I came across Pluck Tea when I saw a picture of what I call the ‘Instagram Changing Colour Tea.’ I reached out to ask if they sold sample sizes, and the company offered to send some teas my way. Today, I am trying their rooibos, herbal, and oolong blends!
To give more information about the company, Pluck Tea explain themselves with the following:
“We source premium tea leaves from Ethical Tea Partnership sources from around the world, then add unique local ingredients like Prince Edward County Lavender and grape skins from Southbrook Vineyards in the Niagara region. The result: one-of-a-kind tea blends as distinct and unique as a well-aged wine.”
Now, let’s see some colour changing tea!
Canadian Maple
Description: “Real maple syrup makes this tea a naturally sweet infusion for any time of day. Delicious hot or iced.”
Review: As a Canadian, maple syrup is a must-have! So, when I see blends that have ‘maple’ in the name, I get excited. At first whiff, the blend smelled a bit like maple syrup, with hints of earthiness and chocolate.
The liquor had a very classic rooibos taste, which to me is very earthy, with some hints of sweetness. It did leave the mouth feeling a bit dry. This would be a nice blend if you’re a huge fan of rooibos and want a hint of sweetness (3/5 rating).
- Type: Oolong tea
- Origin: Unknown
- Caffeine: Caffeine-free
- Ingredients: Rooibos, cocoa, natural maple flavour, licorice root, safflower petals
- Company: Pluck Tea
Verbena Blues
Description: “Butterfly pea flowers release a beautiful blue pigment into this citrus ginger infusion. Add a generous squeeze of lemon and watch the colour change!”
Review: This is actually the blend that caused me to contact Pluck Tea. I kept seeing pictures on Instagram and became very curious. What makes butterfly pea so special is that while the liquor brews blue, it turns purple after adding lemon!
I’ll admit, when it first started steeping, I wasn’t sure that it would turn blue. However, after 5 minutes, it was a bright vibrant blue. The wet and dry blend smelled of lemongrass and ginger. The liquor tasted floral and herbal. There were mild citrus notes and the liquor was slightly sweet.
When you add lemon juice to the liquor, it turned a pretty purple in front of my eyes. As expected, the liquor became very lemony afterwards. However, since there was already some citrus flavours in the blend, it suited the tisane. I enjoyed how the liquor changed colours best, and personally like it more with the lemon (4/5 rating)!
- Type: Herbal tea
- Origin: Unknown
- Caffeine: Caffeine-free
- Ingredients: Lemongrass, ginger pieces, dried lemon peel, apple pieces, butterfly pea flowers, Ontario lemon verbena, stevia, clove, black pepper, cardamom, chasteberry, cornflower petals, hibiscus, natural flavours
- Company: Pluck Tea
Dailo Chocolate Oolong
Description: “Roasted cacao shells from a local chocolate maker, blended with premium coconut Oolong. A delicious dessert tea, created for Toronto’s DaiLo restaurant.”
Review: Since I’m a sucker for coconut, chocolate, AND oolong teas, I was also very excited to try this one. When I opened the bag, I smelled a strong aroma of cocoa and earthy-grassiness. The chocolate aroma became even more evident after steeping and smelled very much like a dark chocolate.
The yellow-orange liquor had a nice chocolate taste with lingering chocolate notes. If you enjoy coconut or chocolate, I think that you’ll really enjoy this blend. This would be great as a latte because of the creamy chocolate base.
I’ve never been to the DaiLo restaurant, but if this is the blend that they are serving there, I want to know what else they have (5/5 rating)!
- Type: Oolong tea
- Origin: Unknown
- Caffeine: Low caffeine
- Ingredients: Premium oolong tea, cacao husks, natural flavours
- Company: Pluck Tea
Final Thoughts
I have to say, I’m pretty impressed with what I have tried from Pluck Tea. I was looking around the website to find information about ingredients, and I noticed a handful of blends that I would really like to try in the future!
While I had a lot of fun with Verbena Blues because the liquor changed colours, I have to say, for me, since I am a huge coconut and chocolate fan, that the Dailo Chocolate Oolong was the big winner.
What would you have liked to try?
1 comment
[…] you want to read more about butterfly pea flowers, check out my review of Pluck’s Verbena Blues (and see it in action) or my Berry and Butterfly Ice Tea Recipe (at the bottom of the […]