Author: Michelle

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Dessert by Deb’s Coco Goji Island

Coco Goji Island by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea / Flavoured
$9.00 for 50g

First Impressions

Coco Goji Island is part of Dessert by Deb’s debut collection of certified organic tea blends. It came in a sealed, resealable matte white foil bag with a pretty coloured label on the front. This is a green tea blend and I picked it out because it sounded intriguing (I’m always a sucker for interesting names). It really invokes the idea of drinking iced tea with a little umbrella on a beach somewhere.

I could smell the cherries, lemongrass, and coconut when I first opened the package. Coco Goji Island consists of: green tea, cherries, goji berries, oranges, lemongrass, and toasted coconut. The ingredients are all visible, with surprisingly large pieces of dried orange slices – they smell good!

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Coco Goji Island in 200°F (93°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. My initial steep was for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Coco Goji Island steeps to a bright yellow, it’s a really tropical colour that it matches well with the shade of yellow used for the word ‘Coco’ on the package label. There’s a nice aroma from the tea – citrus and fruity. The flavour of the tea is light citrus, the cherries and goji berries linger in the background. I found there was a nice creaminess in the tea, and I think that’s from the coconut. I can’t really taste the green tea, but that’s not too surprising considering some of the other ingredients being quite heavy and flavour-forward in the profile.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Coco Goji Island twice, adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the cherries and citrus notes were much less pronounced and more of the green tea shone through – slightly grassy and vegetal. I found it to be pleasant.

My Overall Impression

I liked Dessert by Deb’s Coco Goji Island. I found the aroma of the dry leaf to be really inviting, and the flavour of the initial steep was perfectly fruity. If you’re a fan of the fruitiness and less of green tea, resteeping may not be for you. But if you’re a fan of green tea, I’d definitely recommend resteeping the leaves again for more green tea flavour. I think this would be a great candidate for being cold steeped – especially if you’re one that’s prone to oversteeping green teas.

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

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Matcha Latte Bubble Tea

Less than a week since publishing my London Fog Bubble Tea recipe and here I am with another bubble tea! While matcha has a long history, it has enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent years as it’s been deemed a superfood. Matcha provides you with caffeine without the crash and is the basis for this bubble tea recipe.

There are different grades of matcha and each one has their own use. A lower quality matcha is a great option for baking, while a higher quality matcha should be reserved for drinking straight. While price isn’t the only thing to consider, the quality is typically reflected in a higher price point (usually at least $1 per gram). The colour is brighter, the aroma is stronger, and it creates a brighter green cup of matcha. The first tip is to look for a matcha that only contains matcha – no sugar, no other additives of flavouring.

Matcha Latte Bubble Tea Recipe – Serves 2

Tea
2 cups water (79°C/175°F)
4 teaspoons of matcha
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Tapioca Pearls
½ cup black tapioca pearls
4 cups water

Simple Syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup water

½ cup milk (dairy or non-dairy alternative)
Ice cubes

Prepare Simple Syrup
Mix 1 cup brown sugar and 1 cup water together in a small pot.
Heat until the sugar is fully dissolved and allow Simple Syrup to simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare Tapioca Pearls
Heat 4 cups of water in a small pot until boiling.
Add tapioca pearls.
Stir to prevent the pearls from sticking together.
Follow cooking time on the packaging – you’ll know that the pearls are cooked when they’re dark and translucent. Most black tapioca pearls need to be cooked for a minimum of 30 minutes, so check the package directions!
Strain out the pearls, and rinse under cool running water to wash off the extra starch.
Add pearls to Simple Syrup.
Set aside until ready to use.
Do not prepare tapioca pearls too far in advance, if left for more than 4-6 hours after cooking, they get very tough/chewy. Leaving the pearls to ‘swim’ in a Simple Syrup bath will help prevent them from sticking, and also make them sweeter.

Prepare Matcha
Sift the matcha powder into a bowl (do each portion separately if using a small bowl).
Whisk together matcha with warm water.
Add vanilla extract.
Set aside to cool.

Now to just put all the components together! In each tall glass, layer the following:

¼ cup cooked tapioca pearls in Simple Syrup
Ice, to fill glass
¼ cup milk
1 cup matcha (with added vanilla extract)
Serve with wide bubble tea or smoothie straw to make it easier to drink the bubble tea and to mix the layers together.

Excess Simple Syrup can be kept in the fridge in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks in the fridge – don’t forget to label it with the date!

Tea Tip! Get all of your matcha mixed in one go by sifting the matcha into a measuring glass, and using a handheld milk frother to mix the matcha and water together.

If you make this Matcha Latte Bubble Tea, 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!

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DavidsTea’s Blue Lagoon

Blue Lagoon by DavidsTea
Fruit Infusion / Flavoured
$7.98 for 50g

First Impressions

I picked up Blue Lagoon on a whim during the Semi-Annual Sale on the DavidsTea website. It was on sale as the blend was being retired – and at the time of writing no longer available on the website, but I know there are a lot of Facebook groups where people resell bags of sealed tea… Blue Lagoon comes in the familiar sealed, resealable silver foil bag with a yellow label that gives me all the information about this tea.

On first sniff of this fruity blend, the first thing I think is that there is a lot of fruit in the mix. The aroma is very fruity, and the majority of what I can make out is the berries – blueberries specifically. Blue Lagoon consist of: candied pineapple, blueberries, lemongrass, elderberries, cornflower petals, natural and artificial flavourings. This fruit blend also consists of sulphites, which is used to help maintain shelf longevity in food.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping at 200°F (95°C) for 4 to 7 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep for 7 minutes.

First Taste

Blue Lagoon steeps to an interesting colour that I wasn’t quite expecting from a fruity infusion – a reddish brown. Honestly, it was a bit off-putting when I first came back to it after the long steep time. The aroma is very sweet and and fruity, which does match the taste of the blend. I can taste berries and pineapple, and a large amount of sweetness – it’s almost too sweet for me.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Blue Lagoon but found the second steep of the same leaves to be very watery and tasteless in comparison the initial steep. I would recommend Blue Lagoon for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I thought that DavidsTea’s Blue Lagoon was just okay. Blue Lagoon stays consistent throughout for me – smelling and tasting fruity and sweet. I think it was just too sweet for me, even though I am a self-proclaimed sweet tooth. The colour was a bit off-putting, but it’s the sweetness that really killed it for me. I think this would be a great candidate to cold steep or mix with minimally sweetened lemonade, because the acidity would help balance against the sweetness from the candied pineapple and berries.

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