Author: Michelle

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Dessert by Deb’s Chocolate Gingerbread Loaf

Chocolate Gingerbread Loaf by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flavoured
$16.00 for 75g

Chocolate Gingerbread Loaf is an exclusive blend for Dessert by Deb subscription subscribers and is available for purchase by subscribers only at this time.

First Impressions

Another Monday, another blog post! This time it’s Chocolate Gingerbread Loaf, which is an exclusive blend for subscribers of the Dessert by Deb subscription boxes. Just a fun little perk for being a member of this club, which I think is pretty neat! Chocolate Gingerbread Loaf came as part of the first box of the subscription (December).

This black tea blend came in a sealed, resealable silver pouch. The label on the front tells me as much information as I really need, and I quite enjoy the fun colours of the Dessert by Deb design. The aroma of the dry leaf is primarily that of chocolate, vanilla, ginger, and nutmeg to me. Chocolate Gingerbread Loaf consists of organic: black tea, vanilla, ginger, cacao nibs, dark chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, brown sugar, maple, honeybush, and nutmeg. Quite an assortment!

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Chocolate Gingerbread Loaf in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I initially did a steep for 4 minutes, but noticed that not all of the dark chocolate had dissolved so I allowed it to steep for the full 6 minutes.

First Taste

Chocolate Gingerbread Loaf steeps to a nice golden orange colour. I did notice the oils floating on top of the tea, which is to be expected from any tea blend that has chocolate as an ingredient (or sprinkles, for that matter). The aroma is quite mild to me – it smells like both ginger and chocolate. The flavour isn’t as strong as I was expecting it to be, especially with all of the spices. I found the flavour to be lightly sweet – I can taste the ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. I can’t really taste the vanilla – although I can smell it. There are hints of chocolate in the steeped tea, and I taste it a little bit – I do wish that I could taste more of it.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Chocolate Gingerbread Loaf, but found the flavour to be more mild than the initial steep. I would recommend steeping Chocolate Gingerbread Loaf just the one time.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Dessert by Deb’s Chocolate Gingerbread Loaf was just okay. I think part of this was because the flavour just wasn’t as strong as I was anticipating it to be. I would have liked if the chocolate and ginger flavours and aromas were stronger, just to be better tasted and smelled because of the fact that they’re part of the name of this blend. I did enjoy drinking the tea, but it wasn’t what I was expecting from the name. I think this could pair quite well with an afternoon tea, as it has some nice flavours that would balance well against desserts – especially if you’re serving any spiced cakes or miniature pies/tarts.

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DavidsTea’s Organic David’s Chai

Organic David’s Chai by DavidsTea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$8.98 for 50g

First Impressions

Organic David’s Chai comes a fairly familiar looking bag by now – sealed, resealable, silver pouch. The dark blue label on the front helps to identify it at a glance as a black tea (not going to lie, I do like colour coding my teas because it just makes it easier to organize…). David’s Chai is described as a warm & spicy classic. I’m as much of a fan of chai as the next girl, so lets get this started!

The aroma from the dry leaf is lovely – plenty of spicy notes and I can make out the majority of the ingredients. I can really smell the cinnamon and ginger. David’s Chai consist of organic: black tea, ginger, cinnamon, anise, star anise, cardamom, black pepper and clove buds.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Organic David’s Chai in 95ºC (200ºF) water for 3 to 5 minutes. I opted to follow the steeping instructions and did an initial steep of 5 minutes.

First Taste

David’s Chai steeps to a really pretty golden brown colour. The aroma is warming with all those spice notes wafting up from my fancy mug. It’s quite inviting, which is one of the things I love about a nice chai. The flavour is a lovely blend of all the spices – although I can make out the ginger, cinnamon, star anise and cardamom specifically. It has a nice smooth texture to it, spicy notes and really warms me up from the inside out.

I could see this being a lovely chai blend candidate for getting that infamous double boil preparation on the stove top for a more traditional chai preparation method.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped David’s Chai once, for 6 minutes. I found the flavour to be pleasant, but not nearly as warming as the initial steep. I would personally do just one steep of David’s Chai but I could see some people enjoying a second steep of the same leaves.

My Overall Impression

I loved DavidsTea’s Organic David’s Chai. I found to be quite a pleasant experience from the dry leaf, to inhaling the aroma of the steeped tea, to drinking it. The blend of spices was quite nice and enjoyable, which is what really made it delicious. I would recommend adding sweetener if you prefer your chai a bit more sweet as it isn’t very sweet (I personally would use honey, but agave or granulated sugar would work just as well).

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Dessert by Deb’s Christmas Fruitcake

Christmas Fruitcake by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea & Rooibos / Flavoured
$16.00 for 75g

Christmas Fruitcake is an exclusive blend for Dessert by Deb subscription subscribers and is available for purchase by subscribers only at this time.

First Impressions

Christmas Fruitcake came in a sealed, resealable silver pouch and was part of my December box from Dessert by Deb – which was the very first box of the bimonthly year tea subscription. This is also one of two subscription exclusive blends – what a great incentive to join! I like being part of the super secret club.

This blend smells really inviting – I get strong orange, cinnamon, ginger, and clove aromas. It’s nicely mixed together and I didn’t have to shake it up to get a little bit of everything in my spoon, which was nice. Christmas Fruitcake consists of organic: green tea, rooibos, cherries, oranges and peel, elderberries, currants, raisins, rosehips, cinnamon, brown sugar, ginger, cloves and safflower.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Christmas Fruitcake in 100°C (212°F) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and did an initial steep for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Christmas Fruitcake steeps to a nice golden orange. I can definitely smell the cinnamon and ginger, I think those are the strong players in the blend of ingredients! On first taste, I notice that it has a nice sweetness. The flavour of Christmas Fruitcake is that one orange, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. All the warming qualities of ginger make it a very pleasant drink. I did find that it reminded me of the flavours that you might find in a nice spiced pound cake. As for the base of the tea blend – I don’t really taste either the green tea or the rooibos – which is both a plus and a minus because I don’t typically enjoy rooibos blends. But I don’t smell or taste the medicinal-like quality that rooibos often lends to blends.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Christmas Fruitcake and found that it didn’t hold up very well for a second steep. The rooibos was a touch more noticeable, and the ginger and orange were significantly weak compared to the initial steep. I would recommend Christmas Fruitcake for just one steep.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Christmas Fruitcake. I really enjoyed the flavours in the blend, and appreciated that I wasn’t able to taste the rooibos because it’s not my favourite thing in the world. The flavour of orange, cinnamon, and ginger really make me think of a spiced pound cake – mostly because I don’t think I’ve really ever tried a fruitcake before (and if I have, I don’t remember what it tastes like!). It’s certainly a fantastic first look an exclusive tea blend for subscribers of Dessert by Deb.

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