Ctrl+Alt+Delete by Pluck
Herbal Infusion / Flavoured
$8.00 for 30g
First Impressions
I received Ctrl+Alt+Delete as part of a swap package, and was rather tickled by the name of the tea, since I’m familiar with using that keyboard combination. The front of the bag is see-through on the sides of the label and I could see how fine the herbal blend is. Pluck includes all the usual information necessary for a tea drinker: how much to use, steeping time, water temperature, information on the ingredients, as well as a best before date. The slogan for Pluck is “Local. Natural. Bespoke.”. On the back of the bag, Pluck mentions that their source ingredients from ethical sources, local growers, artisan producers, and they produce their blends in small batches (hence, bespoke).
Ctrl+Alt+Delete was opened up one night when my sister needed some kind of herbal infusion as she was coming down with a cold. Ctrl+Alt+Delete has a very strong ginger and lemongrass smell to it, the strong ginger smell kind of tickles the nose a bit. The ingredients are: ginger, rose hip, dried organic lemon peel, lemongrass, and dried Muskoka cranberries. I could not smell the rose hips or cranberries.
Preparation
Pluck recommends steeping Ctrl+Alt+Delete in 100°C (212°F) water for 3-7 minutes. I steeped for approximately 4 minutes.
First Taste
This herbal blend steeps to a nice yellow colour. The blend of ingredients is very fine, I would recommend using a tea filter over a stainless steel infuser because you’ll end up with bits of the herbs in your tea and in your mouth. The herbal infusion has a very nice warmed ginger smell, the lemongrass isn’t as strong in the steeped infusion fragrance as it was in the dry blend.
It has a mildly sweet lemon flavor with a very nice ginger taste to it, which I appreciate. The ginger isn’t overwhelming or spicy, as ginger can be, but it does make my entire mouth feel warm when drinking it. It’s quite pleasant and it’s a very relaxing cup of tea.
A Second Cup?
I attempted to resteep Ctrl+Alt+Delete. It does okay for one resteep, the lemon and ginger is still very much present in the taste, but a second resteep leads to a watery cup of lemon and ginger that I would not recommend.
My Overall Impression
I thought that Pluck’s Ctrl+Alt+Delete was just okay. I was a bit disappointed that the cranberries and rosehips weren’t more prominent in the dry or steeped herbal blend. If I was feeling under the weather, I think this concoction of ginger and lemongrass would do the trick. Ctrl+Alt+Delete is a decent herbal infusion, I do think a lot of people would like the ginger and lemongrass combination – but also that it’s a nice blend to have if you’re not feeling well. I would definitely make this again, especially if I have a sore throat, but I don’t think it’s something that I would buy or want to keep a stock of in my stash.
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