, and lots more. I tried four different samples, and not a single one disappointed me.

This Harry Potter fanatic just HAD to try a HP-themed tea, and it was every bit as delicious as I had hoped. The BeerButter Tea blend from Robert Pirlot was fantastic and probably had the best aroma of the four teas I tried. It’s a black tea with natural caramel flavor, natural creme flavor, and natural vanilla flavor. The caramel and vanilla flavors were very strong and it came together for one of the best black loose leaf teas I’ve ever had. A percentage of purchases of this tea also goes to charity, so it’s a win for everyone.

Due to my husband’s Delorean obsession, I had to get this one to try with him. This Delorean Tea blend from Mike Violette is highly flavorful; check out all of the delicious ingredients: black tea, green tea, cocoa nibs, natural chocolate mint flavor, natural creme flavor, orange peels, blue cornflowers, peppermint leaves, natural vanilla flavor, natural bergamot flavor. It blended to form a delicious tea that was accented with candy canes (yum?).

The Marty Tea was the other tea I tried from a Back to the Future collection (also from Mike Violette). (I couldn’t resist that adorable packaging.) This is a high-caffeine black tea with orange, vanilla, and creme flavors. It’s almost like a hot caffeinated cremesicle in tea-form, and I wasn’t complaining. The tea is accented with sprinkles, which was downright adorable.

I ordered this tea because my husband is a huge fan of the video game Bioshock, plus I’m a big fan of creepy things, and nothing is much spookier than a Little Sister (just look at her!). The Little Sister Tea from Tara K is a decaf Earl Grey, but it also has strawberry, orange, raspberry, and vanilla flavors. The loose leaf tea is accented with sprinkles and rose petals, and it all comes together to make a fantastic-smelling strong tea. I loved it.

I have nothing but wonderful things to say about each of the Fandom Teas I tried or about the collection as a whole. I can’t wait to try another round of fan teas from Adagio!


Tea Review: My Green Teapot’s Beautifully Subtle Whole Leaf Green Oolong Teas

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My Green Teapot Strawberry Green Oolong Tea

I love many things about working from home as a web publisher and blogger, but none any more than doing tea reviews. Come on, what Crazy Tea Chick wouldn’t love everything about that?!  Today’s tea review is for My Green Teapot: a tea company with a beautiful name, beautiful packaging, and beautiful tea.

How are you going to top that?!

I was sent small samples of two of their teas to review. First up is a beautiful, subtle green tea, Strawberry Green Oolong. After one taste, my first thoughts were, “Lovely, soft, and very enjoyable.”  My Green Teapot’s Strawberry Green Oolong Teas are all natural whole leaf teas from Taiwan infused with strawberry.

My Green Teapot Tea

The fact that this tea has a small amount of caffeine makes it one you can enjoy throughout the day.

As with all of my tea reviews, I tried it both hot and iced and, while it was exceptional both ways, I think I prefer it iced because you get more of the strawberry flavor that way. Since strawberry is one of my absolute favorite flavors in the world, the more the better!

Steeping instructions:  8 oz cup   –   195°F   –   1-3 min

My Green Teapot

Before I get to the second My Green Teapot tea, I just want to say a little something about the packaging – it is adorable. I love when companies (tea, chocolate, coffee, food…) put a little extra thought into their packaging. It just makes the entire experience sweeter. These adorable little “Chinese Takeout boxes” are as unique as they are cute. I was going to save them for Christmas packaging but couldn’t get the green teapot sticker off cleanly.

Oh well, they served their purpose – setting a special mood for a couple of special teas.

My Green Teapot Orange Green Oolong Tea

In addition to the Strawberry, I was sent a little sample of the Orange Green Oolong tea and it, too, was wonderfully subtle and altogether lovely. While I didn’t have any oranges on hand (which is odd – I usually have a whole bowlful!), it occurs to me that a slice of fresh orange floated in a hot mug or tall glass of this tea would be a beautiful thing.  This tea was equally delicious hot and cold – I honestly couldn’t decide which one I preferred.

Like the Strawberry Green Oolong, Orange Green Oolong teas are all natural whole leaf teas from Taiwan infused with orange.

My Green Teapot Orange Green Oolong Tea

Steeping instructions:  8 oz cup   –   195°F   –   1-3 min 

I hope you’ll check out My Green Teapot and all of their wonderful natural whole leaf teas. I highly recommend the two I’ve reviewed here.

My Green Teapot Orange Green Oolong Tea

Adagio Teas: Berries Teas Sampler (Raving Review)

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Berries Teas Gift Sampler from Adagio Teas
Berries Tea Gift Sampler from Adagio Teas
Undoubtedly you’re still doing your Christmas shopping (possibly you’re even just beginning!) – so this particular tea review may be just in the knick of time. The beautiful and delicious Berries Tea Gift Sampler from Adagio Teas is an absolutely perfect gift idea for the tea lovers in your life.

I am a bonafide fanatic when it comes to strawberries and raspberries – seriously, if I had a dime for every strawberry sundae or raspberry smoothie I’ve enjoyed this year, alone, I’d be able to buy my husband a fishing boat!  The gal is obsessed with these berries… obsessed.

So, when I first opened the box , I knew right away I’d be trying one of these varieties of tea. Since I’d (of course) had some raspberry tea earlier in the day, I opted for the strawberry.

Strawberry Tea from Adagio Teas
 Strawberry Tea from Adagio Teas
 

From Adagios Teas:

Crazy for berries? Tart and sweet, this sampler can keep summer in your cup year-round. Each sample makes about 10 cups of tea. This set includes:

blackberry – Ceylon black tea infused with sweetly tart berries. Floral-fruity and bakey aroma, like fresh berry scones.
blueberry – Ceylon black tea with fresh blueberry flavor. Highly aromatic, slightly sweet, rounded texture. Perfect hot or iced!
raspberry – Crisp black tea with playful raspberry flavor. Candy-like aroma, jammy flavor, tangy dry finish, not too ‘cheeky.’
strawberry – Fresh strawberry flavor and bright Ceylon black tea. Fresh sweet-floral and berry flavor, smooth and sugary texture.
Strawberry Tea from Adagio Teas
Strawberry Tea from Adagio Teas

As soon as I opened the packet of Strawberry, the unmistakable aroma made me unmistakably giddy. Loose leaf teas and tea bags usually (to me, anyway) taste the same, but loose leaf tea does give you the extra benefit of making your nose as happy as your taste buds.

When reviewing tea, I always try it hot and iced – to see if it’s good one way or both ways. The strawberry tea was delicious both ways but I liked it even better over ice. It makes a beautiful glass of iced tea – extra points if you cut up one or two real strawberriesy and add them to the cup.

Raspberry Tea from Adagio Teas

Raspberry Tea from Adagio Teas

The second tea I tried… oh, come on, you can guess!… was the raspberry tea and it was, quite possibly, EVEN more delicious than the strawberry tea.  I’ve tried the rasberry tea both iced and hot and cannot decide which I prefer. It makes an excellent cup of hot tea and it makes an excellent glass of iced tea.

My favorite way of enjoying this delicious tea just happens to be how I’m having it at the time. That’s one of the beautiful things about tea. Most drinks are better either iced or hot, but most teas are wonderful either way.  That’s certainly the case with the raspbery tea.

Perfection when iced. Perfection when hot.

Strawberry Tea from Adagio Teas

Strawberry Tea from Adagio Teas

While I am the biggest fan of strawberries and raspberries in the world, make no mistake about it, I love blackberries and blueberries too, so I looked forward to trying each of these teas as well.  They were also uncommonly delicious. In fact, they were as good as the strawberry when served iced and possibly even better than the strawberry when served hot.

Blackberry Tea from Adagio Teas

Blackberry Tea from Adagio Teas

The blackberry tea (like the raspberry) was delicious iced and hot. It’d be tough to say which way was better, but if my arm were twisted, I’d probably say hot – simply because it made an extraordinary cup of hot tea.

The blueberry tea actually surprised me. I had no idea it’d be as delicious as it was both hot and iced. I’ve never tried blueberry tea and didn’t know what to expect. I’m used to fraternizing with blueberries over cereal or oatmeal, but now that we’ve met for tea, I’ll be a regular blueberry tea drinker.

Blueberry Tea from Adagio Teas

 

Adagio Blueberry Tea, Iced

I got kind of cute one day and actually combined the leaves for a “Berry Mix” tea. Results? Insanely good! I’ve only tried my “Berry Mix” hot, but I’d imagine it’d also make a beautiful glass of iced tea.

I see myself easily (easily) ordering more of each one of these four Berries teas from Adagio. They’re simply delcious.

The Tea Gift Sampler would make an excellent gift idea for any tea lover in you life – just be sure to grab one for yourself while you’re at it. Each sampler is less than $10, so it’d be nuts NOT to pamper yourself while you’re at it.

I have more Adagio tea reviews coming this week including a Christmas tea review (tomorrow) that I’m expecially anxious to share with you.

Berries Teas Gift Sampler from Adagio Teas

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Review: Creme D Orange Green and White Loose Leaf Tea from Kent & Sussex (Amazing!)

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Creme D Orange Green and White Tea from Kent & Sussex

As I said, emphatically, in my Kent & Sussex Spring Tea Review, the tea lovers at Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Company know their tea.  Each loose leaf tea I’ve had from Kent & Sussex has made my top 10 list of all-time favorite teas. The one I’ll review today is no exception – in fact, it’s a strong contender for top 3.  The Creme D Orange Green and White Tea is phenomenal.

Creme D’Orange is a mixture of Green and White Chinese tea, with vanilla flavoring and orange which make absolute magic together. This beautiful tea reminds me of Orange Creamsicles. The vanilla and orange combination is a throwback to a time I grabbed an Orange Creamsicle each time I passed the refrigerator.

If you aren’t familiar with Orange Creamsicles, just know this – the flavor combination is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

Creme D Orange Green and White Tea from Kent & Sussex

Creme D Orange Green and White Tea is fantastic on ice but you get a much heavier vanilla flavor when it’s cold.  The Vanilla/Orange balance is most noticeable when this tea is served hot, and that’s the way I prefer this one.  With the Spring Tea, I love it equally both iced and hot, but with this tea, the hot is just so extraordinary, iced really never stood a chance.

Creme D Orange Green and White Tea from Kent & Sussex

This is a perfect loose leaf tea and I whole-heartedly recommend it. You cannot possibly order it soon enough and you cannot possibly order too much of it.

Ingredients– China Sencha Lung Ching, Yunnan Pai Mu Tan, Rose buds, Vanilla Flavoring, Orange slices and Carrot shreds.

Where to Buy – Find Creme D Orange Green and White Tea on Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Company’s website.

Also See: Kent & Sussex Spring Tea Review

Creme D Orange Green and White Tea from Kent & Sussex

Kent & Sussex Tea Review: Spring Tea (A China Black Tea with Berries and Peppermint Leaves)

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Spring Tea from Kent & Sussex - Iced and Hot
Remember the last cup of tea that just left you speechless? That’s exactly the experience I had with Spring Tea from Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Company.  Needless to say, don’t let the name fool you – this “Spring Tea” is uncommonly delicious year-round and will leave you speechless whether you’re enjoying it in early June or late December.

I normally can say whether I prefer a tea iced or hot but this one is absolutely impossible to choose. Just when I think the winner is iced, I try it hot and think, “Well…” It’s simply beautiful either way.

Loose Leaf Spring Tea from Kent & Sussex
As soon as I cut the bag open, I was hit by the beautiful scent of berries and mint. The aroma was Heavenly and let me know, straight away, that this was going to be some exceptional tea.

The tea was even better than the aroma advertised. You can taste the raspberries (one of my two favorite berries – tying with the infamous strawberry) and the delicate mint flavor as well. With each sip, you get a new berry flavor and it’s just out of this world wonderful.

Loose Leaf Spring Tea from Kent & Sussex
Spring Tea Brewed in my Beloved Hario Tea Pot
 

From the Spring Tea Bag: This China Black Tea is scented with the warm notes of Raspberries – Blackcurrants and Elderberries – blended with Juniper Berries – Nettle and Heather Leaves – Blackberries and Peppermint leaves. A fresh tasting flavored Spring Time Black Tea.

Brewing Time: Using boiling water, brew for 3-5 minutes.

A lot of people stick with tea bags instead of loose tea because they think it’s difficult, complicated, or time-consuming to brew loose-leaf tea. Nothing could be further from the truth.  My favorite way to brew loose leaf tea is with my Hario Tea Pot.

It’s Simple – while bringing the water to a boil (or a specified temperature for non-black teas), you put some of the loose leaf tea into the basket that fits into the Hario Tea Pot. When the water is ready, pour it over the leaves (and into the pot) and allow it to brew for the specified amount of time (generally just a few minutes). Simple!

A lot of loose leaf tea can even be re-brewed. I dare anyone to try that with a bag of tea!

Spring Tea from Kent & Sussex - Iced and Hot

About The Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Company

The Kent Tea and Trading Company and The Sussex Tea Company were founded in 1982 when the Smith Family returned to England after two generations of Tea Planting in North East India.  Their extensive range of award winning teas and coffees are packed at their factory in the village of Pluckley, in the Garden of England.

Read more about this beautiful and unspeakably delicious Spring Tea by clicking the link. This is, undoubtedly, one of my favorite teas of all time.  Ironically, another tea that has become one of my all time favorites is coming up in a tea review I’ll post tomorrow morning and it is also from Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Company.

These people know their teas! See Kent & Sussex Teas for more information.

Loose Leaf Spring Tea from Kent & Sussex

Spring Tea

Golden Tips Assam Exotic Tea – Excellent!

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Golden Tips Tea Review

 

A while back, I wrote a Golden Tips Tea Review – I hope you’ve checked them out between then and now.  Their Darjeeling is as good as it gets. In fact, it’s one of the first Darjeeling teas I’d recommend.

I just wanted to take an opportunity to tell you a little more about their Assam Exotic Tea.  This black tea makes me think of a tea that’s somewhere between “Darjeeling” and “Chai,”  While it doesn’t have the spiciness of Chai, it has an unmistakable exotic attitude that’s exceptional and delicious.

This particular tea is PERFECT for using in making Royal Tea (click the link for a quick reminder).  It also makes a fantastic quick latte simply by adding steamed milk to the cup – a little sugar for extra points.

Golden Tips Tea has 15 different Assam Black Teas and I assure you each one is very much worth checking out. Just be sure to make a couple of Royal Teas right away. Trust the Crazy Tea Chick… this is an experience you don’t want to miss.

Tea Lattes

Plum Deluxe Vanilla Latte Loose Leaf Tea (Review)

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Plum Deluxe Vanilla Latte Loose Leaf Tea

Today I’ll conclude my series of reviews of Plum Deluxe Loose Leaf Teas with a very special tea that anyone and everyone will love: Vanilla Latte Tea.

When I first tried this particular tea, I thought, “… the Coffeehouse crowd will flip their cups over this one.” I’d know, after all, since I’m a charter member of the Coffeehouse crowd.

While you could certainly enjoy a beautiful cup of tea simply by brewing the Vanilla Latte Tea without creamer or steamed milk, the flavor really comes alive when you make it as you would a London Fog or Chai Tea Latte.  A London Fog is simply a Chai Tea Latte where Earl Grey Tea steps in for Chai Tea. If you’ve never tried it… well… DO.

I have tried (and loved to the point of distraction) the Vanilla Latte Tea….

  • … all by itself. It’s very flavorful and delicious without any co-stars. If you’re trying to pull away from sugar, this is a great tea for you, as it really doesn’t need any sweetener. The vanilla flavor more than satisfies your taste buds.
  • … with a little steamed milk. It’s similar to a Vanilla Latte with coffee but you have the distinct flavor of tea in place of coffee. It’s fantastic.
  • …. as the tea of choice for a “Royal Milk Tea.” Follow the link (it’ll open in a new window) for the simple instructions. It’s as easy as boiling water, adding tea leaves, adding milk, then straining the whole shebang through a wire strainer and into a mug or cup.  This tea is IDEAL for this process and tastes like something you’d have paid impressive $$$$$ for in a coffeehouse.

 

Learn more about Plum Deluxe teas, gift sets, newsletter, and tea club by visiting their website: Plum Deluxe. You can also find them on Pinterest and Facebook.

More Plum Deluxe Reviews on Crazy Tea Chick:

Plum Deluxe: Oregon Breakfast Black Tea (Review)

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Plum Deluxe Oregon Breakfast Black Tea

As promised in my last Plum Deluxe Tea Review, here’s my caffeinated, wide-eyed, awake-and-then-some review of their bold Oregon Breakfast Black Tea.  As I’ve said many times on the tea blog, I’m as crazy about coffee as I am tea – I just don’t drink it as often.

A lot of people can’t drink coffee – and frankly, I’ve often wondered how they wake up each morning. Maybe it’d be more appropriate to say, I wonder how they function each morning. In my world, I begin the day with coffee, then he taps out and tea takes over for the remainder of the day. It’s as though coffee grabs me by the lapels and screams, “Up! Up,Up, Up, Up UP!”- then tea calmly ( in a British voice, natch) says, “So, you’re awake, then?”

For anyone who cannot drink coffee, Plum Deluxe has a beautiful alternative – Oregon Breakfast Black Tea. This tea is every bit as delicious and effective at Reveille as coffee. In fact, even if you CAN drink coffee, you’d enjoy mixing things up a couple mornings each week with this very unique tea.

Here’s what Oregon Breakfast Black Tea has to say for Itself:

This breakfast tea is how Plum Deluxe folk like to start their day. The earthy base helps center you; the ping of orange helps wake you and get you excited about today’s possibilities. It’s a simple tea & yet it is rich with subtle flavors.

Hazelnut – in its oil essence form – has tons of great anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant benefits, as well as vitamin E. Paired with some orange, you’re getting a true boost from this tea in every cup.  Read more…

Plum Deluxe Oregon Breakfast Black Tea
What Sets this Black Tea Apart from Other Black Teas?

Glad you asked.  What makes this tea unlike any you’ve ever had are…

  • Hazelnut
  • Orange peels

The flavor combination is one that I was not, previously, at all familiar with.  I’ve had Hazelnut coffee before and loved it – but I’d have never in a million and one years thought of pairing it with tea. And, yet, the flavor is so fascinating and mind-blowing that I’m now obsessed with it.  Truly, it’s downright addictive.

In addition to my passion for coffee, I’m sure I’ve also confessed before that I don’t have a sweet tooth… I have sweet teeth. I sweeten everything that comes within my reach if it isn’t already sweetened.

Please try not to judge me.

I opted for honey to sweeten my mug of hot Oregon Breakfast Black Tea. Phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. The unexpected, exciting flavor of hazelnut really makes your taste buds dance. It’s like they’re at the taste bud prom and hazelnut is the DJ.

When reviewing teas, I like to try them iced as well as hot, because as far as I’m concerned a tea should be as “year round” as your favorite pair of jeans.

This tea was equally delicious hot as it was iced – and, to be honest, I didn’t expect it to be. When I finished off my wonderful mug of hot tea, I thought, “Welllll, I’ll try it iced but I’m pretty sure this is a hot tea only type of tea.”

Shows what I know.

Oregon Breakfast Black Tea is just as wonderful on ice as it is off ice.

If you can’t tell from my words, I’ll just go ahead and say it – this tea has me flabbergasted.  When your world is so completely filled with tea, it takes a lot to catch you off guard – especially with black tea,which is generally a pretty laced up kind of fella.

And yet… here I am at a loss for words to tell you just how special and unexpected this tea is.

I’m afraid I’m going to have to resort to this: Click over to Plum Deluxe and order some for yourself. As in right now. It’s just $7.00 per oz and it will blow your mind. Try it hot, try it iced – and be sure to have a little honey on hand. It really… *cough cough*… sweetens the deal.

Plum Deluxe Oregon Breakfast Black Tea
Other Plum Deluxe Tea Reviews on Crazy Tea Chick:

Learn more about Plum Deluxe teas, gift sets, newsletter, and tea club by visiting their website: Plum Deluxe. You can also find them on Pinterest and Facebook.

Plum Deluxe Loose Leaf Teas