Author: Michelle

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Tea By C’s Rose Buds

Rose Buds by Tea By C
Herbal Infusion / Straight
$10.00USD for 1oz

Tea By C has provided me with Rose Buds for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Rose Buds came to me in a now-familiar kraft paper pouch from Tea By C. It came with an information card that includes the health benefits, tasting notes, steeping guide, as well as the information about flower anatomy on the back (definitely takes me back to my biology undergrad days!). The tisane itself solely consists of rose buds, which I think is well reflected in the name.

Rose Buds is an herbal tisane, consisting of rose buds from France. It’s naturally caffeine-free, which makes for a nice any-time-of-day drink. The rose buds themselves are lightly pink and pretty delicate looking. The aroma is all roses, which shouldn’t be that big of a surprise.

Preparation

Tea By C recommends steeping Rose Buds in boiling water (100°C/212°F) for 1 to 2 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 90 seconds.

First Taste

Rose Buds steeps to a pale yellow. The aroma is definitely roses throughout. On first taste, I taste both sweetness, and the rose floral notes. It’s not as heavily perfume-like as I had expected, which I think has a lot to do with the steeping time. It has a very soothing aroma to it, which I appreciated when I had it as a post-dinner drink.

A Second Cup?

Tea By C suggests that Rose Buds can been steeped 1 to 2 times. I attempted a second resteep, and opted to steep it for 3 minutes. I found that the flavour was fairly close to the initial steep, but it was just a touch weaker. I would recommend doing at least one more steep with Rose Buds to get all that rose flavour.

My Overall Impression

I loved Tea By C’s Rose Buds. I really enjoyed the overall experience of this tisane – from admiring the dry buds to smelling the steeped tisane to the first taste. The surprise for me was the fact that it didn’t remind me of potpourri when I was drinking it, which is always a potential hazard when it comes to flower-dominate tisanes. I loved that Rose Buds handled being resteeped once and the flavour wasn’t too far off from the initial steep.

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DavidsTea’s Peach Matcha

Peach Matcha by DavidsTea
Green Tea (Matcha) / Flavoured
$9.98 for 50g

First Impressions

Peach Matcha was one of the flavoured matchas that came in the Matcha Discovery Kit that I mentioned last week (when I shared my review of Pumpkin Pie Matcha). It came in a coloured foil pouch (sealed, and resealable). I like the fact that the text is readable on the background of the pale green of the Peach Matcha pouch. The powder is bright green, with visible sugar granules, and a strong peach aroma.

The ingredients of Peach Matcha are: cane sugar, matcha green tea, and natural peach flavouring. Surprisingly not a lot of ingredients, but sugar is still listed as number one which isn’t that surprising for a drink mix.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends whisking Peach Matcha in 85C (185F) water. I followed the instructions and whisked it in my matcha bowl.

First Taste

Peach Matcha whisked easily, with a thin layer of froth on top. I found the aroma to be very peachy, and the flavour is spot on. There’s a strong sweetness to it, peachy flavour, and a light grassy note throughout. I found that the peach is much stronger than the matcha base. The overall sugar level is strong, and it reminds me a lot of fuzzy peaches.

A Second Cup?

As Peach Matcha is a suspension, there was no second ‘steep’.

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Peach Matcha. I liked the aroma and flavour of the blend, the peachy quality is nice. I find that Peach Matcha is on the sweet side, almost too sweet, but it reminds me a lot of fuzzy peaches (the candy) which I love. The peach covers up most of the matcha, and I find it to be quite tasty. I think it’s great both hot or iced (as a latte?) and making it up as a latte would help temper the sweetness if you find it too sweet.

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Djamoekoe’s Tropical Island

Tropical Island by Djamoekoe
Green Tea / Flavoured
Rp 65,000 for 25g

First Impressions

Tropical Island was a gift from a friend who made a trip to Indonesia – I’ve been quite blessed by friends who get the opportunities to go travelling around the world (and think about me when they’re away!). Tropical Island came in a kraft paper pouch with a clear plastic window, the tea inside is in a plastic pouch that’s resealable.

The aroma of the dry leaf is strong of lemongrass and ginger – with lots of spicy notes. The ingredients in Tropical Island are: green tea, pandan, lemongrass, ginger, and young coconut flakes.

Preparation

Djamoekoe recommends steeping Tropical Island in boiling water (100°C/212°F) water and to allow it to simmer for 5 minutes. I steeped Tropical Island for 5 minutes in a teapot.

First Taste

Tropical Island steeps to a golden yellow colour. The aroma of the steeped tea is strongly of lemongrass and ginger. The flavour of the tea is sweet and spicy – I can taste lemongrass, ginger, with some nice floral notes and mild grassy notes in the background. I was impressed that the green tea didn’t end up being oversteeped with the tea being steeped in boiled water for 5 minutes.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Tropical Island twice – adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The colour became more golden yellow, and the flavour of the lemongrass and ginger got stronger. It’s very pleasant and it has a nice spiced flavour.

My Overall Impression

I loved Djamoekoe’s Tropical Island. The flavour of the lemongrass and ginger really make it, and the sweetness of the tea is nice – I can’t tell if it’s from the pandan or the young coconut flakes, but it’s really enjoyable. While Djamoekoe suggests using honey or sugar, I don’t think it really needs it because of the natural sweetness in the blend. I did like having it iced though, the spice notes from the ginger really shine through and I think this could be cold steeped quite nicely as well.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.