Category: Review

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Hangzhou Yijiangnan (YJN)’s Long Jing Tea

Long Jing by Hangzhou Yijiangnan (YJN).
Green Tea / Straight
$12.99 for 125g

First Impressions

So I picked up this large tin of Long Jing at my local Asian grocery store – primarily on a whim and also because I was curious about the quality that I would get for $12.99 when it was a whooping 125g of tea. I’m a fan of dragon well, as I’ve mentioned before both here on the blog and on Instagram.

The tin itself was shrink wrapped. The lid is a good fit, which helps with keeping the tea from getting stale. The tea itself came in a pouch that is not resealable, but the leaves of this Long Jing are as expected. Various shades of green, long flat leaves. The aroma is a bit grassy, vegetal. It smells like most other dragon wells that I’ve experienced before. There’s a lot of tea in this package, so I’m hoping it’s not terrible because I will have a lot to drink otherwise. The labelling on the tin describes Long Jing as longjing tea and it is a product of China.

Preparation

YJN recommends steeping Long Jing in “hot water”, with no recommendation for temperature.

Whenever that comes up, I use my standard temperatures and length of steeping times for tea.

I did use the green tea setting on my Breville IQ Kettle, which is 175°F (79°C), and I steeped Long Jing for 2 minutes. If it’s my first time steeping a particular green tea, and I’m unfamiliar with that specific one, I’ll opt to use a shorter steep time to prevent a bitter, astringent cup of tea.

First Taste

Long Jing steeps to a light yellow. It’s got a mild aroma that is slightly grassy, and a bit floral. The flavour of Long Jing is lightly sweet, floral, and grassy – just as it smells. There’s just a touch of creaminess to it, and just a light dryness at the tail end of each sip. There’s no bitterness or astringency noted after the steep time of two minutes that I did for the initial steep of Long Jing.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Long Jing four times (five steeps total with the same leaves), and I opted to add an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep of the same leaves. The flavour remains fairly consistent, I thought it got a bit more floral and less grassy with each steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked Hangzhou Yijiangnan (YJN)’s Long Jing. It makes for a nice cup of green tea, and the flavour profile of Long Jing ticks all the boxes that I was expecting to find in a dragon well. The tea steeps beautifully, and resteeps nicely as well. And for the price and quality (and quantity!) of Long Jing, I’m pleasantly surprised with how it steeps and resteep! I would highly recommend resteeping this Long Jing, and it’s of a good enough quality that I would serve it to my parents (who like dragon well).

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Lipton’s British Style Royal Milk Tea

British Style Royal Milk Tea by Lipton
Black Tea / Flavoured
$7.68 for 262.5g (15 x 17.5g sachets)

First Impressions

I dived into the depths of the internet to figure out what was the major differences between a British style milk tea and a Hong Kong style milk tea. The biggest difference that I could find? It all comes down to the type of milk being used in the preparation.

For a Hong Kong style milk tea, a condensed or evaporated milk is typically used. I grew up preparing Hong Kong style milk tea with an unsweetened evaporated milk. While in the preparation of a British style milk tea, one will used milk – the same type of milk that you’d typically find in a grocery store carton or jug or bag – if you happen to be in select parts of Canada.

Fun fact, I grew up drinking milk purchased at the grocery store in bags, and remember carefully cutting the corner off when it came time to opening a new bag of milk. I’m not sure when it was phased out in my province, but I haven’t seen bagged milk in forever. Last I heard, it’s still available in parts of eastern Canada.

British Style Royal Milk Tea comes in individually portioned sachets, with each one containing 17.5g of powder. British Style Royal Milk Tea consists of: sugar, creamer, whole milk powder, black tea powder, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, maltodextrin, and artificial flavour. The powder isn’t particularly fragrant and is a kind of boring shade of beige with speckles of darker brown throughout.

Preparation

Lipton recommends preparing British Style Royal Milk Tea in 85°C (185°F) water, using 180mL if drinking it hot and 50mL if you intend to pour it over iced. I opted to try British Style Royal Milk Tea as a cup of hot tea, but there is an image on the bag of the packaging to use British Style Royal Milk Tea as a base for what appears to be bubble tea (and I fully support this as an option).

First Taste

British Style Royal Milk Tea mixes up quite easily into what looks like milk tea. It fully dissolves well with a quick stir of a spoon and I’m left with a cup of milky looking tea. The aroma reminds me of a milk tea, with obvious notes of dairy. The flavour of British Style Royal Milk Tea is interesting. While there is the sweetness from the sugar, I wouldn’t call it overwhelmingly sweet. The black tea base is a touch astringent and even almost bitter. The dairy carries it through with a bit of a creamy aspect to it, but it’s not as rich as I’m used to with a milk tea. British Style Royal Milk Tea almost seems like it’s trying to be like a Hong Kong style milk tea, but missing the marks on smoothness when it comes to the black tea base.

A Second Cup?

As British Style Royal Milk Tea is a powder/drink mix, there are no second steeps with the same powder.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Lipton’s British Style Royal Milk Tea was just okay. There’s something about British Style Royal Milk Tea that I liked when drinking it, but the astringency and bitterness that exist in the cup due to the black tea powder that was used in the creation of this drink mix lends itself to being a bit meh. I think coffee drinkers/lovers might appreciate British Style Royal Milk Tea more than I do because of that bitterness that might remind them of coffee. But for me, I lean towards more traditional teas, and also sweeter options when it comes to my milk tea. So while I will drink it (and finish the contents of the big package), I’m unlikely to reach for it again when I’m at the store. It’s not undrinkable, but it’s not a favourite.

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Dessert by Deb’s Lemon Drizzle Cake

Lemon Drizzle Cake by Dessert by Deb
Black Tea / Flaovured
$6.50 for 25g

First Impressions

Lemon Drizzle Cake arrived as part of the bimonthly subscription box from Dessert By Deb. If you go onto the Dessert by Deb website, you’ll notice that the subscription boxes are no longer available, but you can still order the teas/tisanes individually and basically create your own fun-filled box. Lemon Drizzle Cake comes in a matte gold pouch that is sealed and resealable, with a familiar colourful polka dot label on the front.

Lemon Drizzle Cake consists of organic: black tea, lemon peel, coconut, Canadian maple, rooibos, lemongrass, and calendula petals. The aroma is primarily lemon/lemongrass, coconut, and rooibos. The rooibos aroma is heavier than I generally prefer – that medicinal quality is stronger than the black tea base.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Lemon Drizzle Cake in 212°F (100°C) water for 4 to 6 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of 6 minutes.

First Taste

Lemon Drizzle Cake steeps to a deep brown-orange. The aroma is a mix of coconut and lemon, and the rooibos is strongly noticeable in the aroma of the tea. On first sip, what I notice immediately is the lemon. There’s a touch of bitterness that balances against the sweetness from the maple. And then there’s the rooibos. There is definitely a medicinal quality to the flavour of Lemon Drizzle Cake that comes from the rooibos. I find that bitterness lingers on the tongue.

A Second Cup?

I attempted a second steep of Lemon Drizzle, and found the flavour to be very familiar to the initial steep with a lot of rooibos qualities in the flavour. If you’re a fan of rooibos, I would recommend a second steep of Lemon Drizzle Cake.

My Overall Impression

I didn’t like Dessert by Deb’s Lemon Drizzle Cake. I found that Lemon Drizzle Cake was very rooibos forward, and as someone who’s not generally a fan of rooibos, I didn’t appreciate it. I think if you’re someone who likes rooibos, you’ll likely enjoy it a lot more than I did. That said, if it had been more black tea forward, I would have liked it more, but alas, a rooibos-heavy blend is just not for me – and that’s okay! The great thing about the world of tea is the great variety of blends and products out there for everyone.

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