Review and Giveaway: Plum Deluxe Tea of the Month Club

I think its high time for another tea review! High Tea Time!! I crack myself up.

Seriously though, if you learn one thing about me from reading my contributions to the blog, it should be that I LOVE tea time! Apparently word of my tea passion has reached far and wide and straight to the desk of the wonderful folks of Plum Deluxe in  Portland, Oregon. Plum Deluxe founder, Andy Hayes contacted us and asked for me personally to conduct a review of their monthly tea sampler box. Of course I was honored and thrilled at the request!

I hadn’t heard of Plum Deluxe so I jumped on the old interwebs and did some searching. I learned that Andy started Plum Deluxe with inspiration from his mother, who, when diagnosed with cancer, decided that she would live every one of her last moments to the fullest.

To Andy, Plum Deluxe was a way for him to honor her passion for life, by helping people create moments that matter every day.

I was in tears after reading the about section on their award winning blog. There couldn’t have been a more perfect way to tug on my heart strings.

I had a similar inspiration from my own grandmother before she passed away. My Grandma would always eat birthday cake with her Constant Comment tea for breakfast.

When I asked her why she ate cake for breakfast her reply was, “When you get to be my age, you can eat whatever the heck you want!” Her chutzpah inspired me to start my own tea and cake breakfast ritual on the 13th of every month, in honor of her birthday.

So what does all this have to do with tea you ask? Well Plum Deluxe offers USDA Organic, Fair Trade Certified, Artisan tea blends to the world one ounce at a time. Proceeds from the sales of their teas go to supporting the Plum Deluxe Blog and newsletter.

You can purchase any of their seasonal tea blends for $7.00 an ounce or you can join their Tea of the Month club. There are two options for the Tea of the Month (Taken directly from website):

Option 1: $10 per month, billed quarterly
One oz of tea each month
(1 blend, approx 15-20 cups)
Monthly sample of a 2nd extraordinary tea
Tea club member benefits (free shipping on teas & tea bags, 15% savings on tea accessories, monthly special partner discounts, and more)
Access to private tea lover’s community
Monthly tea pairings, recipes, & tip guides

Option 2: $16 per month, billed quarterly
Two oz of tea each month
(2 blends, approx 30-40 cups total)
Monthly sample of a 3rd extraordinary tea
Tea club member benefits (free shipping on teas & tea bags, 15% savings on tea accessories, monthly special partner discounts, and more)
Access to private tea lover’s community
Monthly tea pairings, recipes, & tip guides

Here is what I received in my Tea of the Month box: One ounce of Oregon Breakfast Blend, One ounce of Mindful Morning Earl Grey Blend, each with detailed brewing instructions, a canvas pouch for storage, a letter from the owner and it was all packed up in a pretty plum colored envelope.

Before it arrived, Andy took the time to email me and ask me what my tea preferences were. I am a black tea gal and I don’t particularly care for fruity or herbal teas. I am so pleased that I was able to get two blends that I adore and not have to suffer through something I wouldn’t enjoy.

The Oregon Breakfast tea, with its rich, hazelnut flavor was robust and satisfying. I take my breakfast tea with a hearty splash of milk and a dash of sugar which worked wonderfully here.

The Mindful Mornings Earl Grey blend though, was the best Earl Grey I’ve ever enjoyed and I’ve tried dozens. The vanilla and orange peel added a depth of flavor that I had been missing in other Earl Greys and I will come back for this one again and again.

Plum Deluxe is the third tea subscription I have had the pleasure of reviewing and has by far been my favorite experience.

I have enjoyed perusing their blog and have signed up for their weekly newsletter, The Blend, which is delivered every Sunday to my email. Their website is pleasant to navigate. They provide vivid pictures and descriptions of their teas. The blog offers free printables, e-books, articles, planners, and much more. My correspondence with them has been promptly and pleasantly replied to.

I highly recommend getting to know Plum Deluxe, so please visit their website.
You can also find them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

Plum Deluxe is also offering an amazing giveaway to two lucky winners! If you win, you can choose one ounce of any of their current tea blends ($7 value). This giveaway is open to US residents only.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment in this entry as instructed by the Rafflecopter, then leave the name you commented under and your email in the box in the Rafflecopter entry. (This allows us to contact you if you win!)  This will open up additional optional entries to increase your odds of winning.

This giveaway is open to US RESIDENTS ONLY
and will end just before midnight ET on 5-11-15. 

The winner will be notified by email within 24 hours after the end of the giveaway.  In order to claim the giveaway prize, the winner will need to respond within 24 hours of notification, or an alternate winner will be selected.

Good luck everyone!


a Rafflecopter giveaway