Dessert by Deb’s Caramel Chai Buttercream

Caramel Chai Buttercream by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$6.75 for 25g

Caramel Chai Buttercream came to me as part of the bimonthly subscription box from Dessert by Deb.

First Impressions

Caramel Chai Buttercream came to me as part of the (now discontinued) bimonthly subscription box – you can still purchase teas off of the Dessert by Deb website and assemble your own box. The tea itself comes in a sealed gold pouch that’s resealable, with a fun polka dot label across the front.

Caramel Chai Buttercream consists of organic: black tea, natural caramel flavour, ginger, cinnamon, toasted coconut, brown sugar, and star anise. The aroma is strongly of ginger, cinnamon, and star anise. There’s a hint of coconut and caramel in the background, and it’s quite pretty to look at.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Caramel Chai Buttercream in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 5 minutes.

First Taste

Caramel Chai Buttercream steeps to a golden orange. The black tea blend has a strong spice aroma to it – it smells like ginger, cinnamon, and star anise. The tea has a light sweetness to it, and there’s a nice warming sensation from the ginger. The star anise really shines through, and not in an off-putting way that I often find with star anise-heavy teas. I tend not to like star anise-heavy teas, because star anise has a flavour to it that reminds me a lot of black licorice (which I don’t enjoy), but this one isn’t particularly heavy handed with the star anise.

Dessert by Deb recommends preparing Caramel Chai Buttercream as a tea latte or to add milk. I did, and found that it add a nice creaminess to the tea, and helped temper down the licorice-like flavour from the star anise.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Caramel Chai Buttercream, by adding an additional 30 seconds for the first resteep, and found that the flavours (ginger, cinnamon, star anise) were quite muted compared to the initial steep. I would recommend Caramel Chai Buttercream for just the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Caramel Chai Buttercream. I found this black tea blend to be pleasant, with some nice warming qualities from the spices. Caramel Chai Buttercream has a great aroma, flavour, and it turns into a latte well. It’s a pretty tea to look at, and a pleasant cup of tea to drink. I definitely enjoyed it better as a tea latte than as a plain cup, so would recommend it as a latte.

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