Author: Michelle

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Tea By C’s Blue People Oolong

Blue People Oolong by Tea By C
Oolong Tea / Flavoured
$10.00USD for 1oz

Tea By C has provided me with Blue People Oolong for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Blue People Oolong came in a kraft paper pouch that’s resealable. The steeping instructions, ingredients list, and caffeine level were featured on the front while the back includes the product URL, a QR code, the weight of the package, as well as the location of Tea By C. I am not going to lie, I was a bit perplexed when I first opened the package because it honestly looks like no other oolong that I’ve ever had before. Blue People Oolong looks (and kind of feels…) like little pebbles. Smooth, dark brown rocks. When I shook the package and then poured some out, I did think it sounded like rocks too!

The aroma is surprisingly sweet, despite its appearance. I almost expected the tea to have a heavy mineral aroma to match the appearance. Blue People Oolong consists of oolong, licorice root, and ginseng. The sweet aroma reminds me a lot of stone fruits, it just has that almost syrupy sweetness from ripe fruit.

Preparation

Tea By C recommends steeping Blue People Oolong in 180-190°F (82-88°C) water for 1 minute. I opted to steep in 185°F (85°C) for 1 minute.

First Taste

Blue People Oolong steeps to a very bright yellow colour (I’m a touch disappointed that it didn’t steep blue!). The aroma is sweet, with strong stone fruit aromas. I found the tea itself to be quite sweet with equally bright, fruity flavours. There’s some pleasant buttery notes, but overall the fruity sweetness is the strongest part of this tea.

The tea leaves did not appear to open up at all after the initial steep of 1 minute.

A Second Cup?

I steeped Blue People Oolong a total of seven times (eight steeps total!), adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. The leaves didn’t really visible begin to open until until the second resteep and continued to open up further after that. I found the flavour and colour to remain fairly consistent for each steep. The flavour began to weaken by the third resteep (fourth overall steep), but the flavour was still quite strong at the end.

My Overall Impression

I loved Tea By C’s Blue People Oolong. While I was initial confused and surprised by the appearance of the dry leaf, I had a wonderful time drinking this oolong and resteeping it over and over and over again. The flavour was great – with plenty of sweetness for this tea reviewer who has a sweet tooth – and I loved the stone fruit flavours that were in there with the honeyed sweetness. I think this tea would be fantastic both hot and iced and I would highly recommend resteeping the leaves because there’s just so much flavour in there.

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

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DavidsTea’s Pumpkin Pie Matcha

Pumpkin Pie Matcha by DavidsTea
Green Tea (Matcha) / Flavoured
$16.00 for 80g

First Impressions

I purchased the Matcha Discovery Kit at my local DavidsTea location just because. I love the idea of getting a ‘sampler’ of matcha to try and there were 5 different types for $30 (a total of 125g – 25g of each variety). The kit included: Match Matsu, Maple Matcha, Vanilla Matcha, Peach Matcha, and Pumpkin Pie Matcha. Conveniently for me, most of which I have not tried or reviewed (in other words, I hope you like matcha reviews because there’s a few #matchamonday posts coming your way!).

Pumpkin Pie Matcha came in a dark blue-green pouch that was sealed (and is resealable). I found the dark text a bit difficult to read when it wasn’t with a bright light. Pumpkin Pie Matcha consists of: cane sugar, matcha green tea, and natural pumpkin pie flavouring. The powder was surprisingly bright green for a matcha ‘drink mix’, and I found the aroma to be a mix of grassy and spiced notes that remind me of ginger and cardamom.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends whisking Pumpkin Pie Match in 85°C (185°F) water. I opted to follow the instructions – although I did sift the powder first before whisking it, just out of habit.

First Taste

Pumpkin Pie Matcha whisks to an olive-ish green colour. There’s a sweet and spicy aroma to the matcha. On first taste, I mostly taste the sugar. When I pause to think about it a bit more, I do find that there are some grassy notes, as well as spiced flavours to go along with the sweetness from the sugar. I primarily taste ginger and cinnamon. If there is supposed to be the flavour of pumpkin, and not just the pumpkin spice, I don’t taste it.

A Second Cup?

Matcha is a suspension, so there wasn’t a second steep of the drink mix.

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Pumpkin Pie Matcha. I really liked the spices that were present, but I thought that the mix was almost too sweet for me (and I have a sweet tooth!). I think this would be a great option for either a hot or iced latte, because the addition of a milk or dairy-free alternative would do wonders for tempering the sweetness from the cane sugar that’s in this matcha drink mix.

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

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Pumpkin Spice Scones

My love of the #PSL knows no boundaries, because of the season and all that. Autumn is one of my favourite seasons because of the leaves changing colour, the crispness in the air – and my birthday that’s coming up! This recipe not only fills that millennial need to put pumpkin spice in literally everything, it’s also a scone recipe and who doesn’t need a nice warm scone to go with a Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte?

Bonus – this recipe uses the same Pumpkin Spice Mix that I had featured in my Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte recipe, so you might as well make both!

Pumpkin Spice Scones – Makes 18-24

3½ cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt¹
½ cup butter (cold, diced)
⅓ cup brown sugar (packed)
2 tablespoons Pumpkin Spice Mix
½ cup pumpkin puree
2 egg yolks
1 cup milk (plus extra for glaze)
1 tsp lemon juice

¹ Optional, so if you’re watching your salt intake, feel free to omit!

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
When will mixed, add in butter. Use 2 butter knives or a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter with the flour.
Add brown sugar and Pumpkin Spice Mix – mix in. You should still see butter not fully mixed in.
Add pumpkin puree, 1 egg yolk, milk, and lemon juice – mix some more.
Dump dough out onto a floured surface (e.g. your kitchen counter).
Pat the dough down or roll out until approximately 1¼” (~3cm) thick.
Using a floured round cookie cutter (or a smooth glass or jar), cut out scones.
Mix remaining egg yolk with ~1 tablespoon of milk, brush onto tops of scones as a glaze.
Place onto a lined cookie sheet and into the oven they go!
Bake for 15mins or until the tops are golden brown.

Recipe adapted from Will Torrent’s Afternoon tea at home, “Classic scones”

Tips for Pumpkin Spice Scones Success:

Use canned pumpkin puree, not canned pumpkin pie filling as the latter often comes pre-mixed with spices and you’ll be blending your own Pumpkin Spice Mix.
Use cold butter because it’ll help give the scones that flakey texture.
Help the environment and get yourself a silicone baking sheet – that way you won’t be using parchment paper that gets thrown out or into food waste each time (why not get a reusable option?).

If you make these Pumpkin Spice Scones, I’d love to see your photos! Be sure to tag me on Instagram (@onemoresteep #onemoresteep) or comment below with a link to the photo!